NEW YORK – Emerald and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have partnered to create NBA Con, which will take place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from July 7-9, 2023. The three-day event will kick off the opening weekend of the NBA 2K24 Summer League. Tickets are on sale at NBACon.com and range in price from $30 to $250.
Emerald has entered into a multi-year agreement with the NBA and will be the official event partner of NBA at NBA Con, globally. This new event aims to bring together a fan experience that celebrates the phenomenon of basketball culture under the powerful NBA brand. Fans will enjoy fashion, music, art, cuisine and some of the game’s brightest stars and most prominent personalities.
“NBA Con is for every fan,” said Joey Graziano, NBA chief event strategy and development officer. “It combines our players’ and fans’ passion for the game with their authentic interests off the court to create unique experiences that can only come to life through NBA fandom.”
Basketball fans attending NBA Con can expect interactive experiences with live bands, exclusive limited-edition apparel releases, performances by top artists, meet-and-greets with NBA stars, live podcasts and breaking news. The event will also feature The Park, a basketball-themed exhibit that will be built with multiple courts and offer plenty of interactive experiences for attendees, who will also have the opportunity to attend open workouts.
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“At Emerald, our core mission is to bring audiences together through the power of interactive moments, which is why we are thrilled to partner with the NBA to create the ultimate basketball fan experience: NBA Con,” said Hervé Sedky, President and CEO of Emerald. “By seamlessly unifying the essence of the NBA’s lifestyle, culture and community, we have an unprecedented opportunity to elevate the game and its fans to extraordinary new heights, both on and off the court. Through NBA Con’s connected and immersive environments, we aim to deliver something truly unlike anything else.”
The team behind the launch and operations of NBA Con at Emerald is the new Xcelerator division and will be led by Jason Peskin, Senior Vice President of Portfolio, Xcelerator. Emerald’s special division, created in May 2022, is responsible for launching dynamic brands and growing Emeralds’ diverse portfolio.
At the time of this article’s publication, the structure of the partnership was not yet fully known. However, it was noted during newsgathering efforts that the development of NBA Con was years in the making, with Ron Walden, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, being the visionary and catalyst for the NBA Con deal.
TSE will provide further updates on this developing story.