Source: Ryan Hedrick / WIBC Radio
INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA has been working with the City of Indianapolis on a safety plan for the upcoming All-Star Weekend for nearly a decade. Conversations started in 2017 with a comprehensive plan to keep Hoosiers and out-of-town visitors safe.
Daniel Lopez, Vice President for External Affairs and Corporate Communications at Pacers Sports & Entertainment, joined Tony Katz and the Morning News on Friday.
“The beauty of a place like Indianapolis doing these events- it’s one of the reasons we are so good at these events- is that we have an actual campus,” said Lopez. Everything is so connected. If you have 8,500 hotel rooms in the area, more than half are connected by a pedestrian walkway.”
Lopez said the NBA is working with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to reinforce its security plan.
“The NBA does that better than anybody, and so it’s going to be a good environment; it’s going to be a lot of fun,” added Lopez.
The NBA All-Star Tip-Off Ceremony, which will be held on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Bicentennial Unity Plaza, will feature local musicians, speeches from leaders, and a fireworks display to start NBA All-Star 2024.
Lopez said visitors can go online to look at interactive maps of traffic patterns and color-coded map routes.
“We have designed a blue route and a gold route that folks can follow to get around the downtown so they can work around the street closures,” added Lopez.
