Research on the Strategic Development of Sports Events under the

New Environment: NBA All-Star

Annie Ji

1,† a

and Jonathan Jiaxuan Li

2,*,† b

Shanghai Starriver Bilingual School, Shanghai, China

Department of Dalton, The Affiliated High School of Peking University, Beijing, China

†

These authors contributed equally

Keywords:

Component, Nba All-Star, Swot Analysis, Economy, Basketball.

Abstract: In this paper, this paper takes NBA All-Star Game as the research object and uses SWOT analysis to study

the influence of NBA All-Star Game on NBA itself and host cities.

1 INTRODUCTION

The NBA All-Star Game was first held by the

National Basketball Association on March 2rd, 1951,

and has evolved into an annual exhibition game

featuring NBA stars. Each year, the best players from

the eastern and western regions form two teams to

play a match to decide the winner. The modern All-

Star game has evolved into a three-day All-Star

Weekend. On October 4, 2017, the All-Star game was

reformed to eliminate the previous East-West rivalry

and adopt a mixed team of two All-Star captains

selected from the selected players. Each team's

starting lineup is determined by a combination of fans,

players, and media voting. The head coach should

select seven reserves from their respective divisions

for a total of 12 players. Besides, coaches are not

allowed to vote for their players. If a designated player

is unable to play due to injury, the NBA commissioner

selects a replacement.

On 2003, the NBA firstly operated online voting

for fans worldwide. It meant that people all over the

world can vote as long as they have an account.

Beneficially, it made NBA transform into a league that

has a global impact. However, there was still plenty of

negative influence. For instance, many local people,

including fans and media reports, were extremely

annoyed with this online voting system. After 10

years, under the complaint and criticism from external

environment, the league finally decided to revise the

voting process. They maintained the online voting

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5414-6919

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6258-9514

system but changed it into a weighted process-fans

50%, players 25%, and media 25%. It kept fans'

participation in games and strengthened the

professionalism and publicity of voting.

In 2018, the NBA revamped the All-Star game

format. Instead of "East V.S. West," which their

lineups are determined by the voting order separately

from each conference, the game format changed into

"NBA All-Star draft," which means two team leaders

who are "the top vote-getters in each conference" has

the right to pick their teammates (Bissada, 2021). In

comparison, "NBA All-Star draft" and "East V.S.

West" attract nearly identical spectators. But the

external factor influences the result. This game system

still needs to be tested.

In this passage, the authors will mainly analyze

NBA All-Star Game, focusing on essential

revolutions, the economic impact on NBA and host

cities in SWOT analysis, and the distinction between

NBA and NFL.

2 DATA AND METHOD

SWOT analysis, based on internal and external

competition environment and competition under the

condition of situational analysis, is closely related to

the object of study of various main internal strengths,

weaknesses and external opportunities and threats,

and so on (Brand all-stars of the NBA. Hookit, 2020).

Through the investigation list, and according to the

Ji, A. and Li, J.

Research on the Strategic Development of Sports Events under the New Environment: NBA All-Star.

DOI: 10.5220/0011355700003440

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Big Data Economy and Digital Management (BDEDM 2022), pages 873-878

ISBN: 978-989-758-593-7

 2022 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All r ights reserved

873

matrix form, and then use the thought of system

analysis, SWOT is an analysis of factors to match

each other. It draws a series of corresponding

conclusions, which are usually of some decision

making nature. Using this method, the situation of the

research object can become comprehensively,

systematically and accurately studied, so as to

formulate corresponding development strategies,

plans and countermeasures according to the research

results. document.

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Strength

• Big Four Brand Influence. Big Four

commonly represents the four most influential sports

leagues (Brand all-stars of the NBA. Hookit. 2020) -

NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, in North America. The

first three leagues are the most three profitable sports

leagues in the world. Moreover, NHL is top 6 as well.

Their average year revenues can reach $13 billion, $10

billion, $7.4 billion, and $4.43 billion (Conway,

2017).

