The 2027 NBA Phoenix All-Star Weekend countdown officially began during a press conference at the city's Sky Harbor Airport on Friday, Oct. 16.
The Feb. 19-21, 2027, All-Star festivities will be held at Phoenix Convention Center, with the Feb. 21 All-Star Game at the Phoenix Suns' Mortgage Matchup Center.
Longtime Suns broadcaster Tom Leander, Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein and Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego addressed the media.
The last time that an All-Star weekend was held in Phoenix was the WNBA's in 2024. Before then, the NBA's previous three Phoenix All-Star weekends were in 2009, 1995 and 1975.
"The women's All-Star Game had an incredible economic impact and we learned from that," Gallego said. "We're going to only do better, so the goal is to have the best All-Star Game ever."
Bartelstein spoke on how the Suns will differentiate the festivities from the WNBA's event and the previous NBA All-Star celebrations in Phoenix.
"There are such iconic All-Star Games here," Bartelstein said. "You kind of remember them as a kid growing up watching them. So for us is to learn those lessons. (We've) gone every year the last five years and taken notes, seen what they've done.
"The All-Star Game's a great celebration so it's had so much success, then we put our own flavor into it, how to make it authentically Phoenix, do things bigger and better and we learned a lot."
The NBA season opens Tuesday, Oct. 20, with three games. The Suns begin their season the following day in Portland against the Trail Blazers.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns, Phoenix mayor start 2027 NBA All-Star Weekend countdown at airport