With the Los Angeles Lakers winning their 17th championship and first since Kobe Bryant led the team in 2010, Staples Center now has to figure out a logistical issue.
The need for a new banner required another row in the rafters at Staples Center, which were previously occupied by the L.A. Sparks memorabilia and a massive Taylor Swift banner.
Swift received the banner after becoming the artist with the most sold-out concerts in the history of the arena. On the night the banner was hung, during her 16th sold out show, Kobe Bryant appeared on stage to help present it to her.
Staples Center has now taken down the banner, temporarily, as they figure out how to seamlessly fit everything together with the inclusion of the new Lakers banner. One idea being presented could be an interactive display that not only features Swift, but commemorates Bryant and the night he presented her with her banner, according to Arash Markazi’s “The Morning Column”:
Multiples sources have told The Morning Column that the hope is to create an interactive display for fans on the concourse of Staples Center that not only includes Swift’s banner but also celebrates her 16 sold out shows and the night Bryant joined her on stage to unveil her banner.
“Our goal is to honor Taylor and give the fans of Taylor Swift an opportunity to take photos with that banner and take photos with some kind of display within the building moving forward,” Zeidman said. “She’s a big part of the building’s history.”
Staples Center president Lee Zeidman chose the current layout because the Lakers requested that the 2019-20 banner be just beneath the one for their 2009-10 title, causing everything to shift over:
“As we looked at the south end of the building, we knew we needed to come up with another place to put a Lakers championship banner so we shifted everything over,” Zeidman said. “I said, I understand there’s another banner that needs to be added and we believe there’s another opportunity for a banner or two after that.
“Here’s our plan: We are willing to move the Taylor Swift banner. We don’t know where we’re going to put it yet but we believe it’s going to go somewhere in the bowl or in the concourse where we will make a special display for Taylor. We’re going to move the Sparks banners and jerseys over one bay, which would allow you to determine how you want to put up the championship banners. The Lakers came back and said they would like to move the Minneapolis banner over and put the most recent banner below the last one but they did not want to unveil it until fans can come back.”
For now, Staples Center will keep this current layout that involves the Lakers’ Minneapolis championships being on the own, followed by the Sparks jerseys and banners. Of course, they’ll eventually have to figure out what to do with Swift’s banner.
Lakers will not unveil 2020 championship banner until fans can be in attendance
While the 2020 championship banner is currently hanging exactly where the Lakers requested it, it will remain covered until fans are allowed back into the Staples Center.
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