• Experienced League. High-performance

staff must recognize that key stakeholders within an

organization are driven by what is important to them

within their context

(https://www.nsca.com/contentassets/ecc9bd5aa1d54

9fea8dbd8fc058ba140/coach-6.4.2-national-

basketball-strength-and-conditioning-association-

nbsca-performance-summit-2019). Until the 2021-

2022 season, NBA has already been held for 75 years,

and NBA All-Star has also almost 70 years. More than

70-year operation makes the NBA become a mature

league, which means that they can deal with any

unexpected issues. For example, Kobe Bryant

accident and COVID-19. After these two incidents,

NBA immediately reacted and set up the solution. On

February 16, 2020, the NBA changed the All-Star

game format and renamed the All-Star MVP reward

for Kobe in 20 days. On July 31, 2020, NBA was

restated at Disney (Crupi, 2021).

• Valuable Commercial. NBA All-Star has

enormous commercial value. NBA has two long-

standing partnerships- ESPN (Entertainment and

Sports Programming Network) and TNT (Turner

Network Television). The New York Times reporter

Richard Sandomir announced that the "NBA to

announce $24 billion/9 year deal w/ ESPN and TNT

on Monday. Annual average value nearly 3x current

deal." (Dunne, Wilson, Nelson, staff, Ross, Roumpis,

Staff, Williams, Fisher, Cronin, 2018). Even MTN

DEW is the title partner for the 3-Point Contest and

sets up two 4-point shots (ESPN Internet Ventures,

2021).

• Small Stadium Capacity. Small capacity

would have an advantage on the quality of watching

games. Most of the people are sitting closer than

others who are watching games in a large venue. So

that audiences can blend into the game efficiently,

compared to NCAA Final, the audiences who sit at the

top have a terrible horizon, only depending on the

digital screen, or they cannot see where the ball is.

Nevertheless, for a small venue, teams and fans will

have a good relationship to get closer to players and

game courts. In that case, more and more big fans will

consistently support the team and enjoy the game.

• Supportive Fans. Communication is

considered to be the most imperative characteristic

(https://www.nsca.com/contentassets/ecc9bd5aa1d54

9fea8dbd8fc058ba140/coach-6.4.2-national-

basketball-strength-and-conditioning-association-

nbsca-performance-summit-2019). Because the NBA

games are top-rated in the United States, the usual

game everyone can buy a ticket to get access to

watching the game. However, now the all-star game

has changed to the all-star weekend, which lasts for

seven days. In this case, many fans will also come

from all parts of the world's national, including

journalists, electricity transmission, journalists,

advertising, sponsor, group, organization, combined

with the influx of fans. As long as the person likes

basketball, he or she will watch NBA, especially the

All-Star Games. Those who watch the NBA Games

will know a few basketball stars, and they will be

observing these top NBA players compete or perform

at the same time. It is the visual enjoyment that fans

all over the world at the same time can focus on the

same event, regardless of age, gender, countries, as

well as places for watching. All of the audiences are

full of excitement and appreciation of the beautiful

game. NBA All-Star Games also brings the host city

TV spotlight, fan spotlight, news spotlight.

• Accommodation Profit. During the 3-day

NBA All-Star Game, the fans from the world over

need accommodation places. So, the hotels around the

stadium will earn a considerable amount of profit.

According to Hotel Guides, the average rates for

Hotels near NBA All-Star Game are ranging from $71

to $439 based on the hotels' star rating and distance to

Rocket Mortgage Field House, where the 2011 NBA

All-Star Game will be played in Cleveland. (Hotel

Guides 2021) In this case, the profit during the game

will be astonishingly much.

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3.2 Weakness

• Exhibited Game. Balancing competitiveness

and exhibition of the game is difficult. Because the

property of All-Star is not fighting for championship

or reward, whether players will treat it seriously may

become a concern. Less competitiveness means that

the game will not be very attractive. However, playing

games as final also may increase the possibility of

injury, which is harmful to the player's home team. In

that case, fewer teams may allow their best player to

attend All-Star.

• Limitation of Stadium Capacity. As the

paper mentioned, small capacity favors the home

team, but they are still some issues- low ticket income.

