Did you know Staples Center was the most Instagrammed NBA stadium? Research says so
Basketball has been doing the rounds for the last two months. Much of it can be attributed to ESPN's 'The Last Dance' and TNT's 'Shaq Life' that gave NBA fans something to cheer about during the lockdown. It has been roughly two months since there has been any sporting action of sorts, but that hasn't stopped the world from watching sports content across different media platforms.
Research by AT&T experts gives out an interesting detail. Did you know Staples Center was the most Instagrammed basketball stadium? The team picked up four data points for determining the best arena — current events (we included basketball games and other events), seating capability per stadium, popular hashtags per stadium and amount of hashtags per stadium. From these four factors, Staples Center was seen to host not just NBA games, but also hockey games, concerts, boxing matches and motocross events. In addition, the Grammys too found a home on several occasions.
The arena that opened in 1998 currently boasts of a seating capacity of 20,000 and is the home turf for four teams — the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Sparks. With close to 678,872 posts reading #staplescenter, this arena tops the list of most Instagrammed basketball stadium.
Running a close second is Madison Square Garden despite pipping Staples Center in terms of the Instagram posts (704,151). The 1968-opened arena has been a popular location and is known for hosting the "Fight of the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. #madisonsquaregarden has been the most used hashtag. This is followed by Barclays Center, TD Garden and United Center.
Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, takes third place with 362,140 posts and the hashtag, #barclayscenter. TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics, comes fourth with 208,009 Instagram posts (Hashtag reads #tdcenter). Sneaking in at No 5 is the United Center, which has a seating capacity of 23,500. The Chicago Bulls' den played a pivotal role in serving as an emergency relief center during the coronavirus outbreak. With the hashtag #unitedcenter and 195,730 Instagram posts, the United Center joins the list of the most Instagrammed NBA arenas.