The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent Cooke was awarded an NHL expansion franchise for Los Angeles on February 9, 1966, becoming one of the six teams that began play as part of the 1967 NHL expansion. The team plays its home games at Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles, their home since the start of the 1999–2000 season. Prior to that, the Kings played for 32 years at the Forum in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.
Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street, and has since been considered a part of L.A. Live. Owned and operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), it is the home venue of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL)—which are both owned in part by AEG's founder Philip Anschutz, as well as the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.
Julie Rotblatt-Amrany is an American sculptor and painter, whose work explores the resurgence of the figure in modern art.
The statue of Michael Jordan, also known as The Spirit, is a bronze sculpture by Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany that has been located inside the United Center in the Near West Side community area of Chicago since March 1, 2017. The sculpture was originally commissioned after Jordan's initial retirement following three consecutive NBA championships and unveiled prior to the Bulls taking residence in their new home stadium the following year. Depicting Basketball Hall of Fame member Michael Jordan and unveiled outside the United Center on November 1, 1994, the 12-foot (3.7 m) sculpture stands atop a 5-foot (1.52 m) black granite base. Although not critically well received, the statue has established its own legacy as a meeting place for fans at subsequent Bulls championships and as a rallying point for Chicago Blackhawks fans.
Gary Tillery is an American writer and artist known for his biographies focusing on the spiritual lives of famous figures, and for his public sculptures. His 2009 book, The Cynical Idealist, was named the official book of the 2010 John Lennon Tribute in New York City, and he created the centerpiece sculpture of the Chicago Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated in 2005.
A statue of American basketball player Shaquille O'Neal by artists Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany is installed outside Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. The 9-foot-tall, 1,200 pound sculpture was installed in 2017.
A statue of Oscar De La Hoya by Erik Blome is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. The bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2008. De La Hoya was born in East Los Angeles and was known as "The Golden Boy of boxing".
A statue of basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by artists Julie Rotblatt-Amrany and Omri Amrany is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. The bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2012. It depicts Abdul-Jabbar shooting his patent skyhook shot. Abdul-Jabbar was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association from 1975 to 1989.
A statue of basketball player Magic Johnson by Omri Amrany and Gary Tillery is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. The sculpture was unveiled in 2004.
A bronze statue of Jerry West by Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt Amrany is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. The sculpture was unveiled in 2011.
A statue of Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky by Erik Blome is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. The bronze sculpture depicts Gretzky wearing his Los Angeles Kings uniform. His statue was unveiled in 2002.
A statue of sportscaster Bob Miller by artists Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. He was the Los Angeles Kings' longtime broadcaster from 1973 to 2017. The sculpture was unveiled in 2018.
A statue of sportscaster Chick Hearn by Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. The bronze and steel sculpture was unveiled in 2010. An empty chair is provided next to the statue to allow people to sit in for a picture taking.
A statue of American basketball player Elgin Baylor by artists Omri Amrany and Gary Tillery is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. The bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2018. Baylor played for the Los Angeles Lakers and was the longtime general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers.
A statue of ice hockey player Luc Robitaille by artists Julie Rotblatt Amrany, Omri Amrany, and Itamar Amrany is installed outside Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, in the U.S. state of California. The bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2015.
A bronze statue of Salvadoran archbishop Óscar Romero is installed in Los Angeles' MacArthur Park, in the U.S. state of California. The 6.5-foot, 450-pound sculpture was made in El Salvador by artist Joaquin Serrano. The artwork was installed in November 2013, and cost $350,000.
The Kobe Bean Bryant Memorial Statue, also known as the "Black Mamba Statue", is a work of public art by American artist and sculptor Julie Rotblatt-Amrany. The 19-foot bronze sculpture of the American basketball player Kobe Bryant was commissioned by Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant in her husband's honor, and stands on a plinth in front of the Crypto.com Arena located in downtown Los Angeles. The statue was unveiled in 2024. The sculpture is the first of the three memorials planned to stand outside the Lakers downtown arena.
Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, also known as Gigi Bryant and Mambacita, was an American student-athlete and the daughter of former professional basketball player Kobe Bryant. Together with her father and seven others, she died in a helicopter crash in 2020 at age 13.
The Kobe and Gianna Bryant Memorial Statue is a work of public art designed by American visual artist Karon Davis and created by the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany. The bronze sculpture of the American basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant was commissioned by Vanessa Bryant, the wife of Kobe and mother of Gianna. It stands on a base located near Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. The statue was unveiled in 2024.
The Ryne "Ryno" Sandberg Statue is a work of public art by American sculptor Lou Cella and the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany, depicting American baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg in his Chicago Cubs uniform. The bronze sculpture is located in the U.S. state of Illinois, at Gallagher Way, a park outside of Wrigley Field, Chicago.
