Nba Awards 2014 All-Star Game To New Orleans

[Panthers128]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/16/2751841/ap-source-nba-2014-all-star-in.html

NEW ORLEANS -- The NBA is awarding New Orleans the 2014 All-Star game, now that Saints owner Tom Benson has agreed to buy the Hornets and sign a lease extension at New Orleans Arena.

NBA Commissioner David Stern, who made the announcement in New Orleans with Benson and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday afternoon, says the All-Star game is a reward to the city and state for efforts to secure the Hornets' long-term future in Louisiana.

Stern had already pledged that New Orleans would get an All-Star game once a new owner and lease extension were in place. Because of potential conflicts with Mardi Gras in 2015 and 2016, awarding the game in 2014 made the most sense.

The 2013 game will be played in Houston.

http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance/_/order/false

New Orleans also hosted the 2008 NBA All Star Game. The Bobcats have been a franchise since 2004 and have yet to host an All Star game.

[King Taharqa]

Our "fans" dont deserve an ASG. New Orleans is better than Charlotte. We want to be them. Saints will probably sweep us again too. I dont blame Stern at all for tending to them before us.

[ckad79]

Oh, come on. Shinn has been trying to sell the Hornets for awhile now, after having them dumped in his lap by Shinn. Who knows what sort of deal Benson worked out. I'm sure he asked for some extra perks including an all-star weekend and a name change, which I'm sure he'll get too.

There is no rule that you have to sell out games to get an all-star weekend in your city. It's at the Toyota Center in Houston next year and the Rocket's average attendance in 2012, when it was announced they would come there, was just slightly above the Bobcats. 15,298 to 15,039.

http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance

Fact is, Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Memphis and Oklahoma City have not yet hosted an NBA All-Star Game yet. Portland has some very passionate fans too. Charlotte got there chance in 1991 and I don't see it happening again, for a loooong time. Not at least until Portland gets a shot.

Personally, I'm shocked that Toronto never has.. as huge of a market that city is and as much as Stern has invested in the NBA in Canada.

[4Corners]

the fix is in boys! with the #1 pick in the draft, the New Orleans Voodoo select Anthony Davis!

[King Taharqa]

New Orleans HORNETS*

Fixed.

[Who Dat Pat]

Oh, come on. Shinn has been trying to sell the Hornets for awhile now, after having them dumped in his lap by Shinn. Who knows what sort of deal Benson worked out. I'm sure he asked for some extra perks including an all-star weekend and a name change, which I'm sure he'll get too.

There is no rule that you have to sell out games to get an all-star weekend in your city. It's at the Toyota Center in Houston next year and the Rocket's average attendance in 2012, when it was announced they would come there, was just slightly above the Bobcats. 15,298 to 15,039.

http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance

Fact is, Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Memphis and Oklahoma City have not yet hosted an NBA All-Star Game yet. Portland has some very passionate fans too. Charlotte got there chance in 1991 and I don't see it happening again, for a loooong time. Not at least until Portland gets a shot.

Personally, I'm shocked that Toronto never has.. as huge of a market that city is and as much as Stern has invested in the NBA in Canada.

From what I've read on both final and Superbowl, market size and attendance are not big factor at all. Some of the most basic considerations are the quality of actual stadium, and availability of enough hotel rooms within 30 miles of venue. There were horror stories surrounding the 2010 SuperBowl in Indianapolis where hotel rooms were thousands of dollars for the few close by and there was a huge shortage. Another consideration is ease of access from hotel to venue, meaning traffic and number of roads. Finally, once those basic criteria are met, it comes down to which city offers more to visitors. Since New Orleans meets all the criteria including recent renovations to Superdome, some of the best restaurants in the country, some of the best partying, and some of the best music, that's why New Orleans is one of the top cities for big sporting events.

There has also been a huge shift in New Orleans since the hurricane that continues to make it attractive to host SB, Final Fours, All Star games, BCS Champ, etc. There was an article from local economics prof. that explained how basically there was a large sect of population in New Orleans that were essentially takers. They used all the state services from financial assistance, rent assistance, food assistance, etc and either didn't work or worked jobs with incomes low enough that all taxes were refunded. So basically they were taking huge amounts of tax money and not returning any, thus he used the term takers. After the hurricane which caused huge housing shortage and skyrocketing rents, a large amount of the "takers" group were relocated all over the country and ended up staying away. The end result is a stronger city with more money, plus the federal assistance money to rebuild, along with an economy that avoided the housing bubble and one of the lowest unemployment rates in country. The city is more polished than ever, and is all rebuilt with new houses and newly renovated property everywhere.

Bottom line, regardless of being a small market, New Orleans is at one of its best points in history and continuing to improve. I see a ton of national events scheduled all the time and even the monstrous convention center is getting a huge renovation. Just because Charlotte is small market and has low attendance, that is not main criteria and they have a chance to get an AllStar game also if they can meet the lodging and other basic requirements.