The T'Wolves and Rockets play in Mexico City tonight, one year after a game there had to be cancelled, and this time, "every possible precaution is being taken to ensure the same calamity doesn't befall the league's continued globalization efforts," according to Phil Ervin of FOX SPORTS NORTH. NBA VP/Latin America Philippe Moggio said of planning for this year, "Everything is going as planned, and we've obviously been very diligent in our preparations heading into this game given the unfortunate occurrence that took place last year." The planning process for tonight's matchup "has included extensive steps to ensure the venue's power source is working properly." For last year's T'Wolves-Spurs matchup, it "didn't, filling the arena with smoke and causing players, officials and team staff to evacuate shortly after commencing pregame warmups." That game eventually "was canceled and rescheduled in Minneapolis." Moggio said that almost immediately after last year's incident, the league, event organizers and arena personnel "assembled a task force to investigate what happened and how to make sure it doesn't again." Tonight's matchup will serve as Mexico's 21st NBA contest "and second regular-season game." Mexico in particular "has become a prime target market for the NBA." Despite featuring just one active NBA player, the country "has seven television networks that carry league broadcasts and 3,671 people who subscribe to NBA League Pass (as of July 2014)." Moggio anticipates that there will be "a capacity crowd" tonight of about 22,000 (FOXSPORTSNORTH.com, 11/11). In Minneapolis, Jerry Zgoda reports the T'Wolves "agreed to return partly because the NBA sweetened last year’s payday -- which the team pocketed for a game never played" -- and perhaps because NBA BOG Chair and T'Wolves Owner Glen Taylor "has said it’s part of his responsibility to help grow" the league’s $5.5B business globally (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/11).
NFL GETTING IN ON ACT? In Mexico, Alain Arenas reported the NFL seems to be "taking more solid steps" toward a return to Mexico in the "not too distant future." Mexico City Secretary for Economic Development Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg on Sunday met with 49ers co-Chair John York to discuss plans and "Mexico City's desire to hold a game in the capital" (LA AFICION, 11/10). FIVETHIRTYEIGHT's Nate Silver wrote if London "got first dibs on a team, the NFL would be overlooking a couple of more obvious candidates much closer to home." Mexico "gets pigeonholed as a developing country and that's true for much of the nation, but Mexico City itself has developed into a thriving, bustling city with many of the creature comforts available in the other great metropolises of North America." The Toronto metro area is "highly populous and NFL interest is already reasonably high there." There are an estimated 1 million NFL fans in the Toronto metro area -- "more than the majority of U.S. markets to host an NFL team." Mexico City "ranks even higher." Although only around 7.5% of people there "are NFL fans," 7% of 20 million residents "is still 1.5 million NFL fans" (FIVETHIRTYEIGHT.com, 11/11).
