Thousands to pack at Staples Center for Kobe and Gianna Bryant memorial

Thousands of people are expected to gather at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for a ceremony celebrating the lives of basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant who died in a helicopter crash recently.

Washington D.C. [USA], Feb 24 : Thousands of people are expected to gather at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for a ceremony celebrating the lives of basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant who died in a helicopter crash recently.

On January 26, Kobe and Gianna, along with seven other people were on a helicopter that crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California.

According to TMZ the demand to attend the memorial service was unprecedented as more than 88,000 people applied for the tickets just in the first five hours.

Tickets that cost $224 each, 2 for $224 and $24.02 each will benefit the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, reported E! News.

However, The Staples Center can only accommodate around 20,000 people out of which tickets had already been accounted for with Kobe's family, friends and the NBA community.

The idea of moving the event to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was also taken into consideration as the stadium can house 80,000 people but ultimately the officials settled on Staples because that's where Kobe played basketball for twenty years.

Kobe's wife, Vanessa Bryant, with her daughters, Natalia, Bianca and Capri is expected to attend the event.

( With inputs from ANI )