Kobe Bryant Memorial: Ticket Registration Begins

LOS ANGELES, CA — Fans began registering Friday for a chance to attend the Feb. 24 memorial ceremony at Staples Center in honor of Laker legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.

Seating will be limited at the memorial, and those who don't obtain tickets are being encouraged to watch from home rather than converge on the Staples Center. Those wishing to attend will find out Tuesday in an email if they will be able to purchase a ticket to help memorialize the Laker legend and his daughter killed in a helicopter crash with seven other people in Calabasas. All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.

According to the Lakers, anyone interested in buying tickets for the event must go online before 10 p.m. Monday and register at https://verifiedfan.ticketmaster.com/kobeandgianna.

On Tuesday night, people who register will receive an email letting them know if they will be able to participate in the ticket sales. People who qualify for the sale will receive an access code. According to the Lakers, if demand exceeds the supply of tickets, people who register will be chosen at random for a chance to purchase tickets.

Tickets will officially go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Tickets will range in price from $224 each to two for $224 to $24.02, based on location in the arena. 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.

The tickets will be non-transferable, meaning anyone entering the arena must enter with the purchaser of the tickets.

The ceremony will not be shown on any screens outside Staples Center or in L.A. Live, and there will be no overflow viewing locations outside the venue.

"Members of the public without tickets to the Celebration of Life are strongly advised by Staples Center and law enforcement not to come downtown near Staples Center or L.A. Live as fans without tickets will not be able to access the Staples Center site, L.A. Live site or adjacent streets," according to the team.

The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Feb. 24. Details about who will be speaking at the event have not been released. It was also not immediately clear how long the event will run, but the Clippers are scheduled to play a game that night at Staples Center.

Bryant, 41, and Gianna were killed along with seven other people Jan. 26 when the helicopter they were in crashed into a Calabasas hillside. The group was traveling from Orange County to a basketball tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Bryant played all 20 years of his NBA career with the Lakers. On Friday, he was named -- as expected -- a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2020. Bryant is expected to easily win induction in the hall.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.