The city of L.A.– like Cleveland when LeBron left– is feeling the effects of Kobe Bryant’s injuries. According to TMZ, L.A. business’ and restaurants will also feel the brunt of Kobe Bryant’s season ending injury.
We spoke with Mike Zislis — owner of Rock ‘N Fish at L.A. Live — who tells us, “We feel like we’re gonna lose at least 10 percent of our sales per home game.”
“Last year when Kobe was out we calculated we lost $250k in revenue,” Zislis says, noting that Kobe only played in 2 home games during the ’13-’14 season.
“Lakers fans generally spend more than Kings or Clippers fans so when they suck and Kobe isn’t there to draw fans, it hurts.”
We also spoke with staffers at Katsuya at L.A. Live who echoed Mike’s statements. One staffer told us, “When Kobe is out, the restaurant is empty and business is slow. It sucks for the staff because less people equals less tips.”
It will be interesting to see who will replace bryant in filling all those business’ when Bryant retires.