NBA's China arenas plan likely to start in Shanghai

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-15 11:29

SHANGHAI - The NBA's new joint venture to design and develop a dozen basketball arenas in China is expected to start in Shanghai.

The Shanghai arena plan still needs approval from China's Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Commerce, officials have cautioned. But Tuesday's splashy announcement on the banks of Shanghai's Huangpu River had the feel of a done deal.

The ambitious plan to build on the American NBA's already huge fan base in China was announced earlier this week and could take decades to complete, but the Shanghai arena must be ready as a centerpiece of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, which Chinese officials estimate will attract more than 700 million visitors.

The 18,000-seat arena will be a center of cultural events and shopping as well, and the joint venture will manage it.

A similar announcement for an arena in the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou will be made Wednesday, said Michael Roth, a spokesman for the Anschutz Entertainment Group, the other partner in the China arena development project.

Earlier this year, NBA China, a joint venture of the NBA, broadcaster ESPN and Chinese companies, joined promoter AEG and the Beijing Wukesong Culture and Sports Center to design, market, program and operate Beijing's Olympic basketball venue.

Shanghai deserves to have a center "as iconic as Madison Square Garden in New York," AEG president and CEO Timothy J. Leiweke said at Tuesday's announcement. Officials spoke of Shanghai's potential as one of the world's signature cities, along with Paris, London and New York.

Heidi Ueberroth, president of NBA global marketing partnerships and international business operations, said officials were thrilled to be able to bring NBA games back to Shanghai, China's largest and most business-minded city, on a regular basis. The city is also the birthplace of NBA star Yao Ming.

Other cities for the China arenas project are still unannounced and in negotiation, but the list is expected to extend beyond Chinese Mainland and even into Taiwan.

Roth said Taipei, Hong Kong and Macao are all possibilities for arena projects.

"Our largest market outside the United States is going to be here in China," Ueberroth said.

NBA China and AEG will have a US$28 million stake in the Shanghai arena project, said Tim Chen, CEO of NBA China.

The overall cost of the Shanghai project is expected to be 1.9 billion yuan (US$277 million), officials said.

And the project backers seemed optimistic about the future of the China arenas plan, despite the ongoing world financial crisis.

"This will have zero impact on our vision for China," Leiweke said, adding that AEG planned to spend the same amount of money, just perhaps over a longer period of time.

The first NBA games were shown on television in China 21 years ago. Viewers now can see up to eight games per week during the season.