Thaindian News

Houston, Feb 9 (IANS) The 2013 All-Star Game will be held in Houston from Feb 15 to 17, the NBA has officially announced here.

“Houston is a spectacular sports city, and for one week it will be the basketball capital of the world,” said NBA commissioner David Stern Wednesday in Toyota Center — Houston Rockets home court.

“NBA All-Star is a magnificent celebration of our game, and I want to thank the city and the Rockets for welcoming us once again,” he added.

It will be the third time for the fourth largest U.S. city to host All-Star Game for the NBA. Houston first became host for NBA All Star Game in 1989 and then again in 2006.

“I am thrilled the Rockets and the City of Houston have once again brought NBA All-Star to Toyota Center,” said Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.

“The 2006 All-Star Game in Houston was a tremendous success and we plan to set the bar even higher in 2013,” he explained, adding that “we take great pride in Toyota Center’s standing as one of the premier venues in the country.”

Houston mayor Annise Parker said she and millions of citizens are truly honoured to have the third NBA All-Star game here in the city of Houston.

“Houstonians understand sports, enjoy sports, and support our teams,” she told NBA commissioner David Stern, adding that “Houston knows how to do major sporting events.”

“We know how to treat fans and players from around the country and around the world,” she was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Parker also said that, as the mayor, she knows the economic impact of 2013 NBA All Star Game “will be huge for the city.”

“Heads in beds for the hotel industry, dollars spent in restaurants, in traffic with taxi cabs with visiting the various activities around the city of Houston,” Parker said.

“We believe that the bottom-line impact, based on actual numbers from 2006, is more than 100 million dollars,” she estimated.

In recent years, Houston has hosted the NCAA Final Four, the Super Bowl, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the Major League Soccer All-Star game. The city will also host the 2016 Final Four.

All these major sports events have brought positive economic impact on the largest city in the South of the U.S.

The NBA All-Star Game was first staged at the Boston Garden March 2, 1951. Since then, The NBA has matched the best players in the Eastern Conference against the best players in the West Conference.