Pro Basketball Talk notes “The Crescent City” was widely believed to be the front-runner to land the game at the time the league announced its intentions to pull the game from Charlotte.
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The NBA has chose to hold the 2017 All-Star Game in New Orleans, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
When announcing the decision to move the 2017 festivities from Charlotte, Commissioner Adam Silver left open the possibility of returning to the Queen City for the 2019 All-Star Weekend. Now we know where they’re going.
Besides the February 19 game, New Orleans will also host related events over three days, including slam dunk and long-range shooting competitions, an exhibition game of rising stars, an all-star practice and a celebrity exhibition, the league said in a statement. New Orleans is a noted tourist city, but accommodations might be hard to come by. Saturday will also see the skills contest, three-point contest and the dunk contest. New Orleans seems to be a flawless fit for the event. However, the following weekend is the biggest weekend of Mardi Gras, so the February 19 date proved to be relatively better. But with the state of Louisiana now battling mass flooding, this news should provide a nice pick-me-up for the area. Wojnarowski then noted New Orleans was the early front-runner.
Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and other artists have canceled shows in North Carolina to protest the state’s law, and North Carolina could lose millions in tourism and corporate revenue as businesses and artists retreat.
“The NBA and New Orleans have a history of producing world-class sporting events, having most recently hosted the All-Star Game in 2014”. The NBA will be presented with similar opportunities next year to assist flooded communities within an hour’s drive of New Orleans. “Our tourism industry is second-to-none at planning and accommodating massive events like this”. The game coincides with the first week of Mardi Gras.
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The NBA will also have a full schedule of NBA Cares and Jr. The game will be broadcast worldwide in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages.
