Hot Rods, Hot Bods: The 2011 Daytona 500 and NBA All-Star Game

Both the NBA and Nascar are using star-studded events to help win back fans lost during the recession

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

While we have been glued to the Westminster Kennel Club dog show (go Hickory!) and the man vs. machine matchup on Jeopardy (go humans!), they are admittedly not the biggest games in town this week. That would be the NBA's oh-so-sexy All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles and the return of Nascar at the recently repaved Daytona 500.

Hollywood has laser facial resurfacing. Daytona has asphalt.

NBA All-Star Weekend: The Money Scoop

With the Super Bowl in the books, the sports world turns its collective attention to the next major event: the NBA All-Star Weekend. This year's All-Star Weekend takes on extra importance for the NBA. Like its NFL counterpart, the NBA's collective bargaining agreement expires in the coming months. Accordingly, the league, headed by 27-year veteran Commissioner David Stern, and the Players Assn. plan to hold labor talks throughout the weekend, with such stars as LeBron James and Derek Fisher in attendance.

According to the most recent industry valuations, the average value of an NBA franchise is $369 million, up about 1 percent from 2010. Average operating income fell to $6.1 million, down 22 percent from last year and "the lowest figure since the 2002-03 season," according to league sources. Of the NBA's 30 teams, 17 are reported to have lost money.

Still, NBA and NBPA representatives are hoping that meetings around All-Star Weekend will begin to help the league get back on track before its CBA expires on June 30. The two sides last met formally one year ago at the 2010 All-Star break in Dallas, and as NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver admits, "we haven't made any progress since." Counters NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter: "I'm confident that, absent some major change in their position, there will be a lockout. I haven't seen anything yet that indicates to me they're willing to make the kind of change in position that the union deems necessary in order for us to get a deal."

The 60th NBA All-Star Game, which will be held on Sunday, Feb. 20, at downtown L.A.'s Staples Center, will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories who speak more than 40 languages. For the ninth consecutive year, the All-Star Game will be televised on TNT, marking Turner Sports' 27th year of All-Star coverage.

NBA All-Star Saturday Night, presented by State Farm, will feature the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, Haier Shooting Stars, Sprite Slam Dunk, and the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. Other events at NBA All-Star 2011 will include the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam and the BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. At the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center, the kid-friendly NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by Adidas (ADS), featuring the likes of Hornets star Chris Paul and Laker legend "Big Game James" Worthy will entertain Angeleno families Friday through Monday.

This will be the fifth NBA All-Star match held in L.A., which previously hosted the event in 2004, 1983, 1972, and 1963. With the added attraction of the AEG's L.A. Live entertainment complex (where actor Jamie Foxx will host a Thursday night concert at the 2,300-seat Club Nokia) and the 54-story J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel tower built next to Staples Center over the past three years, the L.A. Sports and Entertainment Commission estimates that All-Star Weekend festivities will generate more than $85 million in spending—a 7 percent increase over the (prerecession) 2004 event.