The Kings are covering up Taylor Swift’s ‘eyesore’ of a banner

Taylor Swift’s banner at Staples Center isn’t coming down but it will no longer be seen during Kings home games.

Before their home opener against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, the Kings covered Swift’s “most sold out performances” banner and will continue to do so.

Staples Center president Lee Zeidman said there are no plans to remove the banner and the decision to cover it during Kings games was made solely by the team.

The banner, which was raised Aug. 21, 2015, after her record 16th sold-out concert at Staples Center, has been an eyesore for many Kings fans. They don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Kings have failed to win a playoff series since the banner went up. The Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 as well as advanced to the conference finals in 2013. They finished with the worst record in the Western Conference and second worst in the league last season.

“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. “We didn’t see an issue in covering it for our games and in fact see it as an opportunity to show our fans that we hear them.”

The Clippers already cover Swift’s banner, along with the Lakers’ and Sparks’ championship banners and retired jerseys, during their home games. They have hung oversized portraits of their players in that area of the arena since 2013. The Lakers currently have no plans to cover the banner, which was presented to Swift by Kobe Bryant, but they would have just as much reason as the Kings in trying to reverse the banner’s possible curse. The Lakers haven’t won a playoff series in seven years and have the worst winning percentage in the league over the past six seasons.

Swift has not performed a concert at Staples Center since her banner was raised but will be opening SoFi Stadium, the new $5-billion home of the Rams and Chargers in Inglewood, on July 25-26, 2020.