Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis Statement on NBA All-Star Weekend, FIFA World Cup 26, and Super Bowl LX Coming to the San Francisco Bay Area
For Immediate Release
Monday, November 6, 2023
Contact: Press@ltg.ca.gov, (916) 803-2191
Sacramento – Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis issued the following statement following today’s announcement that San Francisco’s Chase Center will host the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend, joining a multi-year run of world-class sporting events coming to the Bay Area:
“The San Francisco Bay Area has always been a hub for innovation, culture, and excellence. We’ve been at the forefront of progress and change, and now, we’re set to take center stage in the world of sports,” said Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. “As the Bay Area prepares to host a trifecta of world-class sporting events over the next eighteen months, as well as the APEC world leaders conference next week, it’s clear that the Bay Area is a special place and global destination for people who want to visit, live and work here.”
Left to Right: San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, State Controller Malia Cohen, and Assemblymember Evan Lowe
This afternoon, Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis joined the Bay Area Host Committee, Bay Area Mayors, Sports Executives, and business leaders to celebrate the announcement of the NBA All-Star Weekend along with the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Super Bowl LX. This follows the announcement that the WNBA is coming to the Bay Area to tip off the 2025 season and the June 2023 launch of the Bay Football Club, the Bay Area’s first National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team.
Next week, heads of state from 21 countries, including U.S. President Biden and Chinese President Xi, will gather in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference. The conference will bring tens of thousands of visitors to San Francisco, including almost two dozen heads of state, more than a thousand CEOs, and hundreds of foreign journalists for discussions on regional economic issues, including sustainability, digitalization, women’s economic empowerment, trade facilitation, energy security, food security, and health. The meeting is expected to generate over 55,000 hotel stays and more than $50 million in revenue for San Francisco.
The multi-year run of world-class sporting events, in addition to APEC, highlights the national and international appeal of the San Francisco Bay hub for technology, innovation, business, and culture. The three sporting events are projected to collectively bring nearly $1 billion in economic impact to the Bay Area.