Pictured at Tuesday’s press conference announcing that Charlotte is to host the NBA… more
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the worst-kept secret in Charlotte on Tuesday at Time Warner Cable Arena: The uptown arena will be home to the league’s 2017 all-star game.
All it took to bring the NBA’s midseason showcase here for the first time since 1991 was a promised $40 million facelift for the 10-year-old arena, an endorsement by Hall of Famer and Charlotte Hornets majority owner Michael Jordan and a months-long recruiting process that involved CEOs, elected officials and tourism executives.
“It is my pleasure to announce that Charlotte is going to host the 2017 NBA All-Star Game,” Silver said, standing on a stage in the arena atrium with Jordan, N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory, Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter, Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners Chairman Trevor Fuller and Hornets President Fred Whitfield seated nearby.
The main events of the all-star week will be held Feb. 17-19 in and around uptown.
Last year, City Council approved spending $34 million of taxpayer money for upgrades to the arena, including a new main scoreboard, lighting upgrades and other improvements. The Hornets are kicking in $6 million for renovated suites and locker rooms.
The $265 million arena is owned by the city but managed by the Hornets. Jordan, who played in the 1991 all-star game at Charlotte Coliseum, called the successful bid to stage the week of NBA exhibitions, fan festivals, civic projects, parties and panel discussions a privilege — and a sign of how far the organization has rebounded since he took over as majority owner in 2010 from Robert Johnson.
“It’s been a busy five years,” Jordan said. “… We took a long fall (as an NBA city). This is our passage back to the top. … I had to crack the whip (to get the franchise into better shape).”
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Recent all-star host cities generated $100 million for hotels, restaurants and other businesses visited by fans, sponsors, players and executives. Charlotte officials predict a similar pattern here, estimating the likely spending will add $100 million to the local economy. In 2012, the Democratic National Convention contributed $164 million in visitor spending in Charlotte, according to a city-backed study.
In New Orleans, home of the 2014 all-star game, direct spending totaled $60 million, according to a locally commissioned analysis. Silver, the commissioner, mentioned a number of spinoff events tied to the all-star game, including 100 clinics staged in New York in February (20 clinics for each of the five boroughs) during the 2015 all-star weekend.
The main events are the all-star game (Feb. 19), pitting the best players from the Eastern Conference against those from the Western Conference. Consider the likes of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and James Harden as all but certain participants.
All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 18, like the game itself, will be held at the uptown arena and feature NBA and WNBA players in a shooting stars exhibition, a skills challenge, the three-point contest and the slam-dunk competition. On Feb. 17, a rising stars matchup (U.S. versus the world) features NBA rookies and second-year players.
All-Star practice, a celebrity game and the NBA Developmental League All-Star Game will also be staged in Charlotte at Bojangles’ Coliseum the same week. The convention center uptown will stage the league fan festival. In addition to the players selected for the main all-star game, an additional 70 active players and 100 former players attended and participated in various events around the 2015 all-star week in New York, Silver said.
Whitfield, Hornets president, and Pete Guelli, chief sales officer for the team, credited Novant Health, a major sponsor of the Hornets, with an unspecified financial commitment to lead the local organizing committee and carry the bid forward.
McCrory, a former Charlotte mayor who was in office here when the city lost the original Hornets franchise in 2002, recalled the disappointment of losing the NBA and the collaboration to win an expansion franchise a year later. That second team, known as the Bobcats, floundered on the court and at the box office even into Jordan’s early years as majority owner.
Jordan bought controlling interest in 2010, but struggles continued. In 2013, NBA owners approved his request to reclaim the Hornets name after New Orleans (where the original Charlotte franchise moved in 2002) became the Pelicans. The switch took effect last season and, boosted by a yearlong promotional campaign, helped push the franchise into profitability while boosting attendance and increasing sponsor revenue by 20 percent.
Mike Boykin, co-founder of Bespoke Sports Entertainment, told me Tuesday the all-star week has grown exponentially since Charlotte staged the game 24 years ago. Celebrities flock to the various events, as do the executives from the major companies that back the league.
Clodfelter, Charlotte’s mayor, called the all-star week a chance to make a major impression with visiting CEOs and with viewers across the country and around the world. Cable network TNT broadcasts the game and the related competitions and exhibitions over the weekend.
Charlotte has a growing calendar of notable sporting events in the pipeline. Also in 2017, Quail Hollow Club hosts the PGA Championship, the first time the city will be home to a golf major. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament returns in 2018, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament in 2019. West Virginia and Tennessee will play a Labor Day weekend college football game at Bank of America Stadium in 2018 and the Belk Bowl and ACC football championship are committed through 2019.
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