PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury hosted a press conference Monday morning at Footprint Center to celebrate the city's successful bid for the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game.

Phoenix Suns and Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein, Mercury legend and guard Diana Taurasi and Downtown Phoenix president and CEO Devney Majerle spoke at an event just outside the Footprint Center floor, where the Suns and Mercury play their home games.

Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia, who took majority control of the team in February, was not at the event but his presence was apparent in the team's securing of the All-Star Game.

“We can now officially say the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game will be played on that court right behind us,” Bartelstein said.

“When I first met with our owner, Mat Ishbia, he had a list of things. And the number one thing on his list was, ‘I want the WNBA All-Star Game, and I want it in 2024.”

The Mercury delivered. They began Monday's event with their hip hop dance team performing in front of media in attendance and had their mascot, “Scorch,” pull himself down from a rope near the jumbotron toward the floor where the press conference took place.

Bartelstein promised the Mercury would do things at the All-Star Game people have never seen or done.

“There's no silver bullet to making it the best All-Star (game),” he said. “It's everything you do. So whether it's fireworks you saw, Scorch flying down. Everything will be intentional. So from the time someone arrives to a gift basket in their hotel room, the entertainment we have here to what's happening around Phoenix. Everything we mapped out and planned out… we're pretty good doing that.”

He also talked about the business opportunities the weekend can provide.

“There's so many activations we can do,” Bartelstein said. “It's going to be packed, demand won't be a problem. People are already reaching out. But all of the things we can do are in the arena and outside the arena. So it's a weekend-long celebration and event, so it's so much more than the game, and there will be tons of opportunities for everyone to be involved.”

Mercury legends Jennifer Gillom, Bridget Pettis and Tangela Smith were at Monday’s event. Gillom was a WNBA All-Star in 1999. Pettis played a majority of her WNBA career with the Mercury and won two championships with the team in 2007 and 2009 as an assistant; Smith was also a part of those teams as a player.

But Taurasi, who is arguably the greatest sports player in Arizona’s history, said the event especially will include the heart of Phoenix.

“This community is so tight-knit,” Taurasi said. “We're a big city, but it has a small, home-town feel that is why it's been home for me and my family now for 19 years. We have everything the big cities have, but we have heart. And that's what sets it apart.”

Monday's event also featured a community announcement. Bartelstein unveiled an all-girls basketball league with the YMCA and a basketball court renoation at Chicanos Por La Causa De Colores, which provides a safe environment for survivors and their children from domestic violence.

“Our organization will include the community in everything we do on and off the floor,” Ishbia said in a statement. “These partnerships with the Valley of the Sun YMCA and CPLC will bring the importance of basketball to more kids across the Valley and, specifically, support the young women who want to play. We will continue to find more ways to use the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game to invest in our community.”

Bartelstein said the Suns and Mercury will take a different approach to community events than other organizations.

“When we say, ‘community,' there's some organizations that kind of check the boxes when they do it,” Bartelstein said. “It's not for us. We're going to be creative in how we do things. It's not about just writing the check, it's, ‘How do you empower young women to really grow and learn the game of basketball?'”

Arizona governor Katie Hobbs and mayor of Phoenix Kate Gallego spoke in a video presentation inside the Footprint Center.

“Arizona is the ultimate destination for sports and entertainment, and Phoenix is quickly becoming the epicenter of basketball,” Hobbs said. “…I look forward to such an exciting event, and congratulations to those participating.”

Added Gallego: “We have everything you could ask for to make this a memorable experience for fans…we can't wait to welcome fans from around the world and show them everything our city has to offer on the international stage for what will be the best-ever WNBA All-Star Game.”

Phoenix will host the All-Star Game beginning July 19 with the skills and 3-point challenges. The game will take place on July 20.

Its Mercury leaders and officials are confident they will exceed expectations.

“We already had a meeting this morning, it's all the small details,” Bartelstein said. “There's no silver bullet to making it the best All-Star (game). It's everything you do.”