NBA top-notch to cast Macau magic

Article posted by Coliseum, January 8^th, 2025

Image: Galaxy Arena, Bita RmJohnson Liuosa, CC0

The integrated resorts developer and operator Sands China Limited (SCL) has announced a multiyear partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to bring world-class basketball to Macau (special administrative region of China).

‘MacauDailyTimes’ stated that the newly inked partnership aims to bring the NBA preseason matches and other complementary initiatives annually to Macau.

The Sands China Limited is the leading developer, owner and operator of multiuse integrated resorts and casinos in Macau. Macau is the largest gaming market in the world as measured by casino gaming revenue and is the only location in China offering legalized casino gaming.

New York (US)-based the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.

‘MacauDailyTimes’ further stated that according to the agreement, the SCL will host two preseason games per year over the next five years at the newly revamped Venetian Arena in Macau, China.

The Venetian Arena (previously known as the Cotai Arena) is an indoor arena located on the premises of The Venetian Macao on the Cotai Strip in Macau, China. It opened in 2007 and has a seating capacity of 14,000.

The NBA teams Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns will kick off this partnership with two games in October 2025.

The details were provided by the NBA’s Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum during a media roundtable held at The Londoner Macau (a casino and resort on the Cotai Strip in Macau). The first game will take place on October 10^th with a second game on October 12^th.

At the same event, Patrick Dumont, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, said, “This is a very exciting day for us. We’ve been working on this for a long time. It’s a big dream of ours to be able to bring international sports and entertainment to Macau. What better way to bring sports to Macau than to bring the best sport in the world – which is basketball? We’re very proud that we have this partnership with the NBA. It’s a multiyear, long-term partnership. It’s about investment in Macau’s future, it’s about driving high-value tourism, it’s about driving sports, the usual dialog, and all kinds of fun things around basketball.”

Founded in 1990, Las Vegas (US)-based the Las Vegas Sands Corporation is the pre-eminent developer and operator of world-class integrated resorts that drive valuable business and leisure tourism in the regions where we operate. Featuring an array of richly diverse and compelling offerings under one roof, our integrated resorts blend luxury hotels and state-of-the-art meeting and convention facilities with a variety of amenities such as gaming, celebrity chef restaurants, high-end shopping and an action-packed schedule of concerts, shows, exhibits, and other attractions.

Tatum unveiled the details of the games, noting, “I’m excited to announce that in October2025, the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will be returning to China to play games here as part of this partnership with Sands. Basketball has a long history here and it is an exciting day. We have a large number of fans in this area who love the game of basketball. It’s the number one sport here.”

He remarked that the Nets and the Suns teams are also very popular in Macau, mainland China and Hong Kong.

Tatum noted that the partnership also significantly incorporates elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for both the companies noting that players like Kevin Durant (American basketball power forward of the Phoenix Suns), Dennis Schröder (a world champion from the 2023 World Cup and German basketball guard), Devin Booker (an Olympian and All-Star and American basketball guard) would attend – “This event will give the opportunity for fans in Macau and throughout the region to see the world’s best basketball players in addition to the game. This partnership is also about giving back to the community.”

Grant Chum, head honcho and President of Sands China, noted that with the signing of this multiyear partnership with the NBA, the SCL will be bringing a whole series of landmark and iconic events, sporting content and related lifestyle events to Macau.

Commented Chum, “Through this multiyear partnership, we are looking to take Macau’s tourism and sports strategy to a new level. I think you’ve heard a lot about Macau’s direction in tourism in conjunction with conventions, retail and sports and we believe the strategy works both ways. We are bringing internationally renowned sporting events, such as the NBA games, to Macau to enhance the tourism landscape. At the same time, we believe the sporting spectacle and events will also be enhanced by the broader hospitality and integrated resort tourism landscape. The intention is that people will be able to enjoy the best of hospitality, entertainment, retail, food and beverage (F&B) together with these great sporting events, the spinoff lifestyle and indeed the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) events that will arise out of this great partnership.”

Remarking on the company’s social responsibility aspect, Chum also added that this is also a key focus for the SCL, stating that this would not be restricted to the time of the games (between September and October annually) but would extend throughout the year through various opportunities to engage with the local community, promote youth sports and leverage the league’s global social responsibility program, NBA Cares, with the Sand Cares program.

The SCL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) also remarked that the extensive revamp of the Venetian Arena which was highly praised by the NBA officials is a source of pride for Sands and the significant investment in the facility is “a key part of our integrated resort”.

Building Reputation

The partnership between the SCL and the NBA aims to build Macau’s reputation as a regular host of major world-class sports events.

Explained Chum, “By bringing this international sporting experience and the associated lifestyle events to Macau we expect to boost tourism and attract international visitors. Over a number of years, this partnership will help to build the City’s reputation as a host for the globally recognized events, particularly in sports. We expect Macau’s profile and reputation will continue to flourish and we are thrilled to contribute to that.”

Chum also noted that the collaboration between SCL and the NBA was smooth driven by a shared passion for excellence and innovation and a desire to engage with the local communities. He stated that both the parties appreciated the synergies that result for each organization as a result of this partnership.

Logistical Challenges

On the possibility of hosting regular season NBA games in Macau, in addition to the preseason games, Tatum explained that the logistical challenges, particularly related to travel time, make it difficult to schedule such games.

The NBA official explained that the regular season has a very high density of games which, in some cases, also forces the teams to travel significant distances. To host games out of the United States, particularly in locations with a large time zone difference, would create serious problems for the teams – “We know that the travel time and jetlag directly affects performance. It’s not just about Asia but also all the other places in very different time zones.”

This same challenge also applies to hosting the NBA All-Star Games (the annual All-Star game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association [NBA] and showcases 24 of the league’s star players) which already has a long list of places eager to host these events but faces the same challenge of relocating equipment to ensure that the games are hosted at the same quality and standard as in the US.

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