STAPLES Center and AEG Host Event Filled Week
STAPLES CENTER, L.A. LIVE AND AEG HOST AN EVENT FILLED WEEK AND SET RECORD-BREAKING MERCHANDISE NUMBERS
Los Angeles, Calif. (April 14, 2016) – With merchandise sales exceeding $1.2 million and “per caps” of $61.01 per person, Kobe Bryant’s last game has added two new records to the legendary career of the “all-time greatest Laker” according to Lee Zeidman, President STAPLES Center and L.A. LIVE.
Bryant’s finale, which took place Wednesday night, was the third event of another unprecedented week of events at STAPLES Center which had already hosted a sold out and nationally televised WWE Raw and the LA Clippers’ final NBA home game of the regular season. The arena also will see the LA Kings begin their 2016 run to the Stanley Cup tonight and Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks, as well as the Clippers pursuit of the 2016 NBA Championship on Sunday against the Portland Trailblazers.
While STAPLES Center will host six sold-out events in seven days, L.A. LIVE will also be incredibly busy with Kings, Clippers and Lakers fan fests in Microsoft Square preceding each game and the World Congress of Sports presented by CAA and The Sports Business Journal taking place at L.A. LIVE’s JW Marriott Hotel.
Kobe Bryant’s final game truly had a storybook ending with the legend scoring 60 points (most ever by a player in the final game of their NBA career not to mention a player of his age) and the Lakers defeating the Utah Jazz. The day started early with the TEAM LA Store at STAPLES Center opening at 8:24 a.m. to the public with the opportunity for fans to purchase the exclusive “24 Collection” merchandise in person for the first time. There was a select allotment of all items available online at Lakersstore.com that were available to order starting on April 7 at 8:24 a.m., in which most items sold out within 24 hours. Additionally there was a specific allotment set aside for in-store for fans that did not have a ticket to the game from 8:24 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. when the store closed to the general public and was then restocked with an allotment for ticket holders to purchase.
AEG Merchandise along with Kobe Bryant’s company Kobe Inc. and his merchandise partner MainGate and the Los Angeles Lakers they were able to team up with industry leading brands like New Era, adidas, JH Design, Aminco and Coin Line to create the over 45 items exclusively to celebrate Kobe Bryant’s storied career with the Los Angeles Lakers which helped STAPLES Center and the Los Angeles Lakers shatter industry merchandise records.
The previous one-day merchandise sales record was held by Led Zeppelin who sold $1 million worth of merchandise in London at the O2 arena on December 10, 2007. The average fan inside the arena spent $61 on merchandise alone, with the average total purchase price being $230. Additionally in conjunction with Uber Eats, the TEAM LA Store was able to deliver 252 merchandise orders to fans through their app on April 13. At the arena on game night the TapIn2 app and TEAM LA Store was able to deliver 300 items to fans in their seats, which allowed fans not to miss a moment of the game.
"The 24 Collection started with a vision of gold and diamonds and how this translated with the fans of Los Angeles," said Sean Ryan, Vice President, AEG Merchandise. "We wanted every person who purchased with us the opportunity to have a piece which was special for the moment. The support and buy-in exceeded our expectations."
On the food and beverage side STAPLES Center and their partners at Levy Restaurants grossed over $532,000 in sales. The “per cap” for Bryant’s final game was $26.86 and average food and beverage “per cap” for the Lakers 2016 season was $21.14.
Prior to Kobe Bryant’s final game, the Los Angeles Lakers, STAPLES Center and L.A. LIVE hosted a free fan fest which featured interactive games, photo and autograph booths, large “Thank You” banners for fans to sign for Bryant, face painting, a DJ and more. Estimated crowd attendance throughout the day was 40,000 people for the fan fest.
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Media Contacts:
Cara Vanderhook
STAPLES Center/TEAM LA Store
213-742-7273
Michael Roth
AEG
213-742-7155