The NBA confirmed a long-running rumor on Friday, announcing that the 2017 All-Star Weekend festivities will be held in New Orleans. Since the league announced in mid-July that they were pulling the event from Charlotte in light of North Carolina’s controversial HB2 legislation, New Orleans (which last hosted the game in 2014) has been widely thought to be the front-runner.
The NBA made it official in a press release Friday afternoon.New Orleans has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2017, the NBA announced today. The 66th NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, Feb. 19, at Smoothie King Center – home of the New Orleans Pelicans. The game was previously scheduled to be held in Charlotte, N.C.
In addition to the game, the Smoothie King Center will host the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge onFriday, Feb. 17 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 18 while the NBA All-Star Practice, NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. This will mark the third time the “Crescent City” has been the site of the league’s annual midseason celebration, having previously hosted the event in 2008 and 2014.The league also also announced that they, along with the NBPA, will be providing financial and other support in the state of Louisiana in the wake of recent flooding in the area.