Staples Center officials are spending a big chunk of money to upgrade the retractable seating system at one of sports’ busiest arenas.
The $4 million investment by AEG, the arena’s owner and operator, tops the list of several renovations at a facility turning 15 years old next month, including a new LED sports lighting system and the relocation of Team Store LA to a larger space.
The total cost for all offseason retrofits is about $7.5 million, according to Staples Center President Lee Zeidman.
The retractable seating is a key piece of building operations for an arena that goes through 200 conversions annually and sometimes multiple changeovers in one day to accommodate its three NBA and NHL tenants, Zeidman said. Those conversions must be done within 90 minutes.
The original retractable seats, produced by a company no longer in business, are worn out, said Sam Kropp, Staples Center’s vice president of facility operations.
“We had to get custom-made [replacement] parts, and we’re at the end of the rope of that too, because you just can’t make the parts anymore,” Zeidman said. “It gets expensive.”
The new customized system is produced by StageRight, Kropp said. AEG worked closely with StageRight to design a system to meet the needs of the only major league arena with two NBA teams, the Clippers and Lakers. The NHL Kings and WNBA Sparks also call Staples Center home.
The installation will take place over two seasons because of the arena’s busy event schedule. The first portion, installed at stage end on the facility’s north side, the end most affected by conversions, should be in place by mid-November, Kropp said. The project will be completed in 2015.
“It’s not like we have to go any faster, but it’s going to save us some money, it’s going to save us a little time [which] gives our guys more time to work on the ice and get the basketball court down quicker and gets the players out there quicker,” Zeidman said. “It’s a domino effect.”
Separately, AEG is moving Team Store LA to a vacant space on the main concourse that the old Fox Skybox restaurant once occupied.
AEG Merchandising generated $1.6 million in gross merchandise sales for the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, and arena officials believe they can boost retail revenue further by moving to the larger, 8,000-square-foot space near the arena’s front door — “beachfront property,” Zeidman said.
AEG also spent a six-figure sum to install a new LED sport lighting system for Kings, Clippers and Sparks games that should dramatically reduce energy costs compared with standard metal halide lights, Zeidman said. Staples Center is thought to be the first NBA facility to make that conversion.
The Lakers will continue using their own lighting system modeled after the NBA All-Star Game grid, he said.
