Ticket Prices As High As $224 For Kobe Bryant Memorial At Staples Center
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A Feb. 24 memorial at Staples Center to honor Kobe and Gianna Bryant will require tickets.
Tickets for the celebration of life will go on sale Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. Those looking to attend must register to purchase tickets on Ticketmaster from Friday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. through Monday, Feb. 17 at 10 p.m. On Feb. 18, fans who registered will receive an email or text to participate in the ticket sale.
Prices will range from $224 to $24.02. If demand exceeds the number of tickets being sold, registered fans will be entered into a lottery and randomly selected to purchase tickets. Tickets will be non-transferable.
Fans who do not secure tickets are encouraged not to gather downtown for the ceremony. The celebration of life will not be shown on video screens outside the Staples Center or around L.A. Live, and there will be no overflow area for the event.
Proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to Bryant's Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which works to empower underserved communities through youth sports.
The foundation, formerly named the Mamba Sports Foundation, announced Thursday that it added "Mambacita" to its name to honor Bryant's daughter, Gianna.
In commemoration of Gianna "Gigi" Bryant, Mamba Sports Foundation will now be known as the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. The Foundation exists to further Kobe and Gianna Bryant's legacy in youth sports and beyond. For more, please visit: https://t.co/M00EQpQDCo pic.twitter.com/WEStJpeYd7
— Mamba Sports Academy (@MambaSportsHQ) February 13, 2020
Kobe, 41, and Gianna, 13, were among the nine people killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 in Calabasas on their way to a youth basketball tournament. They were buried Feb. 7 in a private funeral service. The public memorial will honor all nine victims.
In the wake of the tragedy, Bryant's foundation also established the MambaOnThree Fund to help the families affected. All donations go directly to the families of the seven other victims.
On Friday, Bryant headlined a list of eight finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. This year marked his first year of eligibility. Bryant retired in 2016 after spending his entire 20-year career playing for the Lakers. The 2020 class of Hall of Fame inductees will be announced in April.