6 Games In 4 Days: Staples Center Gears Up For Busy Week
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Fans may be buzzing as three Los Angeles sports teams push deeper into the postseason, but the personnel responsible for preparing their home floor are likely to feel a little winded later this week.
KNX 1070's Claudia Peschiutta reports crews at the Staples Center will be going into overtime as the Lakers, Clippers and Kings come back home for the playoffs, when an estimated 200,000 people will pack the venue over the weekend.
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The May madness begins on Thursday night when the Kings host the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference finals, followed by the Lakers taking on Oklahoma City in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday night, including a double-header that starts with the Clippers facing San Antonio for the first of their own back-to-back games.
AEG's Michael Roth said the hectic schedule will be capped off with a very busy Sunday.
"Sunday is the day of all days for us because the Amgen Tour of California will end Sunday just before noon on Figueroa right by Staples Center," said Roth. "So that's six games in four days, all playoff games, plus the Amgen Tour of California."
Roth said in addition to the events inside Staples, there will also be an event open to the public at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday that will allow anyone who wants to ride their bike to join the cyclists along a 5-mile stretch of the Amgen Tour through downtown.
And when it comes to the quick-change act required for transitioning the Staples Center floor from hardwood to ice and back again, Roth said the Staples crew is up to the task.
"Our crew is amazing, we have about 40 people working just on the conversion of Staples Center, and we'll have that done somewhere in the two-hour-and-15-minute range," he said.
The hub of activity at L.A. Live this weekend may even set the stage for even bigger crowds: victories for both the Lakers and the Clippers in their respective series would mean the first-ever Western Conference final between two NBA teams from the same city.
