Kobe Bryant memorial: Thousands of fans left angry as they fail to get tickets, lucky ones 'feel honored'
Those who have managed to get their hands on tickets for the public memorial service that will be held in honor of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna have expressed their gratefulness for being one of the lucky few.
"The fact that I got selected to be a part of Kobe's and Gigi's celebration, it's a really big honor for me, especially for a huge Laker fan like me," said Van Nuys resident Rudy Aguado to local news channel ABC7.
"It will bring closure to the sense that he's no longer with us but his legacy lives on," he continued, before adding, "I feel bad for those who are die-hard fans and they didn't get them. They didn't get chosen."
The Los Angeles Lakers had confirmed last Friday that fans seeking to attend the February 24 memorial service at the Staples Center must register to purchase tickets and that there would be no outside overflow areas.
Tickets were priced at $224 each, two for $224 and $24.02 each -- combinations of numbers that like the date, 2/24, represent the No. 24 worn by Bryant and the No. 2 worn by Gianna on her girls' basketball team.
Ticket registration was open between 11 am on February 14 through 10 pm on February 17 through the Ticketmaster Verified Fan system, following which selected registered fans received emails with non-transferable personal access codes that allowed them to participate in the public sale on Wednesday morning.
Irvine resident Noah Aros was another who was lucky enough to be invited and managed to purchase two tickets for $224 each.
"There's definitely an emotional attachment to who he was, what he represented and how he impacted lives," he said. "Especially my life, as a kid and as an athlete and as an adult growing up."
"It should be a celebration because of the life that he lived. Not so much about the tragedy of his loss," he added.
Many fans had expressed their anger at being added to a waitlist after trying to purchase tickets to the service, with Ticketmaster sending them an email that said they were "only able to invite a small number of fans to participate in tomorrow’s ticket release."
Despite what some described as exorbitant prices, more than 90,000 registered to buy the tickets within the first 24 hours of the registration opening. With the capacity of the Staples Center being a mere 20,000, it was expected that many fans would be on the short end of the stick.
Responding to the fans' angst and outrage, Ticketmaster said, "There has been an outpouring of love and support from hundreds of thousands of fans around the world hoping to attend ‘A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant’ on February 24. This has naturally led to verified fan registrations far exceeding ticket supply."
The organization went on to say: "Those registered and verified have been randomly selected to receive confirmation codes for a chance to purchase tickets. All other fans received a waitlist notification and will be contacted should tickets become available. All proceeds will be donated directly to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, whose mission is to further Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s legacy in youth sports."