As the world’s top professional basketball league gears up
for Sunday’s preseason launch in Mexico
City , National Basketball Association officials are
hinting at permanent expansion south of the border.
Sunday’s face-off between the Orlando Magic and New OrleansHornets marks the 20th exhibition game to be played in Mexico , the most of any country outside the United States or Canada , and the first such game at
the brand new Mexico City Arena.
The NBA already has concrete plans to expand its Mexican
footprint.
“Next year and the year after that there will be regular
season games here, which is really huge,” said Cedric Ceballos, a former NBA
player turned league ambassador. “Those two years are the big test to see what
happens.”
Latin America is one of the league’s top growth markets,
accounting for 15 to 20 per cent of international revenues, Philippe Moggio,
the NBA’s vice president for Latin America ,
told Reuters.
Given the proximity to the United
States , Ceballos said a future franchise in Mexico City would be a
natural fit.
“Now that there’s a building that can house an NBA team,
where we can play regular season games, it’s a natural place to be thinking
about it,” said Moggio.
Ceballos, who played with said a Mexico City franchise could be established
within five years.
0 comments:
Post a Comment