China Will Become Home To The First NBA Center, Just Outside Of Beijing

NBA China and Yatai Lanhai Investment Group have agreed to a partnership to design, develop and build the first NBA Center in the world in Tianjin's Wuqing district. The facility will cover 12,000sqm and will include games, training and fitness, kids recreation, interactive games, shopping, dining and entertainment. The NBA Center will become a new landmark in Wuqing, allowing for future urban development in the Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan area. The project will be located in the middle of Yatai Lanhai's new 2,300 acre development named New Water Town. Completion is expected by '15 (NBA). In N.Y., David Barboza wrote the league is trying to capitalize on the popularity of basketball in China by "building NBA theme parks." The NBA "declined to say how much it was investing in the center but said it would be the first of several it planned to set up" throughout the country. The facility will, however, be "placed at the center" of a $1.5B property development (N.Y. TIMES, 10/11).