Ticket income is the most crucial part of revenue.

Furthermore, no matter NFL or MLB, their stadium

capacity is always much higher than NBA. For the

ticket income aspect, NBA is much lower.

Figure 1: NFL & MBL & NBA TOP 8 Largest Stadium

Capacity.

• Nervous Traffic. In 2019 Charlotte All-Star

(Dunne, Wilson, Nelson, staff, Ross, Roumpis, Staff,

Williams, Fisher, Cronin, 2018), it shows that during

the games, traffic is one problem that will affect the

attendance of audiences, but it also brings severe

negative externality to other residents' getting around.

Due to the terrible traffic jam, some audiences cannot

arrive at the matches on time, thus feeling impatient,

which indirectly affects their mood while watching the

matches. Even cannot some workers or reporters get

there on time. Furthermore, residents living nearby

will face difficulty in transportation.

3.3 Opportunity

• Wide International market. According to

NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum, "So we're

putting a lot of time and energy in how we become the

No. 1 sport in those countries and those continents."

(Steven, Gaither, Gaither, 2016) NBA is the most

internationally influential sports league in the world.

NBA opened the Chinese market in 2002 when Yao

Ming entered NBA. Since then, a lot of Chinese

started to follow NBA. Even the NBA arranges the

company that deals with Chinese market problems and

sets up many local NBA games in China, such as the

Jr. NBA and NBA China Games. It has already

become the most popular foreign sports league in

China now.

• Prosperous Tourism. By broadcasting NBA

games, the host city gets unprecedented exposure and

official publicity on live television worldwide. The

massive promotion activities before the game and the

large-scale reports of many media will significantly

enhance the city's visibility of where the event is held.

The increase in the city's popularity will significantly

increase the probability of the host city as a tourist

destination for people. It will bring a large number of

tourists to the host place during the event and have a

significant positive impact on the sustainable

development of the tourism industry in the place.

Hosting the NBA can bring unlimited business

opportunities to the local tourism industry and

promote the overall development of the regional

economy. Tourists spend much more on

accommodation, catering, transportation,

communications, watching games, and shopping than

usual. The level of concentrated consumption is

higher, and the tourism income of the host city will

increase significantly.

• Host Cities. For large and medium-sized

cities that have not hosted major sporting events but

have the potential to do so, their Urban public

construction can have a short-term leap, and the

government will make much investment to support

urban construction. Especially in developing

countries, the central government firmly supports

cities to make huge investments. Therefore, both

urban construction influences will be directly

promoted by large-scale sports events. Moreover, this

is the most crucial motivation, which is that now these

cities are eager to host large-scale events.

For large international cities with experience in

hosting competitions, the cost of his events would be

thinly shared. This raises the marginal benefit for the

subsequent games significantly. Because by the time

the city hosted its first big event (like the NBA), its

arena was almost perfect to fit the criterion for holding

significant sports events. In this circumstance, for the

city's future, the rest of the game will not require much

additional revision for infrastructures. In addition,

with the increasingly mature experience of holding

events in cities, handling emergencies, and controlling

labor costs will become increasingly well-rounded.

Research on the Strategic Development of Sports Events under the New Environment: NBA All-Star

875

Therefore, in this case, such cities can reap the

economic benefits of hosting a significant event in the

aspects such as increasing consumption, tax revenue,

and the consolidation of the city's identity card.

3.4 Threat

• Politics. Each country has its political style

and red lines, which must not touch. As NBA wants to

go into this market, they should fit with this country's

politics. Being careful with what NBA announces,

what NBA does, and what NBA supports is essential.

Take Daryl Morey as an example. He publicly

expressed his opinion about supporting Hong Kong

alone. Undoubtedly, Hong Kong is an indispensable

part of China. Daryl's opinion completely conflicted

with the Chinese government, and NBA later partially

agreed with him. Eventually, it made China boycott

everything related to NBA and caused countless

revenue damage for NBA. In your paper title, if the

words “that uses” can accurately replace the word

“using”, capitalize the “u”; if not, keep using lower-

cased.

