Here's What to Know About Tickets for the Kobe and Gianna Bryant Memorial
The memorial for nine victims killed in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash is scheduled for Feb. 24
By City News Service •
NBC Universal, Inc.
Fans are reminded not to come to Staples Center if they can’t get tickets to the memorial since it won’t be streamed on the screens and to instead watch from home. Beverly White reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, 2020.
What to Know
A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 24 at Staples Center
Fans without tickets are being urged to not come to downtown LA
All LA Live restaurants will be closed until after the event
Organizers of Monday's memorial ceremony for Laker legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who both died in a Calabasas helicopter crash, Friday urged people without tickets to the Staples Center gathering to stay away from the area.
"We hope that everybody heeds the message and they stay either in their offices, surrounded by their friends or at home with their family or loved ones, because it's going to be a very emotional memorial for that day and we want people to be able to enjoy it,'' Staples Center President Lee Zeidman told reporters outside the venue.
Zeidman and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore again stressed that the ceremony will not be broadcast on any of the outdoor screens at Staples Center or in the adjacent LA Live plaza.
Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
Two court-side seats were left open in memory of Kobe and Gianna Bryant at the first Lakers game since the father and daughter were killed in a helicopter crash.
Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
Every seat at Staples Center was draped with a Bryant T-shirt during their first game since the Lakers legend’s death.
Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
Anthony Davis ahead of the Lakers’ first game since the death of franchise legend Kobe Bryant.
Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
Usher sings “Amazing Grace” ahead of the Lakers’ first game since the death of Kobe Bryant.
Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
LeBron James honored Kobe Bryant in front of thousands at Staples Center with a touching tribute.
Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
Fans pay respects to Kobe Bryant at a vigil outside Staples Center ahead of a tribute planned in honor of the basketball star and the eight other victims of a helicopter crash.
Shahan Ahmed
Fans pay respects to Kobe Bryant at a vigil outside Staples Center ahead of a tribute planned in honor of the basketball star and the eight other victims of a helicopter crash.
"This is, to be clear, a ticketed worldwide event at this location," Moore said. "And what that means is, if you don't have tickets and credentials, you will not be allowed into this venue. ... The point there is, do not impact the rest of the Los Angeles downtown community by trying to come here and be part of something that you'll not be a part of."
Moore and Zeidman said they do not anticipate issues of people trying to "crash" the event or cause a disturbance, with both saying the community has shown the utmost respect in the weeks following the Jan. 26 helicopter crash that killed Bryant, 41, Gianna, 13, and seven other people.
Zeidman noted that as many as 350,000 people visited a massive memorial that grew outside Staples Center in the days after the crash, without any incidents.
Major streets -- such as Pico and Olympic boulevards -- near the arena will remain open, but smaller streets outside Staples Center and LA Live will be blocked off and accessible only to people with tickets.
NBCLA
From top-left, clockwise: Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli and pilot Ara Zobayan, died on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, after the helicopter they traveled in crashed in Los Angeles.
Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers leaves the court after the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 14, 2014 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bryant passed Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list with a free throw during the second quarter.
Getty Images
ORLANDO, FL – JUNE 14: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers smiles with his wife Vanessa and his daughters Natalia and Gianna after the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-86 in Game Five of the 2009 NBA Finals on June 14, 2009 at Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida. Kobe and Gianna tragically died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, Jan. 26, 2020. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Getty Images
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 17: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks during the post game news conference with daughters Natalia and Gianna Bryant as he celebrates after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game Seven of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center on June 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 29: Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 17: Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
OCC
This undated photo released by Orange Coast College shows its head baseball coach John Altobelli. The Altobelli family has confirmed that John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa were among those killed in the helicopter crash with NBA icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in Calabasas, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. Alyssa played on the same team as Gianna, said Altobelli’s brother Tony, who is the sports information director at the school. (Orange Coast College via AP)
John Altobelli, Wife Keri and Daughter Alyssa Just as Bryant was passionate about basketball, John Altobelli had a deep love for the game of baseball. He coached at Orange Coast College. He was with the program for 27 years, leading the Pirates to four state titles en route to more than 700 career wins. Last year, he was the American Baseball Coaches Association as an ABCA/Diamond National Coach of the Year. Wife Keri and daughter Alyssa also were killed in Sunday's crash.
Family Photo
Payton played basketball with Bryant's daughter Gianna. Family members said she loved playing the game and described Sarah as the heart of their family.
Courtesy of Margaret Bray
Ara Zobayan, described as an experienced instructor and charter pilot who had flown celebrities like Kylie Jenner and her niece Dream and Lorenzo Lamas, was at the helm of the helicopter as it traveled to Newbury Park where the girls aboard were to have a basketball tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy. He and all aboard, including Kobe Bryant and his daughter, perished in the crash Jan. 26, 2020.
Christina Mauser was a girls basketball coach at a nearby private elementary school. She is survived by her husband, who founded a popular Orange County band, and three young children. Her husband said she worked with Bryant at a clinic at Mamba Sports Academy.
Monday's ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Zeidman said he had no details about how many tickets were purchased by fans, but 20,000 seats were made available in the arena. He said doors to Staples Center will open at 8 a.m., and he urged everyone with tickets to be in their seats by 9:45 a.m.
Zeidman also said he had no information on who will be speaking at the memorial.
"Right now, it's a very fluid situation," he said. "The family and the Los Angeles Lakers are reaching out to people that would like to be part of this. We have no insight to exactly what they're going to do, outside of we know that we're going to have 20,000 seats in that building ready to do whatever they want to do from a sound, LED or memorial standpoint."
Ticket prices for the memorial ranged from $24.02 to $224. The ticket prices, along with the date of the event, are all in recognition of Bryant's jersey number, 24, and Gianna's number 2.
All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
The Watts community gathered around the 1,800 square-foot tribute, dedicated to Kobe Bryant and the others killed in the helicopter crash. Ted Chen reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020.
The tickets are non-transferable, meaning anyone entering the arena must enter with the purchaser of the tickets.
