NBA All-Star Game 2012: Jerry Reinsdorf Is Wrong About the All-Star Game

Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf recently expressed the sentiment that he is firmly against the NBA All-Star Game coming back to Chicago.

His reasoning seems to be based on the view that he is looking out for Chicago Bulls fans, most notably the season ticket holders.

As quoted by Melissa Issacson over at ESPN.com, Reinsdorf said:

"They'd have to force me to take the All-Star Game. They take over the building, your season-ticket holders have to be in a lottery to see if they get tickets and then they don't get a good ticket. Really, no good can come out of it and all it can do is upset your fans…I'd like to help the city bring in out-of-towners, help hotels, help restaurants. I just know talking to other people that your fans can't see the game."

This view is short-sighted at best, and borderline detrimental at worst.

As far as Reinsdorf’s apparent disdain for having the United Center taken over by the league, it only makes sense seeing as how All-Star weekend is a league event.

The schedules leading up to the festivities for all teams are cleared to insure that the hosting team, all the players who are participating and anyone else who wants to attend have ample time to prepare.

There is even a lull after the All-Star Game that gives the hosting site time to reboot for the second half of the season.

All of this aside, Reinsdorf’s complaint about giving up his arena still holds very little validity when considering the fact that for 10 days the Bulls and the Blackhawks are ousted from the United Center for a circus.

As fun as that event may be, it hardly holds the drawing power and worldwide appeal as the NBA All-Star Break.

Reinsdorf’s defense of his season ticket holders is another invalid point.

Suggesting that the crowd composition of an All-Star game should be dominated by the host city’s season ticket holders is an absurd claim.

Season ticket holders pay to watch their respective team's home games and nothing more. It’s an agreement they are well aware of when purchasing their ticket packages.

Holding season tickets hardly gives a person the right to attend any other event hosted in that same venue.

If that were the case, ticket holders would have access to concerts, car shows and whatever else a stadium may decide to preside over.

Reinsdorf doesn’t cite any polling that he has done of his own season ticket holders or other fans to back up his claims of upsetting Bulls patrons, but he seems very sure of their sentiments with his blanket statement.

Perhaps the biggest issue with Reinsdorf’s argument against hosting All-Star Weekend comes when he talks about wanting to help bring in tourists to bolster hotels and restaurant, but he rejects a weekend-long event that would do just that.

The event spans from Friday to Sunday; however, when you consider tourists who attend this event, you’re looking at drawing thousands of visitors to the host city for possibly five days or more.

All-Star Weekend is a great economic boon for any metropolis and when you think about the other attractions that Chicago offers, you are looking at generated revenue that benefits more than just hotels and restaurants.

The ultimate in the short-sightedness of Reinsdorf’s comments is how he seems to be either oblivious to, or completely ignores the benefit this game could be to the franchise.

Despite being a big market, Chicago does not do well with attracting genuine interest from big name free agents.

Reinsdorf’s stance could be misinterpreted as being that of an owner who isn’t willing to celebrate his players and give them the opportunity to display their talents to an international audience.

Just look at the current Bulls team.

Chicago has two 2012 All-Stars and a host of other players who have All-Star potential. The only thing that can sweeten the honor of being named one of league’s best is being able to showcase in front of your home crowd.

All in all, Reinsdorf’s stance is selfish and obtuse.

All-Star Weekend is a celebration of the NBA, not the Chicago Bulls.

The entire fan base has equal claim to the festivities, not just Bulls season ticket holders. I hardly think that he could even find many of those holders who think they should have first dibs on a non-Bull event.

His claim of upsetting fans is based on nothing but his own skewed perception of what the people who support his franchise want—there is an obvious disconnect.

Instead of listening to those “other people,” who he claims have told him the event isn’t worth the trouble, maybe he should try actually speaking to the fans—the people for whom the event is really for.