Ticket prices for James' home opener against the Rockets were up 71% on TickPickNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Fans hoping to see the Lakers and LeBron James this season at Staples Center "better be prepared to shell out some big dough to buy tickets on the secondary market," according to Broderick Turner of the L.A. TIMES. Lakers President of Business Operations & COO Tim Harris said, "Where you are going to see the greatest impact on ticketing, not attendance, is going to be in the secondary market, because that's where the impact of LeBron is going to be most felt." Tickets to home games on the secondary market "are up 20% from last season and have an NBA-high average purchase price of $285.48." Tickets to Saturday night's home opener were up 71% on TickPick. The Lakers prior to signing James in July had "sold all their season tickets." Harris said, "We renewed at 99%. That's in April. So by the time LeBron committed and then signed, there wasn't much left" (L.A. TIMES, 10/20). In California, Jim Alexander wrote, "Imagine the demand, and the crowds, when this team goes on the road" (Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 10/21).
SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL: SI.com's Ben Golliver wrote there has been "nothing subtle about the start of the LeBron Lakers era." James' "omnipresence extended to the Staples Center's in-game experience." Ice Cube prior to James' home debut on Saturday against the Rockets "narrated a pregame video about James' arrival in L.A., featuring references to the Lakers' 'new era' and 'Showtime' past." James was "introduced last following a pregame hype video." He even "dominated breaks in action, as his ads for Nike and Beats ran in full on the jumbotron during the first half" (SI.com, 10/21). Jack Nicholson, Adam Levine, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Kate Beckinsale and Jonah Hill were among the celebs in the crowd (USATODAY.com, 10/20). Magic Johnson, Elgin Baylor and music producer Jimmy Iovine also were in attendance. In L.A., Dan Woike noted the Lakers "issued more than 250 credentials to reporters from 14 other countries." The atmosphere was "something special, something memorable." The souvenir stand near the main Staples Center entrance on Saturday "sold nine different shirts or jerseys with James' name, number and likeness" (L.A. TIMES, 10/21). ESPN Radio 710 L.A.'s Steve Mason said the VIP room at Staples on Saturday was "more crowded that I have ever seen it" (RELIABLE SOURCES, 10/21).
LATE NIGHT WITH LEBRON JAMES: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Ben Cohen notes James' move to the Lakers is the latest sign that "more talent is clustering out West," meaning "less sleep for millions of fans back East." Cohen: "Let's call it LeBronsomnia." The Lakers and Warriors "will play 65 games" this season at 10:30pm ET, and "nearly half of them will tip closer to 10:45 p.m. because they're on national television." Those teams have three of the "most compelling players in the NBA" -- James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant -- and they have "more games that start at 10:30 p.m. or later than 7:30 p.m. or earlier" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/22).