• Other American Sports League. Many

other domestic sports leagues are catching up. The

statue NBA have now is threatened. Because

spectators of four league are all among the North

America, scramble for spectators always is important

for Sport League. Although they have already avoid

the conflict on schedule, such as different time period

in a day and starting at different months, there still be

some spectators who flow away since they think one

games is more essential than others.

• Unstable situation. For cities' lack of

experience and ability to host the game this is likely to

cause damage to the environment. Public facilities and

stadiums will be left vacant after the game, and their

maintenance costs will become a financial burden for

the citizens. The ups and downs of tourism and real

estate will also be detrimental to the city's overall

coordinated and sustainable development.

For cities which held many times before, the

sudden increase in consumption of large-scale sports

events will lead to occasional increases in urban

prices, including housing prices, and then inflation

and a bubble economy will occur if they do not fall

back quickly after the game. This is a massive threat

to the development of the city.

4 CONCLUSION

Through the SWOT analysis of NBA economy

impact, it can safely draw the conclusion that NBA

All-Star is a successful, international exhibition

game. Even there are weaknesses and threats, their

strengths and opportunity can solve them.

Firstly, NBA All-Star is a game that has extremely

high commercial value. NBA would better maximize

this aspect. TNT completely sold out all commercials

for the All-Star, "According to ad buyers with skin in

the game, pricing for Sunday's twin telecasts is

largely consistent with last year's rates, which

averaged out to around $185,000 per 30-second spot."

(Dunne, Wilson, Nelson, staff, Ross, Roumpis, Staff,

Williams, Fisher, Cronin, 2018). NBA has already

done their best on media online advertisement level,

but they lack improvement on physical spreading.

Each brand sponsors an individual reward game is a

good beginning; they can advertise more during the

All-Star. For instance, restrict the good brand during

the All-Star weekend. In 2019 All-Star, the first ten

sponsorships are divided into insurance, automotive,

food & beverage, apparel, accessories, and

telecommunication. On the All-Star game day, limit

the venue only or primarily to sell the food and

beverage which are sponsorship brands, and to

discount these brand goods to attract more consumers

to purchase. Furthermore, encourage players to wear

sponsorship brands and to put the logo in a prominent

position. In that case, NBA can increase the

commercial prize will be easy due to more

advertising. Both NBA and brands will profit from

All-Star because brands can get more revenue from

restricting policy, and the NBA can reward more from

the commercial contract.

Secondly, enlarge the international influence.

"Real market-by-market" (Dunne, Wilson, Nelson,

staff, Ross, Roumpis, Staff, Williams, Fisher, Cronin,

2018) would be the most suitable strategy for NBA.

For different markets, which has different culture and

politics, designing different development strategies is

essential. Setting up the local NBA company is the

initial plan; the next step would be recruiting more

local employees. Even in the United States NBA

headquarter, they can increase their diversity to

clarify different region conditions. Since the

population of international students has increased

recently, the demand for job positions is also nervous.

So NBA does not need to concern whether people

desire this job. Plus, encouraging NBA teams to pick

more international players also will be helpful. Yao

Ming is a perfect example that NBA can be such

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successful in opening the Chinese market are

contributed altogether by him.

Thirdly, in order to solve the traffic problem

which the game might bring to the host city, here are

four possible solutions to apply. Firstly, the sponsors

can divide the fans into different groups and assign

them to the stadium at different times. In this case, a

fans' lounge should also be provided for those who

reach the stadium earlier. Secondly, emergency

vehicle lanes should be reserved, which no private

cars can get unless they have permission. Therefore,

the operations of ambulances and firefighting trucks

will not be affected, and those who meet accidents

can be managed. Thirdly, for those who drive their

cars, the parking lot should be divided into parts. This

method is feasible because it can help gather the fans

of one team, avoiding the conflict between two teams'

fans effectively. Fourthly, to ensure the convenience

of traffic for the audiences who get to the stadium by

public transportation, the time interval between every

two subways and buses along the same lime should

be decreased, as what usually is taking place every

morning and evening when people go to work and go

back home.

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