The Los Angeles Kings and their fans will gather along downtown Figueroa Street on Thursday for the 2012 Stanley Cup Victory Parade. The festivities will begin at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET and will end approximately 30 to 45 minutes later. At 2:30 p.m. PT / 5:30 p.m. ET the team will hold a rally inside Staples Center. Tickets are sold out.
THE ROUTE
The team will board double-decker buses at W. 5th Street and S. Figueroa Street at around Noon. The one-mile-long route will carry the team six blocks south towards Staples Center. After making a right onto Chick Hearn Court, the Kings will hop off the buses and enter the arena for a post-parade rally.
The parade is about half the distance as the Boston Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup parade, but that celebration didn't feature a rally afterwards. Here's a map of the L.A. route:
Fans are invited to line both sides of Figueroa Street during the parade. The area around Staples Center and L.A. Live will be restricted heavily by the Los Angeles Police Department. Only fans with tickets to the sold-out rally at the arena will have special parade viewing access at L.A. Live's Nokia Plaza and Staples Center's Star Plaza.
STREET CLOSURES
The Los Angeles Police Department will close the following streets during the parade on Thursday. The area surrounding Staples Center will be closed as early as 4 a.m. local time.
- Obviously, the parade route will be closed to traffic: Figueroa Street will be closed between 5th Street and Chick Hearn Court. Those closures will stretch north on Figueroa Street to 3rd and south on Figueroa Street to Pico Boulevard.
- L.A. Live Way will be closed between Olympic Boulevard and Pico Boulevard.
- Chick Hearn Court will be closed between L.A. Live Way to Figueroa Street.
THE RALLY
Tickets to the rally were free courtesy of the Kings but they've already sold out. They're available around the Internet -- like on Craigslist -- if you're interested in shelling out money for what are supposed to be free tickets. It's likely the only way you're getting in at this point, anyway.
If you have tickets, you can watch the parade from the special viewing areas outside Staples Center. Doors will open to ticketed fans at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET, shortly after the parade down Figueroa Street ends.
LIVE COVERAGE / TELEVISION
We'll have live coverage of the Kings' parade in this StoryStream, complete with a live stream courtesy of the Fox Sports West. FS West will have live coverage in the Los Angeles area, and NHL Network will have coverage beginning at 11:30 a.m. PT / 2:30 p.m. ET.