Lakers Ticket Prices Soar After Bryant's Retirement Announcement
CALABASAS (CBSLA.com) — Lakers ticket prices are soaring - some as much as 1,000 percent higher - after Kobe Bryant announced he'll wrap up his 20-year career after this season.
CBS2/KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen reports fans like Jay Schwartz of Oak Park are plunking down big cash hoping to get one more look at the Lakers legend in person.
"I just want to take my son to the game, have him see Kobe," said Schwartz, who picked up a pair of Laker tickets Monday for the Dec. 22 game at Staples Center.
He says he bought them last night after getting a text from his son about Bryant's plan to retire at the end of this season.
"[I've] seen Kobe the past 20 years, you know, I've been a big fan," he said. "It'll be sad to see him go."
At BarrysTickets.com in Calabasas, the most sought after tickets have been for Bryant's last regular-season game April 13.
"We sold a pair of courtsides that are right next the bench for $10,500 each, said barrystickets.com's Barry Rudin. "And I think we under-priced them."
Rudin, who revealed that Lakers tickets have made up 80 percent of their sales since the announcement, says he's seen prices jump hourly since Bryant's announcement Sunday night, a trend that seems to have impacted other vendors like Stub Hub, where loge seats go for as much as $19,000.
Schwartz says he got a good price for his seats because he got a jump on them.
"They're probably going to get more expensive as the time goes on," he added.
