As basketball fans from around the world check out the NBA Finals, the league is trying to get them out of their own houses and into its homes.
Fans in Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Japan and India have been able to visit various “NBA Houses,” as part of a bid by the league to create more than a passing interest from global audience in the U.S. games. Those who visit can, depending on the scope of the site, meet former players, take part in games and tournaments, and actually watch post-season play. Japan’s “NBA House” offered over 11,000 square feet and sponsored by Amazon, Emirates, 2K, NTT Docomo and Bandai, marked the first time the NBA had set up such an attraction in the country.
“So many of our fans will never be able to walk into an arena,” says Kelly Flatow, executive vice president of global events for the NBA, during a recent interview. “One of the things that’s really important to us is to bring the authentic NBA experience around the world. NBA House is one way to do that.”
The league has been setting up NBA Houses around the world for years now, but never has international outreach become so important to U.S. sports leagues. The NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB all send some of their teams every season to play a few games abroad. Cultivating a truly global fan base, however, takes significantly more effort.
The fan events aren’t of the one-size-fits-all variety. In Brazil the “House” encompassed more than 6,000 square meters of experiences, which included a half court and viewing parties for every Finals. In Mexico, a fan event ran from June 3 to June 8 at Parque Aztlán – very close to a roller coaster. Sponsors included AT&T, Mazda, Wendy’s and Prime Video. Omar Chaparro, Diana Bovio and Gaz Alazraki and Danilo Gallinari were among the attendees, along with Boomer, the Indiana Pacers mascot And in Montreal, watch parties were scheduled for the second and third Finals games and fans could visit a dedicated WNBA Champions lounge tied to that league’s expansion in Canada.
Placement of the Houses is tied in part to NBA data about interest from audiences outside the U.S. Brazil, for example, Brazil has become one of the NBA’s most important market to engage fans, and it’s the league’s largest retail footprint outside the U.S. and China. NBA research shows the league has 13 million GenZ fans in Mexico. The league has clocked a 30% increase in NBA fandom in Quebec since 2023.
Among the metrics the league monitors, says Flatow, are fan reaction and merchandising sales by retail partners.
Key to the strategy is not giving fans the same experience around the world. “Each market is different. There is a different business culture, different kinds of fans,” says Raul Zarraga, senor vice president and head of operations for NBA Latin America and Canda during an interview in which he stood in front of one of the rides at Parque Aztlán. “There are different markets, different kinds of content, that they want to see, different kinds of digital platforms,” he adds.
Because the NBA House aims to bring families with kids, the league gets a chance to convert younger people into fans, says the executive.
Could an NBA House be coming to your part of the globe? “We will continue to look at new markets and international opportunities,” says Flatow.