The lives of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna Bryant, will be celebrated at a public memorial to be held at the Los Angeles Staples Center later this month, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday (Feb. 6).
The ceremony is scheduled for Feb. 24, nearly one month after Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven other victims were tragically killed in a helicopter crash. The date was chosen after consulting with Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, sources told The Times.
Additional details about the event, including ticketing information, have yet to be released. The Staples Center is affectionately called, “the house that Kobe Bryant built,” as the arena opened three years after Bryant was drafted into the NBA.
Thousands converged at the Staples Center since learning of Bryant’s death on Jan. 26. Mourners left numerous dedications to Bryant, his daughter, and the other victims, which included youth basketball players and a coach from the NBA legend’s Black Mamba Sports Academy. Bryant and the rest of the victims were flying to the Sports Academy, which is located in Thousand Oaks, Calif., when the helicopter crashed in nearby Calabasas, Calif.
Vanessa Bryant requested some of the items that fans left at the Staples Center in honor of her husband and daughter.
The Staples Center has previously hosted public memorials for Michael Jackson in 2009, and Nipsey Hussle in 2019.