AEG fully exploits the potential of City View Terrace

For years, Crypto.com Arena's terrace overlooking Peacock Plaza and downtown LA's skyscraper skyline was an afterthought, especially during games and concerts.

That changed this summer during the latest round of ongoing renovations at the arena, which saw the City View Terrace — as it will be known until AEG Global Partnerships sell the naming rights — incorporated into the building.

There is a certain trend in the NBA to bring natural light into arena seating bowls (this also happened recently with renovations to Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Spectrum Center).

In LA, walls were blown out and the patio, now open to every ticketed fan in the building, was spruced up with new furniture and the addition of two permanent bars (one indoor, one outdoor). Celebrity chef David Chang's cheekily named spicy fried chicken concept 'Fuku' has been added to the terrace to encourage lingering. A Mechoshade system can open or close during daytime games to prevent daylight from interfering with the Lakers' famous, theater-like lighting of the game presentation.

In addition to Fuku, AEG added a LudoBird branch from another fried chicken-loving celebrity chef, Ludo Lefebvre, as well as the quirky pop-up shop Doritos After Dark, whose full menu includes Doritos in some capacity (think sushi). crushed Dorito crust).

Lee Zeidman, president of Crypto.com Arena, envisions fans grabbing food and drink and strolling onto the patio to take in the view, sip and chew — whether a basketball or a puck is in play is or not.

These are notable additions as the Intuit Dome opened last week and provides a noticeable counterpoint to the fan experience at Crypto.com Arena. Intuit Dome takes a more zealous approach to fandom – the fans' attention must be on the field! – while the OG Arena in LA continues to move in the opposite direction.

It will be fascinating to see how this divergence develops.