The NBA’s All-Star Weekend is heading to the Windy City. According to Nick Friedell of ESPN, an announcement is coming on Friday regarding the league’s decision to host the All-Star Game and all of the other events that occur that weekend in Chicago in 2020.
Bulls send out a release saying a major announcement will be made tomorrow at the United Center. Adam Silver, Rahm Emanuel and others expected to be in attendance along with Bulls personnel.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 9, 2017
The Bulls and the NBA will announce that Chicago is hosting the 2020 All Star Game, according to a league source. https://t.co/oRrpyGXCOX
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 9, 2017
Chicago will follow Los Angeles (2018) and Charlotte (2019) in hosting the All-Star Game, marking the first time that the United Center will play host and the third time that the city of Chicago has gotten the honor. The previous two times this went down were in 1973 and 1988. That’s right — the city that Michael Jordan spent more than a decade playing for somehow hasn’t hosted an All-Star Weekend since Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States.
Speaking of Jordan, he won the All-Star Game MVP Award the last time the Windy City played host. And as fans of the Dunk Contest know, 1988 was the year that Jordan and Dominique Wilkins went up against one another in one of the greatest matchups in the history of the event, which Jordan won in front of his hometown fans.
While we fully believe that New Orleans is the perfect place for the league to hold its All-Star weekend, having it in Chicago should be fantastic. Apparently, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf agrees, which is interesting, because he wasn’t up for hosting the game when he was asked about it in 2012.
Jerry Reinsdorf in 2012:"They’d have to force me to take the All-Star game. They take over the building. Your season-ticket holders have to be in a lottery to see if they get tickets. Then they don’t get a good ticket. No good can come out of it. All it can do is upset your fans"
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 9, 2017
All of this seems annoying, yes, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that the All-Star Game is a really fun experience.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement official in a press conference at the United Center on Friday. “Chicago is an iconic city with a storied basketball history. We are thrilled to bring the NBA All-Star Game back,” said Silver. “We thank Mayor Emanuel, Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf and the entire Bulls organization and look forward to an exciting week of activities celebrating the game of basketball.”
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel added “It’s a true privilege, as well as a testament to Chicago’s great basketball history, to be selected to host NBA All-Star 2020,” said Bachman. “Chicago’s dedicated and experienced hoteliers will welcome the NBA and NBA fans in true Midwestern spirit. NBA fans will have the opportunity to experience the renovated and expanded United Center campus, the brand-new Wintrust Arena and Chicago’s landmark Navy Pier, which will host a variety of events for the local fans.”
