The Nets played the Warriors in a preseason game in
Mexico City Sunday night at the Palacio de los Deportes in
front of a crowd of 15,228, and in Newark, Don Burke wrote
that the Nets were designated the home team, which meant
they had to bring their Continental Airlines Arena game
operations crew, their dance team and Sly, the team mascot.
When the team arrived in Mexico City, they were "told not to
leave the hotel unless accompanied by a member" of the NBA's
security force. Nets F Keith Van Horn: "When you hear that
it doesn't make you very comfortable." NBA Latin America VP
Rob Levine called Mexico "a significant market for us."
Meanwhile, the Nets, the Warriors and the NBA donated
$30,000 to the Int'l Red Cross to help flood victims in
southern Mexico (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 10/25).
OH, MEXICO: In S.F., Brad Weinstein noted the NBA's
interest in Mexico City and wrote, "The marketing potential
in a city with a staggering population and increasing
interest in the game makes it attractive [to the NBA], as
does its relative proximity to ... Houston, San Antonio and
Dallas." Levine: "Mexico City has a lot of pluses to offer.
Basketball is becoming more and more a part of the culture."
TV Azteca, one of the country's largest stations, has a $3M
deal with the league to carry the game of the week on
Sundays. The broadcast "produces ratings similar to U.S.
telecasts." But Mexico City presents "unique logistical
problems" and some question whether fans could "afford to
support" a team for 41 home games (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/25).
