Charlotte Hornets announce bid for 2017 or 2018 All-Star Game
Representatives for the Charlotte Hornets will travel to New York on Tuesday to pitch the NBA league office on the city of Charlotte hosting the NBA All-Star Game in 2017 or 2018.
The team held a brief press conference on Tuesday announcing their intentions, and issued an accompanying press release. From the release:
The Charlotte Sports Foundation (CSF) and the Charlotte Hornets announced this morning in a press conference that the team will officially submit a bid for Charlotte to host the NBA All-Star Weekend at Time Warner Cable Arena in 2017 or 2018. The bid is the result of a partnership between the city of Charlotte, local community and business leaders, and the Hornets.
The release highlights a number of events the community has hosted successfully in the past, including the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, and pointed out that before losing the franchise, Charlotte was consistently among the league's leaders in attendance. The team also suggested they would be making arena improvements to remain competitive in that regard.
The team of representatives - which includes ex-Hornet Dell Curry - will meet with deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and other league executives. A decision is not anticipated until the fall of 2015, and the Hornets expect eight-to-10 teams to be in on the bidding process.
Time to go to NYC to submit our #CLTAllStar bid to the @NBA Deputy Commissioner! pic.twitter.com/wHmXd6k83i
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) August 12, 2014
The 2015 All-Star Game will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York, with the 2016 instalment heading north to Toronto.