Shanghai is confirming its transition into a sports hub as well as an economic one with an announcement coming Thursday that two NBA teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic, will face-off there in a pre-season fixture in October.

This caps a glorious sportive week for Shanghai during which it secured the World Swimming Championships, slated for 2011, and obtained the right to host Asia's first ATP Tennis Masters series, beginning 2009.

Qiu Weichang, the deputy head of Shanghai Sports Administration, announced the NBA showdown at a press conference yesterday with visible pride as to how his city has begun attracting major sporting events.

"We have literally been swamped with offers," said Qiu, referring to the mounting interest in Shanghai as a venue for international sports. "From the (municipal) government's point of view, the tournaments here give a vital boost to the city's image as an international destination as can be seen with the success of the Chinese Formula One."

Shanghai will also be holding the Tennis Masters Cup until 2008 after its previous showings in 2002 and 2005. 

"In addition, the growing expatriate population here and its hunger for top-tier tournaments, is leading us in that direction," Qiu said.

2007 will see 44 international events come to Shanghai, up from 36 last year. The principal attractions will be IAAF Athletics Golden Grand Prix, Moto GP and Formula One Grand Prix.

"We chose Shanghai based on our global marketing research partners' input," said Heidi Ueberroth, NBA' vice-president of international operations.

The NBA preseason game will be Shanghai's second following the 2004 clash between the Houston Rockets, led by Shanghai's Yao Ming, and the Sacramento Kings.

This time, the China series will include three games. After the Shanghai opener, the teams go to Macau for two games – with Orlando set to tip off against the Chinese national team.
 
(Shanghai Daily Agency March 30, 2007)