NBA stopover adds to Shanghai credentials

In less than a week, Shanghai has successfully bid for the World Swimming Championships, slated for 2011, and got the rights - and Asia's first - to host the ATP Tennis Masters series, beginning 2009.

Qiu Weichang, the deputy head of Shanghai Sports Administration, reinforced the city's ambition to expand its presence in the global sports world at a press conference yesterday to announce the scheduled NBA exhibition games.

"We have literally been swamped with offers," said Qiu, referring to the mounting interest in Shanghai as a venue for international sports.

"From the (municipal) government's point of view, the tournaments here give a vital boost to the city's image as an international destination as can be seen with the success of the Chinese Formula One."

Shanghai has also been staging the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup since 2005 which only ends in 2008. It previously hosted the event in 2002.

"In addition, the growing expatriate population here and its hunger for top-tier tournaments, is leading us in that direction," Qiu said.

Shanghai will host 44 international competitions this year - up from 36 last year. The major attractions are the IAAF Athletics Golden Grand Prix, MotoGP and Formula One.

"We chose Shanghai based on suggestions from many of our global marketing partners who have their regional headquarters here," said Heidi Ueberroth, NBA' vice president of international operations.

The NBA preseason game is the second one in the city. The Houston Rockets, led by Shanghai's Yao Ming, played the Sacramento Kings in 2004.

This time, the China series will include three games. After the Shanghai opener, the teams go to Macau for two games - one of them is Orlando vs the Chinese national team.