Taylor Swift's Staples Center Banner Covered Up By LA Kings, Fans Call It An 'Eyesore'

Source: Instagram

Taylor Swift has sold out more concerts at the Staples Center in Los Angeles than any other act in the venue’s history, but the banner commemorating her 16 straight sold-out performances is considered an “eyesore” by fans of the Los Angeles Kings, so the team has opted to cover up during games this season.

According to The Daily Mail, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings recently made their 2019-2020 season debut at the Staples Center, and the team announced that fans will no longer see the Taylor Swift banner during their games.

The #Kings have finished worst or second worst in the NHL ever since Taylor Swift's banner was raised. https://t.co/vjyI4owNo5

— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) October 13, 2019

Staples Center president Lee Zeidman says that the venue doesn’t plan to take the banner down permanently, but the decision to cover it up came from the hockey club.

“The connection to our fans is our highest priority and through our engagement they have made it clear that the banner shouldn’t be part of their Kings game experience,’ said Michael Altieri, senior vice president of marketing, communications and content for the Kings and AEG Sports.

Swift received the banner in August 2015, when Lakers legend Kobe Bryant unveiled it during a performance, and it has been hanging in the rafters of the Staples Center ever since. The venue is not just the home of the Kings, but the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers as well.

The banner reads,” Taylor Swift Most Sold-Out Performances,” and it hangs next to the championship banner for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

Altieri says that the team doesn’t see an issue with covering the banner for their games, and instead, they see it as an opportunity to show their fans that they listen to them. Not only do fans not like the sight of the banner, but some believe it’s cursed. The last time the Kings won the Stanley Cup was in 2014, a year before they raised the Swift banner. Last season, the Kings had the second-worst record in the NHL.

The Clippers already cover the banner – and everything related to the Los Angeles Lakers – with photos of Clippers players, and they have done that for the past six years. The Lakers, on the other hand, have no plans to cover the Swift banner when their season starts in a few days.

The Los Angeles Kings still have their Stanley Cup championship banners from the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons hanging, as well as their Western Conference championship banners and retired numbers.

Taylor Swift has not commented on the banner situation, but she will be performing in Los Angeles next July for her LoverFest tour. However, instead of the Staples Center, Swift will be filling the seats at the new $5 billion SoFi Stadium, which is the new home of the Rams and Chargers.