The tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, along with seven other victims, has been heart-wrenching for Los Angeles. Nearly a month after a terrible helicopter crash took their lives too soon, the city is ready to remember Kobe.
Staples Center is set to house one of the largest memorials in the history of the city on Monday. And while Staples is used to changing NBA games over to NHL games on a dime, Monday presents a first for their staff.
Info for Kobe Bryant’s memorial has been released. pic.twitter.com/zOKmJJJuiu
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) February 14, 2020
Never before has Staples had to switch gears so quickly, and go from a memorial of a beloved Lakers player and his daughter to game-ready. This is all set to happen within ten hours. The memorial for Kobe and Gigi will begin at 10 am, and the Clippers are set to host the Grizzlies at 7:30 pm.
Setup
Setup for the memorial includes a 24-by-24 foot stage that will sit in the middle of the arena floor with seating all around. Fans without tickets hoping to get in or hoping that the service will be streamed on outside monitors will be turned away. In fact, anyone without a ticket to the memorial will not be allowed inside the perimeter set up outside of Staples.
NBA rules make clear that teams have to have court access at least 90 minutes prior to the start of a game, so Staples will need to be ready by 6 pm.
