Suns President Jerry Colangelo told THE SPORTS BUSINESS
DAILY that All-Star Weekend has meant about $25-$30 million in
economic impact to the city of Phoenix, but he noted that those
numbers were based on preliminary estimates. Colangelo: "We're
going to set all kinds of records for Jam Session. ... We have
put the focus of the basketball world on Phoenix, Arizona. It's
big" (THE DAILY).
SOLD-OUT JAM SESSION: "It was a Jam Session, all right,"
writes Mark Shaffer in the lead story in Sunday's ARIZONA
REPUBLIC. Attendance at the NBA Jam Session, held at the Phoenix
Civic Center adjacent to America West Arena, was estimated at
44,000 for Thursday and Friday and 40,000 for Saturday. But
thousands of other fans were turned away, including those who had
purchased tickets the day of the event. By Saturday, the
attendance more than doubled the four-day totals at the two
previous Jam Sessions in Salt Lake City and Minneapolis. The
league honored all unused tickets on Sunday (ARIZONA REPUBLIC,
2/12). Fleer is title sponsor of the Jam Session, an interactive
fan festival featuring displays and games sponsored by
Nestle/Baby Ruth, Gatorade, Topps, AT&T, McDonald's, Reebok,
Miller, Disney, Nickelodeon, Huffy Sports, FootLocker, Nike,
Skybox, Upper Deck, IBM, Champion and Salem Sportswear.
SWEET DEAL: Nestle announced its promotion to offer one
grand prize winner a chance to attend the 1995 Finals as a member
of the "NBA Inside Stuff" crew (NBA/Nestle). Pacific Bell
brought the All-Star Game to two United Artists theaters in CA in
the first "practicable application of Pacific Bell's Cinema of
the Future" (Pacific Bell).
RADIO FREE PHOENIX: In addition to NBC's U.S. broadcast and
the over 100 international TV outlets covering the game, all 114
NBA Radio affiliates were contracted to carry the All-Star Game
encompassing 12 markets and 70.66% of the U.S. (NBA Radio).
BASKETBALL ON-LINE: Microsoft announced the release of its
new CD-ROM, "Microsoft Complete NBA Basketball," and put the new
title on display at Jam Session. Microsoft's CD-ROM is endorsed
by NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry (Microsoft).
TRIBUTE TO THE SUNS: From an editorial in Saturday's
ARIZONA REPUBLIC: "The fact that the league office relied more
on the Suns organization in preparing for the event than it has
in other host cities is testimony to the organizational and
marketing ability of Suns President Jerry Colangelo and his
staff. The All-Star Weekend in Phoenix already is being called
the best ever. We never doubted it" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/11).
