Economic Development – NBA Style

This year marked the first time the NBA hosted its All-Star Game in a non-NBA market. By picking Las Vegas for that distinction, the NBA is showcasing the best players in a city that fans and NBA advertising partners love to visit.

As I made the rounds of the various events and parties that made up All-Star Weekend, I found myself imagining what it would mean to bring the All-Stars together for a weekend to benefit the Black community. After all, it was truly a Black Weekend in Vegas when you consider the following:

• 26 of the 29 players selected for the NBA All-Star game (3 did not play due to injury) were Black
• 18 of the 20 players in the D-League All Star Game were Black
• 13 of the 18 players in the Rookie Challenge were Black
• 8 of the 10 players in the Shooting Stars competition were Black
• 4 of the 5 players in the Skills Competition were Black
• 3 of the 6 players in the 3-point shootout were Black
• 4 of the 4 players in the Slam Dunk Competition were Black

Vegas paid the NBA $4.5 million to bring the game to town. Not a bad investment when you consider that the game brought 85,000 visitors to the Strip during the NBA’s 4 days in Vegas generated an estimated $90.6 million in non-gaming economic impact for the City, including receipts from 6,000 hotel rooms reserved by the NBA.

The NBA didn’t do too bad itself when you consider that there were a record 30 NBA partner activations set around All-Star weekend including product launches by T-Mobile, EA Sports, Nike’s Jordan Brand, Haier, one of the growing number of Chinese-companies sponsoring the league. The league pre-sold 20,000 tickets costing $20 each for the NBA Jam Session with expectation that 150,000 people will attend over the 5-day Jam Session, generating $3 million in revenue. Parties were hosted by Tracey McGrady and Sean “Diddy” Combs at the Jet Club at the Mirage; Shaq entertained guests at the Reign at the Palms; and Labron James entertained guests at the Empire Ballroom. Turner Sports paid Elton John $1 million to entertain hundreds of the NBA’s top clients.

Companies looking for venues were paying top dollar, with the biggest clubs reportedly charging between $500,000 and $1 million for rentals. Small clubs were charging a $150,000 rental with a $150,000 bar guarantee, 3 times as much as is usually charged. After paying a paltry fee of $155,000 for the Thomas & Mack Center, the league made a killing on game time spending by the 16,000 fans in attendance. The NBA split food and retail revenue with the arena, the NBA getting 85% of merchandise sales, and the arena getting 85% of food and beverage sales. The NBA also did its own deal with XP Events, a 3rd-party retail vendor, to sell All-Star Game merchandise in a large tent outside the arena and throughout Vegas. According to Powers, New Year’s Eve prices were charged every night during All-Star weekend

Besides the 20 community-based events sponsored by the league over seven days during All-Star week, which included the building of two homes through Habitat for Humanity and a Learn & Play Center at Mabel Hoggard Elementary School, the construction of four new basketball courts, the dedication of a gymnasium at the Agassi Prep Academy, and 424 appearances by current and legendary NBA players and legends, neither the Black community nor any Black owned businesses participated in the economic windfall the game represented to the league and Las Vegas. We did make their presence known according to Brandon Powers, Marketing Director for the OPM Club at Caesars Place who stated “we’ll have jewelers at the door; and if you’re not wearing the proper bling and your diamonds aren’t real, you’re not getting into the club.

It is a shame that Black people continue to allow such a trade imbalance to exist in our community when you consider the economic resource our athletic talent represents as evidenced by all of the money made by others from events and parties centered around 76 Black athletes.

If you have questions or require additional information, please contact Everett L. Glenn, Esq. at eglenn@espsportslawpro.com or call 562.619.8460.