NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2009 - WNBA All-Star 2009 will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., this summer, league President Donna Orender announced today. The game will be nationally televised on ABC on Sat., July 25, at 3:30 p.m. ET. This marks the second time that the WNBA All-Star Game will be played at Mohegan Sun, which also hosted the 2005 All-Star festivities.
"The WNBA All-Star Game is a showcase event for the greatest female basketball players in the world, and I cannot think of a better location than Connecticut, where the Sun - and, really, the women's game - has such a dedicated fan base," said Orender. "With the Connecticut Sun and the Mohegan Sun Arena serving as our hosts, WNBA All-Star 2009 will undoubtedly be an extremely fun fan-and family-friendly event."
"There's no doubt the WNBA has become part of the culture of Connecticut, and having the opportunity to bring this showcase event to a true hotbed of women's basketball in America is really exciting," said Sun Chief Executive Officer Mitchell Etess.
"We are honored to host the All-Star game for the second time in our short history," added Sun General Manager Chris Sienko. "I believe it is a credit to our fans and illustrates how supportive they are of both our team and the WNBA. To have the best-of-the-best showcase their skills here this July will be an event not to be missed."
Sun season-ticket holders will receive information from the team this week detailing an opportunity to buy their current seats for the All-Star Game in advance of a public on-sale date.
Others with an opportunity to purchase tickets prior to the public sale date include fans who purchase one of two Sun mini-plans set to go on sale tomorrow, Feb. 4, and season-ticket holders with other WNBA teams. Details of the latter option will be available in the coming weeks. Individual tickets to the general public will be available in April at all Ticketmaster locations and the Mohegan Sun box office.
By hosting WNBA All-Star 2009, the ninth in WNBA history, Connecticut will join Washington, D.C. and New York as the only venues to stage the event multiple times. In addition to hosting the league's first All-Star event on July 14, 1999, New York's Madison Square Garden was the site of the All-Star Game in 2003 and again in 2006 during the league's 10th anniversary season. Washington, D.C. hosted the game in 2002 and 2007. The Western Conference dominated play by winning six straight before MVP Katie Douglas led the Eastern Conference to a 98-82 victory in the 2006 All-Star Game. The East followed that up with another victory in 2007, when Cheryl Ford poured in 16 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to earn MVP honors.
WNBA ALL-STAR GAME HISTORY
Date Location W L
July 14, 1999 Madison Square Garden (New York) West 79 East 61
July 17, 2000 America West Arena (Phoenix) West 73 East 61
July 16, 2001 TD Waterhouse Centre (Orlando) West 80 East 72
July 15, 2002 MCI Center (Washington) West 81 East 76
July 12, 2003 Madison Square Garden (New York) West 84 East 75
July 9, 2005 Mohegan Sun Arena (Connecticut) West 122 East 99
July 12, 2006 Madison Square Garden (New York) East 98 West 82
July 15, 2007 Verizon Center (Washington) East 103 West 99
* No game held in 2004 and 2008 due to the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and Beijing, China, respectively
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