Even before taking to the court, Tracy McGrady should feel at home in Qingdao.

To offer a warm welcome to McGrady, the highest-profile former NBA player to take part in the nation's CBA league, the Qingdao Eagles have rented a villa at the Castle Hotel for their star recruit.

"The villa sits in the most scenic area of Qingdao, where many celebrities have stayed, so we decided to let him live there," Sheng Xishun, manager of the club, told China Daily on Tuesday.

The Castle Hotel sits next to the former German governor's mansion in the western part of downtown Qingdao. The mansion is one of the best-known sites in the city.

McGrady will live in the German-style three-floor Blue Castle villa at the hotel. Although the hotel's staff only knew of the basketball star's arrival just a day in advance, it specially decorated the villa with photos of McGrady in action and with his family.

"We will let McGrady choose one of the bedrooms on the second floor and we will offer personal services to him," Meng Fanlin, the operations director of the hotel, told China Daily on the eve of McGrady's arrival.

"We will arrange a special housekeeper for his villa. We hope to make him feel at home. This should be a place for him to feel relaxed."

Meanwhile, the Eagles have moved their home court from Qingdao University, which has a capacity of 4,000, to the larger Guoxin Stadium, which can hold more than three times that many fans.

A large screen outside the stadium said, "Welcome McGrady to join Qingdao. Let's go for our peak in CBA".

Staff members at the stadium said they had not yet received any detailed plans about the coming CBA season in regards to stadium preparations or ticket sales.

(China Daily 10/25/2012 page23)