Indianapolis' NBA All-Star Weekend postponed three years to 2024

The city was originally scheduled to host the NBA's biggest weekend Feb. 12-14, 2021. But then COVID-19 happened.

Indianapolis won’t be hosting the 70th NBA All-Star weekend in February, as previously scheduled. That became clear in August when the league canceled contracts with local hotels given the uncertainty of COVID-19 and next season’s schedule.

Now the NBA has taken care of the city and the Pacers, awarding them the next available All-Star game. Indy will host the NBA’s fan-focused showcase Feb. 16-18, 2024 — with the game to be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Fieldhouse is already slated to host first- and second-round games of the NCAA men's basketball tournament March 21-24, 2024.

As for this upcoming season, an All-Star break has been built in — March 5-10, 2021 — but plans for what that might consist of will be announced at a later time.

Cleveland is up next in 2022, followed by Salt Lake City in 2023.

“We are excited about the opportunity to bring Indiana the very best All-Star experience in 2024,” said Pacers owner Herb Simon, longest-tenured owner in the NBA. "The efforts of so many Hoosiers to prepare for NBA All-Star 2021 put us ahead of the game for the hard work to come, and we are so grateful to the NBA for once again recognizing Indianapolis as a city that delivers world-class events.”

What this means for the Indy host committee isn’t immediately clear. There are several full-time employees for NBA All-Star Inc., including Dianna Boyce (vice president), Mariah Bird (manager of event activations and venues) and Taylor Wong (event services assistant). Already, the host committee awarded 21 youth-serving nonprofit organizations across the state with legacy grants up to $50,000 each — a total of $1 million invested.

Indy will get a second opportunity to host All-Star weekend, it’s just going to be delayed three more years. And by then, extensive renovations to Bankers Life Fieldhouse will be completed.