Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, whose city was chosen to host the NBA All-Star Game and skills competitions on March 7, raised major concerns on Tuesday about the notion of fans coming to the city for events.
“People shouldn’t be traveling to Atlanta for the party,” she said in a statement.
“Under normal circumstances, we would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to host the NBA All-Star game, but this is not a typical year,” said Bottoms. “I shared my public health and safety concerns with the NBA and the Atlanta Hawks. We agree that this is a TV-only event and people shouldn’t be traveling to Atlanta for the party.”
Bottoms also said that “there will be no NBA sanctioned events open to the public” and that the city strongly encourages local businesses to “not host city events related to this game”.
Four times NBA MVP LeBron James, twice reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, twice NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and others spoke in recent days to express their unhappiness about the idea of playing an All-Star Game during a pandemic – and entering a station already crowded and truncated.
The NBA told teams on Monday that strict protocols will be in place for All-Star events: players will have a very limited number of guests; all participants must travel to Atlanta by private car or plane; and, most of the time, players will be able to leave their hotels only for All-Star events in the arena.
Tickets will not be sold. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported earlier this week that some vaccinated frontline workers will be invited to participate, but there will be no events for the general public – an obvious departure from previous All-Star weekends, which attract dozens thousands of fans for the game, parties and atmosphere.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.