http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2174147 NBA's best will shine in Houston Stellar weekend forms trifecta with NFL, MLB events By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle New Orleans is known for the French Quarter, Los Angeles for the celebrities. New York is the city that never sleeps. But Wednesday, Houston took another giant leap toward becoming a destination city for professional sports' marquee events, landing the NBA All-Star Weekend. NBA commissioner David Stern, describing himself as "beaten down" by the Rockets' carping, said Wednesday the event will be sent to Houston. "We're definitely coming," Stern said. "The only question will be when." Though Stern said he did not know when the three days of events would fill the George R. Brown Convention Center and Toyota Center, the Rockets had bid for the 2005, 2006 and 2007 events. The 2005 All-Star Weekend has been awarded to Denver. The All-Star Weekend is the latest major sports event to be headed to one of Houston's three new sports facilities. The biggest, the Super Bowl, will be held at Reliant Stadium on Feb. 1, 2004. Major League Baseball's All-Star Game will be at Minute Maid Park next summer. In addition, Houston will host the NCAA men's basketball Final Four in 2011 at Reliant Stadium. NBA officials toured Houston facilities last spring and again this month, describing Toyota Center as well-suited for demands of the event. Stern described the Rockets as "all over us. We made them back off at least until the building came out of the ground. "Oh man, they're tough," he said. "I think Les (Alexander, the Rockets' owner) holds me and George (Postolos, the Rockets' president) jumps me. But it's a pleasure because they're fighting for their city." Stern said the league does not estimate the economic benefit to host cities, but that recent host cities have reported roughly $50 million of income generated by the game and its related events. "It's the largest NBA event of the year," Alexander said. "People come from all over the world, and this is a world-class city. "It does wonders for the city. The city can be proud about drawing fans from all over the world. It's great." New Orleans and Charlotte are also expected to compete for the next All-Star weekends to be awarded. For the Rockets, landing the All-Star Game for the first time since 1988 is a coup that they had aggressively sought since winning the arena referendum that allowed the city to build Toyota Center. The Rockets had pushed so hard that late in the 2001-2002 season, Stern said, "I told George to back off, just back off." "It would be a big deal, a great thing for the city," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said. "It would also be a lot of work, but it's such a great spectacle. It would be great for people to see our building, and for us to show off our city like the Super Bowl will do this (season)."
