StubHub will donate profits from two Lakers games to Kobe Bryant’s foundation
StubHub, the online ticket reseller, is donating 100% of the profits from Friday’s Lakers game to the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, the company said in a statement. It will do the same for the postponed Lakers-Clippers game, too.
Kobe Bryant, 41, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. Bryant played for 20 years with the Lakers, won five championships and was an 18-time All-Star Game selection.
“In honor of Kobe and Gigi Bryant, all fees for the Jan. 31 Lakers vs Portland Trailblazers game and the Lakers vs Clippers game — for whenever it is rescheduled — will be donated to the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation,” the company’s statement said.
News of Bryant’s death rocked the sports world, and the NBA elected to postpone Tuesday’s scheduled game between the Lakers and Clippers. A rescheduled date for that game has not been set yet. The Lakers are scheduled to play the Trail Blazers at Staples Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Ticket prices for Friday’s game have climbed steadily. The cheapest single-ticket price on StubHub’s website as of Wednesday afternoon was $950. An identical ticket on Vivid Seats cost $954. A ticket on SeatGeek cost $1,135. StubHub does not set a fixed commission fee on ticket sales, according to its website — its fees range from 10% to 15%, industry bloggers report.
Fans flooded L.A. Live, the concourse adjacent to Staples Center, all week to memorialize Bryant. It’s expected there will be some sort of tribute for Bryant at Friday’s game. Teams have taken eight-second back court violations and 24-second shot clock violations at the start of games since Bryant’s death in honor of both the numbers he wore.
