Phoenix Suns team owner Mat Ishbia thrilled team is hosting 2027 NBA All-Star weekend

Mat Ishbia understands his goals have been lofty for a new NBA team owner, but he has been hell-bent on achieving them.

Here’s his latest accomplishment:

The Phoenix Suns will host the 2027 NBA All-Star Game, the team and league jointly announced Thursday afternoon at Footprint Center.

Phoenix was awarded the game less than a year after Ishbia made a formal request for it.

“I don’t think it was realistic to think that knowing what we went through to get it, but I definitely thought we would do it,” Ishbia said. “(Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein) and his team did an amazing job. We set the vision of what we want. We think Phoenix is one of the best basketball cities in the country.”

Phoenix will host All-Star weekend for the fourth time, the first since 2009. The city is also hosting this year’s WNBA All-Star weekend July 19-20 at Footprint Center.

“If you don’t think you can do something, you’re not going to be able to do it, that’s for sure,” said Ishbia, who bought the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for a record $4 billion in February 2023. “We knew it was a long shot to get one of them, let alone both of them.”

The next two NBA All-Star games will be in California — San Francisco’s Chase Center in 2025 with the Golden State Warriors being the host, and Inglewood, California, in 2026 in the Los Angeles Clippers’ new $2 billion Intuit Dome that’s set to open for the 2024-25 NBA season.

NBA All-Star Game returns to Phoenix

Then it’s headed to Phoenix for 2027.

“All these other teams wanted it,” Ishbia said. “For a new owner, a new CEO, a structure to come in and win it so early is definitely not common and that’s a tribute to Josh and his team and all the people in Phoenix that put the work in and make it so that we were the obvious choice. They could not give it to us because we did everything the right way and we’re really proud and appreciative of (NBA Commissioner) Adam Silver and the NBA for allowing us to have it, but we’re going to make it an amazing weekend and really highlight our amazing community in Phoenix.”

Silver attended Thursday’s announcement, as did Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.

“Our NBA All-Star festivities in 2027 will showcase Phoenix’s love of everything basketball,” Silver said in a statement issued prior to the news conference. “And we couldn’t be more excited to work with Mat Ishbia and the entire Suns organization for what promises to be an unforgettable celebration of our sport.”

Hobbs, speaking during the announcement event, cited the economic impact of both the NBA All Star Game and this summer's WNBA All-Star Game, which is in Phoenix, and related events.

"These are huge economic drivers for Arizona and do so much to support the small businesses that make our state so great,'' she said.

The NBA All-Star weekend event is expected to bring an estimated $400 million economic impact to the state.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego was not in attendance, but issued a video statement also citing the economic impact and noting the Valley's experience hosting major sporting events.

"It'll be our fourth All-Star game and we're going to take everything we've learned to deliver for the city of Phoenix,'' she said.

Ishbia made his formal bid for the NBA and WNBA All-Star games at the same time in May of last year, but Bartelstein clarified there were two different processes to landing each one.

“Mat always tells us you have every resource possible to go get these things and make them the best of the best,” Bartelstein said. “You can look people in the eyes at the WNBA and look people in the eyes at the NBA and say, our owner believes in us, we’re going to have every resource we can and we’re going to go make this the best all-star weekend in history for each respective league, that weighs on people.”

For Bartelstein, the details mattered in landing the NBA All-Star Game.

“How do you set yourself apart?” he said. “Phoenix, the basketball here is terrific. We want to make this the epicenter for basketball. We’re working on that, but our view is how do you get deep enough in the weeds to show that we’re going to make it one percent better everywhere. From All-Star Saturday night, thinking of unique ideas and where it’s going to be to wow, I never thought of this. The type of entertainment that’s going to be there.”

Learning from what works best

The Suns sent a strong contingent of people to Indianapolis for this year’s NBA All-Star weekend and took note of “NBA Crossover,” a fan interactive experience at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indy. Ticket prices ranged from $20 for kids, $35 for adults and $150 for VIPs.

The events also included a concert series featuring Lil Wayne.

“We saw what works really well and what we can do better,” Ishbia said. “I talked to (Pacers team owner Herb Simon) a little bit about what they’re doing, how they did it, the good and the things they could’ve done better. Stuff like that is collaborative. That’s what makes the NBA so great. Everybody wants to help us.”

Studying and analyzing the entire All-Star weekend experience, the Suns will use that to help them come up with ideas to further enhance it when it lands in Phoenix in 2027.

“We have 2½ to three years to figure out all these things out,” Bartelstein said. “The commitment we made was we’re going to be creative, we’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to make this the best of the best. Incredibly competitive process, but I think we set ourselves apart by being super detail-oriented and thinking creatively and differently.”

Having Ishbia, the 44-year-old billionaire mortgage lender, proved to be the centerpiece to landing the NBA All-Star game, Bartelstein believes.

“What he’s done in such a short period of time was incredibly impactful to the NBA,” Bartelstein said. “Mat is going to do all these other things. So what’s he going to do for All-Star? A huge thing for us that Mat. He was very involved, making calls, talking about the vision. I think that’s what separated us.”

What the All-Star Game means to Mat Ishbia

For Ishbia, it’s about improving the fan experience of NBA All-Star weekend. He talked about taking ideas from previous all-star weekends, making them better and embracing the whole idea of teams and cities that host it after 2027 improving upon what the Suns roll out.

“The NBA All-Star weekend, there’s nothing like it,” Ishbia said. “It’s not like the Super Bowl where there are just two teams. The NBA All-Star game is everybody comes from all the teams, it’s an exciting thing to do and to do it in Phoenix, one of the best cities in America, is really exciting.”

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Indianapolis had the All-Star events in three main spots: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers, Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Convention Center.

The NBA Rising Stars Challenge, HBCU Classic and All-Star Game were at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the celebrity game and NBA All-Star Saturday night events (skills challenge, Sabrina vs. Steph shootout, 3-point contest and slam dunk contest) took place at Lucas Oil Stadium while the G League Up Next Game and NBA Crossover events happened at the convention center.

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Those three locations in Indianapolis are within walking distance of each other. So, some fans traveled by foot to each one even through the cold temperatures and snowy conditions.

The Phoenix Convention Center could host some NBA All-Star events, but State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and next month’s NCAA Men’s Final Four, is in Glendale, which is essentially a 20-minute drive (10 miles) from Phoenix.

When asked if there’s a chance of having All-Star events at State Farm Stadium in 2027, Ishbia said “we’re probably not doing anything outside” of downtown Phoenix.

“We want to look at everything, we want to make the best fan experience, but proximity matters,” he continued. “Being in downtown Phoenix, that’s the hub. That’s the arena and that’s what we’re focused on right now. We’re looking at all things to make sure it’s the best event for everybody.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns to host 2027 NBA All-Star Game, weekend