China

NFL, NBA to come to Beijing

By Jeff Pan (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-02-28 17:12

NFL and NBA teams will play in Beijing this August and October respectively, said Sun Kanglin, Director of the Beijing Sports Bureau in a news conference Wednesday.

The NFL will feature its debut around August 8 this year, marking the one-year countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. As the No. 1 sport in the US, American-style football has yet to become popular in the Middle Kingdom.

"The game is to help more Chinese to understand and enjoy football, especially young people," said Sun. The exact date has not been finalized, but the venue will be the Beijing Workers' Stadium.

The NBA has already become tremendously popular in China, partly because the league held two preseason games between the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings in Shanghai and Beijing in 2004.

Two NBA teams will return to Beijing this October. "The NBA pre-season game will be played in the Olympic Basketball Stadium if the project can be finished on time. Otherwise it can be played in the Workers' Stadium," said Sun.

When asked which teams will play in Beijing, Sun said both the NFL and the NBA will send their best. According the Houston Chronicle, the NBA will likely send Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers to China, instead of the Houston Rockets, where Yao Ming plays as the starting center.