The National Basketball Association (NBA) has signed a deal with the Sands China in Macau. The association is looking to host two pre-season games in the Special Administrative Region (SAR), which are part of sprawling efforts to popularize the sport in Macau but to similarly help diversify the region’s economy, pulling it further away from gambling and casino entertainment.
Sports Back in Focus for Macau’s Leisurely and Entertainment Industries
The first games that will take place at the Venetian arena in Macau will be hosted in October 2025, with the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns travelling halfway across the world to play in front of their local fans.
The deal is important, as it further thickens the ties between the NBA and Macau, even though the SAR has been hosting games on occasion. The partnership, though, seems to elevate this relationship and strengthen it by providing frequent entertainment that is arranged and coordinated on association and administration levels.
The NBA used to be a frequent sight in Macau, but the Chinese government supposedly moved to sever ties with the association, after the Houston Rockets General Manager at the time, Daryl Morey, posted a social media statement in which he supported the Hong Kong protests at the time, that were targeting the handing of restrictive powers on its citizens to Beijing.
The broadcast was suspended, and investors left. Pre-season games were also taken off the schedule. A return like this points to rapprochement between Macau and the association, looking to capitalize on their historic relationship.
Macau Keen to Expand Its Non-Gaming Industry
Macau has been keen to diversify its economy. In 2023, the SAR said that it had an ambitious plan in place to boost its tourism and leisure industries. Basketball has not been the only sport that Macau has been courting in recent months.
At the beginning of November, Wynn Macau appointed snooker legend and active player Ronnie O’Sullivan as its Official Brand Ambassador. Wynn Macau is also hosting snooker events, seeing it as an opportunity to excite even more interest in its non-gaming activities.
Earlier in December, it was reported that Macau will be making a sustained effort to reinvent its economy under several new officials who will focus on decoupling Macau’s economic well-being from its gaming industry.
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