Charlotte Hornets, NBA mapping out All-Star Game weekend, venues

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NBA returns this week, but, in Charlotte, the mid-season All-Star Game is already very much top of mind for the Hornets and local government and tourism executives. And for the NBA itself, which operates every facet of the weekend with assistance from the host team and city.

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During a recent interview at the Charlotte Hornets’ offices at Spectrum Center, team President Fred Whitfield and Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli said what has been a years-long planning process has only increased in intensity as All-Star weekend approaches.

“The NBA has a group of their teammates on the ground every other week working on different facets of how the whole week will roll out,” Whitfield told the Charlotte Business Journal. “We’re heavily engaged with them, the city’s heavily engaged, the (Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority).”

The exhibition game featuring top players such as LeBron James and Steph Curry is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 17. Other high-profile events include a match-up of top rookies and second-year players on Friday night (Feb. 15) and the Saturday night skills competition (including the slam dunk and 3-point shooting contests).

Promotional and corporate parties and meetings, the multi-day fan festival, a league-wide local philanthropy project and a technology summit are among the tie-in events that stretch out the All-Star weekend and, organizers hope, will increase the amount of visitor spending in Charlotte. Recent All-Star Games generated regional economic benefits in the range of $100 million, according to various commissioned studies by tourism agencies. Direct spending — the amount tied to visitors paying for hotel rooms, meals and so on — was $45 million for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game weekend in New Orleans, according to a study by Louisiana State University.

Click here for more on where plans stand for the big weekend.

Cox Media Group