Open forum, bonus answer

Going back, there was a question in the last open forum session about the Staples Center workers, and why they don’t stop serving at the concession stands during the national anthem. If you’re curious, here’s the full text of an e-mail from a representative of Levy Restaurants, which is in charge of the arena concessions…

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As the food and beverage provider at STAPLES Center we sincerely appreciate your feedback and wanted to provide you with some insight regarding your observation of team member behavior during the National Anthem.

In the interest of supporting all nationalities and personal preferences, and most importantly out of respect for our nation, we offer every team member the opportunity to stop service during the National Anthem.

Based on the design of our facility and the excitement of our events, the main and upper concourses are often very loud and very busy at the time each evening when the National Anthem is played. As a result, our team members are not always focused on what is occurring inside the arena, but instead focused on ensuring that each guest has the opportunity to return to the excitement as soon as possible, to enjoy everything occurring in conjunction with the event on the arena floor.

We can assure you that in all of our areas of operations that face the arena, our San Manuel Club and/or our Event Suites for example, every member of our team respectfully stops service during the National Anthem.