Lottery will determine memorial attendees

A total of 17,500 free tickets will be distributed to people selected at random after registering by 6 p.m. today at www.staplescenter.com, the website for the Staples Center arena in downtown Los Angeles. So many people tried to register for the lottery that the website’s server briefly crashed yesterday as the ticketing process was announced. A spokesman for the Jackson family said the site had received 500 million hits within the first hour.

Seeking to discourage throngs, officials stressed that there would be no funeral procession and that people would not be allowed inside a large perimeter unless they had a ticket and a wristband, a media credential, or could prove they live or work there.

“You must have a ticket to be admitted to the venue,’’ Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger told a news conference outside Staples Center. “There’s no way to get to this venue if you don’t have a ticket.’’

The memorial will be staged in a “safe and calm manner,’’ Los Angeles City Councilor Jan Perry said. “That should ease the potential burden enormously’’ for taxpayers, she added.

Perry said the extra police deployment will be paid for out of a Los Angeles Police Department fund reserved for overtime costs of special events such as “protests and funerals and other special events large in scope and that have a potential to impact public safety.’’

Meanwhile, the powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Jackson’s home, a law enforcement official said yesterday.

Diprivan is an anesthetic widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. Also known as Propofol, it is given intravenously and is unusual to have in a private home.

The law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press because the person was not authorized to speak about the matter.

Lieutenant John Romero, a police spokesman, declined to discuss the case. “It’s an ongoing investigation,’’ he said.

Jackson was known to have severe insomnia. In the weeks before his death, Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who was working with the singer, said Jackson pleaded for Diprivan amid the stress of preparing for a massive series of comeback concerts.

Lee said she repeatedly rejected his demands because the drug was unsafe.

Told yesterday that Diprivan had been found at Jackson’s house, she said, “I did everything I could to warn him against it.’’

Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG, the company that owns and operates Staples Center and was producing Jackson’s comeback concerts in London, emphasized that the memorial service will be carried live on television and the Internet. Further details about the service were being finalized, he said.

Jackson family publicist Ken Sunshine said the event itself - as well as the distribution of tickets - is being orchestrated with the fans in mind. “Everything about the memorial has to do with the fans,’’ Sunshine said.

Staples Center, site of Jackson’s last rehearsal, can hold as many as 20,000 people, depending on its configuration.

Organizers plan to select 8,750 names at random from the list of people who register on the Staples Center website; those selected will be notified between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. tomorrow and told where to go on Monday to pick up two tickets and wristbands guaranteeing them seats at the event. Of the 17,500 tickets available, 11,000 are for the Staples Center and 6,500 are for Nokia Theatre, located across the street, where the service will be shown on a jumbo screen.

The remainder of the tickets will be given to “family, and friends of the family, for their use,’’ Sunshine said.

Leiweke and Sunshine emphasized that they do not want anyone to try to scalp tickets.

“We’re hoping people have dignity,’’ Leiweke said.

“Those who would take advantage of this, shame on them.’’

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.