An Icon Without Social Value

Staples Center doesn't have a shiny monorail shuttling visitors to a perch high above the grit and grind of the city like the Getty Center in Brentwood. But it does have a class-conscious escalator to ensure that no plebeian wanders onto its luxury levels. VIP sports fans in L.A.'s new state-of-the-art venue not only sit apart from the crowd, they also walk though separate entrances and down separate hallways. Escalators and elevators that ferry guests from the street to the upper level do not stop at exclusive floors in between. Occupants of the arena's premier seats and 160 luxury suites aren't obliged to mingle with the proverbial unwashed, assuming working people can afford the arena's sky-high ticket prices.

Staples Center has been heralded as a new icon for Los Angeles--and it is. At night, its glowing blue halo brings distinction to the downtown skyline. But the sharp class barriers built into its design also make it an inappropriate symbol for a rejuvenated city center. Sure, it's great that crowds of people now walk Figueroa Street after dark, but downtown cannot truly be a "center" if it is not a place where Angelenos from the east, west, south and north come together.

The new economies of professional sports are certainly not unique to Los Angeles. This year caps a decade-long boom in sports construction around the country. As pro basketball teams' average payrolls have more than doubled in the 1990s, owners have sought new ways to generate revenue. This year alone, glitzy new arenas catering primarily to a corporate clientele have been inaugurated in Atlanta, Denver, Indianapolis and Miami. They all offer better seats, better food and better service. Ticket prices have correspondingly skyrocketed by 108% over the past eight years.

But this being the entertainment capital of the world, it's no surprise that $375-million Staples Center is the most opulent new arena in the country. One of its anchor tenants, the Los Angeles Lakers, boasts the second-highest ticket prices in professional basketball, now the costliest of the four major sports. According to Team Marketing Report, a family of four can expect to spend an average of $427.57 to see Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in action. The National Basketball Assn.'s requirement that each team make available 500 tickets a game for $10 or less does little to make Laker tickets accessible to a wider audience. While deserting working-class fans, it's a wonder that Staples Center's owners didn't also choose to build their sports palace in Brentwood.