The NBA and the Hornets yesterday formally announced that Charlotte has been awarded the '17 NBA All-Star Game. The game itself will be held at Time Warner Cable Arena, with other events that weekend to be held at Bojangles' Coliseum and the Charlotte Convention Center. Delivering the official news before an "NBA All-Star Charlotte 2017" backdrop, Commissioner Adam Silver joked, "I thought it was going to be a secret, then I saw the background behind me." Silver called the Hornets a "first-in-class organization," and added the league is "absolutely satisfied" with planned renovations to the team's venue. Silver: "The arena has become a center of the community." The event will provide the Hornets franchise a chance to showcase its reinvigorated brand. Hornets Owner Michael Jordan noted it has been a "busy five years" since he took a majority stake in the club. Jordan: "It's just a constant process of getting back to the top." That process has included a rebranding to the Hornets and participation in this year's NBA Global Games China. Hornets President & COO Fred Whitfield: "I'd like to thank Michael for allowing us to put something else on our plate." Both Jordan and Whitfield made it a point to thank team sponsor Novant Health for its efforts in helping land the event (Preston Bounds, Staff Writer).
AIR SUPPLY: In Charlotte, Rick Bonnell writes it "certainly didn’t hurt the cause that Jordan, a 14-time All-Star, was all-in on hosting the event." Silver said, "Having Michael Jordan as the primary owner here (and) for him to be passionate about it. We would not be bringing an All-Star Game to Charlotte if we didn’t think he was an A-level performer in running the franchise." Bonnell notes some NBA teams "shun hosting the All-Star Weekend" because it is a "load of extra work and the host team gets a limited number of tickets to redistribute to season-ticket holders." So when the Hornets and Charlotte "made their pitch to the league office last summer," Silver "was receptive." While the city had "just the minimum number of hotel rooms to host this event, Silver advocated for Charlotte because he doesn’t want All-Star Weekend to be just for big-market teams." Silver: "It’s very important to me that we have All-Star Games in as many cities as possible. We’re not looking to rotate it back-and-forth from East Coast to West Coast only in larger markets" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/24).
