Since becoming Staples Center’s first employee in ‘98, arena President LEE ZEIDMAN has seen the vast expansion of AEG’s properties, including the revitalization of downtown with L.A. Live and Nokia Theatre. Zeidman: “I’ve seen Staples Center go from a concept on a napkin to what it is today.” This weekend, Staples Center is hosting the NCAA West Regional for the second time in three years, which began on Thursday and concludes Saturday night with Wisconsin-Arizona. Zeidman spent a large portion of this week making sure the arena adheres to NCAA regulations, including the installation of a new playing court before Wednesday’s open practices.
DRAFT DAY: I will be going out of town on Friday with a bunch of buddies from my days at UC Santa Barbara -- I worked there in the late '80s before taking the job at the L.A. Forum -- for my fantasy baseball draft up in Santa Barbara. I have been in this league for 25 years, half of the guys are in Santa Barbara and the other half live in L.A. We’ll get picked up in limo about 11:00am, make a pit stop in Los Olivos for a wine tasting with four of our favorite wineries there and have lunch at the Los Olivos Café. We do this every year. We’ll head into Santa Barbara around 5:00pm to a place called O’Malleys over on State Street, where the draft will be held. We’ll have a nice dinner there, and after the draft is over, get back in the limo and head home to L.A. I’m in a couple of fantasy leagues. I recently went to Palm Springs and stayed at the Westin in Rancho Mirage. There were 12 of us, and we golfed on Friday, had a great dinner at Fantasy Springs Casino and then gambled the night away. We had the draft on Sunday, followed by a little pool volleyball and some Sushi.
WESTWARD HO! Saturday is the final of the Western Regional. I’ll start my morning by going to my favorite coffee place in Venice -- where I live -- a place called The Cow’s End Café. Once I get my coffee, I will head over to the arena and get in a workout, and then I will shower up and get ready for the game. I try to work out about four or five times a week. I am fortunate to have a gym here at Staples Center that I can drive in early and work out in. I play softball once a week and have been doing it for about 35 years. Once the Regional Final is played, I am going to Manhattan Beach to meet some friends at one of my favorite restaurants, Petros. It is a great Greek restaurant. I work 24/7 and I am never away from my iPhone. I always stay current and need to be accessible because of my position. If something were to go south, I have to be able to get to the arena if I am not already there. Sunday is an off day for me. I live two blocks off the beach and two blocks off the canals. It is supposed to be in the high 70s, low 80s here in Venice. I’ll probably go out on my buddy’s boat -- he has a 60-foot power boat -- and go to Catalina Island. We’ll take some people out there with us and anchor for lunch.
THE MUSIC MAN: I love all kinds of music. The minute I get home from work I turn music
on. I have a Sonos system that allows me to play music off my iPhone
into any room in the house. I turn it on outdoors too when I am on my
deck or barbecuing. I don’t think I could survive without music on a
plane or at my house. I’m a big JIMMY BUFFETT fan. I’m also a big fan of KENNY CHESNEY, ERIC CHURCH and LUKE BRYAN.
I just love the mood that country music puts me in; who doesn’t?
Somebody is either getting drunk; they’re dying; they lose their dog;
their woman breaks up with them or their truck breaks down. You have all
of life covered there.
FREE TIME: There are two shows that I watch religiously right now. I watch “BLACK SAILS” on Saturday nights. It is a pirate saga on Starz; I love that show. I catch up on it whenever I’m not home to watch. I am a big “SURVIVOR” fan. One of these days I am going to get on that show. I read Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, as well as Island’s magazine. I am also a huge fan of JAMES PATTERSON books.
GETTING SOCIAL: I tweet but I’m not a Twitter guy that tweets, “Hey, it’s a beautiful sunset in Venice today. You should be outdoors, check it out.” I tweet about things that are happening at the venues that I oversee. I find that people love to see photos of conversions that take place when you go from ice to basketball. I tweeted when the court arrived at Staples Center earlier this week because it is a special court that is made specifically for the tournament.
