2024 NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis updates – Indianapolis Recorder

With one of the world’s biggest spectacles coming to Indianapolis in less than two months, fans near and far are anticipating new experiences, A-list celebrities and a boom in the city’s economy. Here is what you need to know about the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend.

“I got the deluxe tour of all of the improvements of Downtown here [Indianapolis], quite remarkable,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in October 2023.

One of those improvements is the Bicentennial Unity Plaza, located near the north end of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which officially opened in the summer of 2023. Nearly $30 million went into the construction of the Unity Plaza. The city also poured a couple of million dollars into renovating Downtown Indianapolis hotspots, such as Georgia Street, Monument Circle and the Indiana Convention Center, ahead of the festivities.

One of the biggest announcements Silver made to Hoosiers and NBA All-Star fans during his visit to Gainbridge Fieldhouse last summer is the return to the fan-favorite format of “Eastern Conference versus Western Conference” in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

“We thought it was time that since we are coming back to a traditional market, as Indianapolis is, as Indiana and all it means for basketball, that we are going to return to the classic format for our All-Star Game,” Silver said. “It will be East versus West, with the return to the four quarters, that we are all used to for a basketball game.”

Mayor of Indianapolis Joe Hogsett spoke about what the NBA All-Star festivities mean to the city. ” Nobody hosts like Indianapolis, nobody,” Mayor Hogsett said. “The NBA is a global game, and NBA All-Star is unique because it allows us to put our city on display for a truly international audience. With a projected impact of more than $320 million, the ripple effects of hosting this incredible event will be felt well into the future.”

Mayor Hogsett also said that “approximately 3,100 jobs will be created, supported or expanded to support this event.”

The last time Indianapolis hosted an NBA All-Star weekend was in 1985. The merriments took place at Market Square Arena and the Hoosier Dome, which have both since been decimated. The All-Star took place Feb. 10, which was also the day that Indianapolis received the most snow in 1985, recording approximately 5 inches.

Current Pacers Sports & Entertainment President Rick Fuson was a part of the 1985 All-Star Committee during the emphatic “White Christmas-styled” weekend almost 40 years ago. Fuson jokingly begged the powers that be for the city to avoid another snow-filled NBA All-Star Game.

“I think Commissioner Silver and the All-Star Game being here would be really good for the city,” Pacers fan Will Castetter said. “I think All-Star will bring a lot of publicity. People not from Indy will get to see that Indianapolis is a really great place to be and get to experience a bit of the great things going on in the city.”

Pacers Board of Directors member Stephen “Steve” Simon spoke about the beauty of All-Star weekend returning to Indianapolis. “There is so much to be excited about,” Simon said.

For more updates on NBA All-Star 2024 in Indianapolis, visit NBAevents.

“It is getting real; it [2024 NBA All-Star] is coming,” Simon said. Fuson piggybacked off Simon’s comment, stating, “Our city is ready.”

Contact multi-media staff writer Noral Parham III at 317-762-7846. Follow him on Twitter @3Noral. For more 2024 NBA All-Star weekend updates, visit our sports page here.