This post is found on http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/michael-jackson-4.html
By – Cara Mia DiMassa

Organizers of Michael Jackson’s memorial service at Staples Center said today they will give away 17,500 tickets to the event and will randomly draw names from those who sign up online to determine who gets to attend.

The service will be live-streamed on television and on the Internet, and there will be no funeral procession, organizers said at a news conference this morning at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Organizers will draw 8,750 names, and those people will receive two tickets each and wristbands on Monday. A total of 11,000 tickets will be for seats at Staples Center and 6,500 for seats at Nokia Theatre, where the live feed will be broadcast.

People can register for the drawing at Staplescenter.com.

No tickets will be sold to the event, organizers said.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry said fans would be better off staying home and watching the event on television.

“I want to stress to people who are thinking about coming, you might want to consider watching this from the comfort of your home,” she said at the news conference.

No details were released on the content of the memorial service, but Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson told CNN that it would include tributes from celebrities in the music industry.

Those whose names are drawn will be notified between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Sunday and given the location where they should pick up their tickets Monday.

“There will be no distribution of tickets at Staples Center and L.A. Live,” said Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive officer of AEG, the company that owns and operates Staples Center and was producing Jackson’s comeback concerts.

Los Angeles Police Department Asst. Chief Earl Paysinger said, “You must have a ticket to be admitted to the venue. There’s no way to get to this venue if you don’t have a ticket.”

Officials said the services will not be shown on any of the large screens at L.A. Live, the entertainment complex that houses Staples Center and the Nokia Theatre.

Paysinger said those without proper security identification or tickets will not be allowed within the following boundaries during the event: Flower Street to the east, Olympic Boulevard on the north, Pico Boulevard to the south and Blaine Street to the west, which is one street west of the Harbor Freeway.

Ken Sunshine, a spokesman for the Jackson family, and Leiweke emphasized that they do not want anyone to try to scalp tickets.

“Those who would take advantage of this, shame on them,” Leiweke said.

– Cara Mia DiMassa

Photo: A note taped to a lectern details the plans for distributing tickets to fans for Michael Jackson’s public memorial. Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times