The Utah Jazz are slated to host the 2023 All-Star Game, one that will mark the 30th anniversary since the last time Salt Lake City hosted the lauded mid-February event:
Obviously this is what is expected, but a source tells The Athletic that today’s press conference is indeed an all-star game announcement. It will be the first time SLC has hosted the game since 1993
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) October 23, 2019
Multiple sources tell The Athletic that The vast renovation of Vivint Smart Home Arena has played a major role in the city being awarded the all-star game.
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) October 23, 2019
The Jazz organization announced it will reveal big news on Wednesday afternoon, and the ownership has already hinted optimism toward making it happen after the cities of Chicago (2020), Indianapolis (2021), and Cleveland (2022) were given the go-ahead to host the event over the next three seasons.
The 1993 All-Star Game is remembered fondly by Jazz fans, as team legends John Stockton and Karl Malone were awarded co-MVP. The festivities were given to Salt Lake City in the wake of the Delta Center being built by late owner Larry Miller and completed in 1991.
Utah renovated that arena, now called Vivint Smart Home Arena, which is now slated to set the Jazz with a similar event 30 years later.
Ironically enough, the Jazz now have a roster many deem as the best since the Stockton-Malone era, and could very well be in contention for a title with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert leading the way.
Former interim Jazz president Don Stirling was later replaced by Jim Olson, but has since been reinstated as the chief revenue officer for the Jazz. Stirling led efforts on the bid, knowing Salt Lake City would have a strong chance to get it with a renovated arena and plenty of years since the last time it hosted the event:
“We’ll have all of the most important guests coming in. Players, former players, owners, corporate partners,” Stirling said then. “One of the things that ranks very high in the judging is proximity and convenience. We have that, multiplied.”
A February outing should see plenty of cold weather, but also beautiful sights of nature and a welcoming crowd that has been longing to host the event for nearly three decades.
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