{"id":12186,"date":"2025-06-25T01:12:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T01:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/12186\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T01:12:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T01:12:24","slug":"after-2024-wnba-all-star-success-phoenix-eyes-2027-nba-showcase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/12186\/","title":{"rendered":"After 2024 WNBA All-Star success, Phoenix eyes 2027 NBA showcase"},"content":{"rendered":"

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2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend brought together fans for a celebration of the league\u2019s biggest names and rising stars. (Photo by Alex Slitz\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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Retired Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi takes in the All-Star spotlight one last time, celebrating her legacy during a historic weekend in Phoenix in 2024. (File photo by Grace Hand\/Cronkite News)<\/p>\n

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Basketball fever hit Phoenix as thousands turn out for 2024 WNBA All-Star events, both inside and outside the then-Footprint Center. (File photo by Mateo Arenas\/Cronkite News)<\/p>\n

PHOENIX \u2013 Last July, the Valley was at the center of the women\u2019s basketball world. <\/p>\n

Hosts of the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend, the city of Phoenix and Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia wanted to make the event the \u201cbest All-Star weekend in WNBA history\u201d to match the league\u2019s surge in popularity last season. Ishbia delivered on his promise, as then-Footprint Center was sold out and watched by an average audience of 3.44 million viewers on ABC, peaking at 4.054 million viewers. <\/p>\n

Headlined by the 2024 U.S. Olympic Women\u2019s National Team roster facing Team WNBA and a halftime show featuring rapper Pitbull, the ratings smashed the previous record for a WNBA All-Star Game. The 4 million viewers made it the third-most watched single game in WNBA history, behind the league\u2019s first two nationally televised games in 1997. The peak and average viewership both were higher than any game in the highly competitive WNBA Finals series between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx.<\/p>\n

Ishbia and the city of Phoenix will soon have the opportunity to put on another show for the basketball world as hosts of the 2027 NBA All-Star Weekend. It\u2019s another marquee sporting event in the Valley, and another potential boost for the local economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way in which an event is successful for the local economy is the amount of new dollars,\u201d said Anthony Evans, Center Director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute. \u201cWhen we had the Final Four here, we had four visiting teams come here over this period of three or four days, and they brought a lot of money into the local economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impact All-Star games have on the local economy is comparably less than other events, according to Evans, who does economic impact analysis for national sporting events in Phoenix such as the Super Bowl and Final Four with ASU\u2019s W.P. Carey School of Business. <\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Las Vegas Aces center A\u2019ja Wilson poses with fans during All-Star Weekend festivities, helping make the 2024 Phoenix showcase a memorable one. (File photo by Grace Hand\/Cronkite News)<\/p>\n

Although his team hasn\u2019t analyzed All-Star events in the past, Evans said successful events in the past have created \u201ca whole host of different activities\u201d in the city to attract people. Phoenix hosted many activities in the downtown area during WNBA All-Star Weekend, and figures to do the same for the NBA showcase in 2027.<\/p>\n

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport played a role in the city\u2019s preparation, working with the Mercury to promote the game to visitors upon arrival. The airport displayed basketball-themed decorations and an official countdown clock to raise awareness of the event for several weeks leading up to the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreparation for the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend began early on with airport stakeholders and the Host Committee,\u201d said Phoenix Sky Harbor Public Information Officer Eric Everts. \u201cAlong with the decorations and visual displays, airport vendors also offered event goods, like clothing, accessories and other promotional souvenirs. The airport shared pertinent information on website and social media channels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, while the process of preparation is still on the horizon, the airport expects to do more of the same for the 2027 NBA All-Star Game.<\/p>\n

While the ratings matched Ishbia and the city\u2019s efforts to put on a great WNBA All-Star Game, some data released by the Arizona Office of Tourism could hint at a lesser economic impact. In July 2024, state-wide gross sales for lodging, restaurant and bar, retail and amusement sectors were all down from July 2023, and Q3 2024 state-wide occupancy and demand rates for lodging in Maricopa County both decreased from Q3 2023. <\/p>\n

Context played a factor in the WNBA All-Star Game\u2019s ratings, with the league skyrocketing in popularity and the matchup including rookie Caitlyn Clark\u2019s first All-Star experience and WNBA and Mercury legend Diana Taurasi\u2019s last.<\/p>\n

In 2027, Phoenix might not hit the same stroke of luck as the NBA\u2019s ratings, and more specifically the NBA All-Star Game ratings, are on the decline. The 2025 NBA All-Star Game averaged just 4.7 million viewers, a 13% decline from the previous year and the second fewest viewers tuning in to the game since 1990. <\/p>\n

As NBA players are constantly shifting teams \u2013 including potential changes coming to the Suns roster \u2013 it\u2019s difficult to project how the NBA landscape might impact the 2027 All-Star Game in the same manner Clark and Taurasi did in 2024. Although 40-year-old LeBron James hasn\u2019t given any indication of retirement, any sign of 2027 being his final year would likely boost attention around the All-Star Game drastically, including the out-of-market audience.<\/p>\n

Despite the WNBA\u2019s rise, the NBA remains more popular and figures to attract more attention from the out-of-state fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will depend upon how many people it attracts from out of the state to come here and spend money within our zone,\u201d Evans said. \u201cIt\u2019ll sell out, I\u2019m sure. I have no doubt it will do very well in terms of attendance.\u201d<\/p>\n

PHX Arena has another major booking scheduled for less than a year from now, when Phoenix will host the 2026 NCAA Women\u2019s Final Four. The Suns and Mercury are playing supporting roles in the 2026 Phoenix Local Organizing Committee\u2019s preparation for next year\u2019s event. <\/p>\n

\"Basketball<\/p>\n

New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones returns to the 3-Point Contest at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend. (File photo by Grace Hand\/Cronkite News)<\/p>\n

The turnaround from the 2024 NCAA Men\u2019s Final Four to the 2026 NCAA Women\u2019s Final Four could serve as an example for the city\u2019s preparation between the WNBA and NBA All-Star weekend. <\/p>\n

\u201c(2024)\u2019s tournament is not only showcasing Arizona\u2019s world-class facilities and hospitality but is also reinforcing the state\u2019s reputation as a premier destination for major sporting events,\u201d said Kim Sabow, president and CEO of Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association.<\/p>\n

With the city preparing for the 2026 NCAA Women\u2019s Final Four, preparation likely won\u2019t fully start until after April 2026. However, if the WNBA All-Star Weekend and Final Four preparation is any preview, then the Valley will pull out all the stops to put on the best show possible. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a great reputation for putting on these major, major events,\u201d Evans said. \u201cI think the All-Star games will have an impact on the economy. They will drive dollars into the downtown Phoenix area.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend brought together fans for a celebration of the league\u2019s biggest names and rising stars.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[12615,12897,5229,12898,5643,1587,12899,12900,7736,1260,12901,12902,1589,1502,1721,12903,12904,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,12905,232],"class_list":{"0":"post-12186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-all-star-game","9":"tag-all-star-weekend","10":"tag-america","11":"tag-anthony-evans","12":"tag-arizona","13":"tag-az","14":"tag-caitlyn-clark","15":"tag-diana-taurasi","16":"tag-mat-ishbia","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-ncaa-mens-final-four","19":"tag-ncaa-womens-final-four","20":"tag-phoenix","21":"tag-phoenix-mercury","22":"tag-phoenix-suns","23":"tag-phx-arena","24":"tag-sky-harbor-international-airport","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-united-states-of-america","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-usa","31":"tag-w-p-carey","32":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114741349593457549","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}