NBA fans from around the world come to San Francisco for All-Star Weekend
The first NBA All-Star Game was played in 1951 at Boston Gardens and it only happened because Celtics owner Walter Brown agreed to cover any losses the game might incur. It drew 10,000 people and was considered an instant success.
Obviously, the game has grown a lot since then and now crowds show up even if they don't have a ticket to the game.
It was six hours before game time and people were already filing into the Thrive City plaza outside the Chase Center.
Olivia McKinney flew all the way from Chicago with her friend just to sit outside the TNT studio set, hoping to get a glimpse of Charles Barkley and Shaq.
"Oh, no, I like All-Star weekend," she said. "I come every year it's All-Star weekend. Yeah, even if I don't have a ticket. It's nice. I like the atmosphere, so it's fine with me."
It's amazing how many people will travel great distances just to be in the vicinity of the game. Ed and Cherry Fernandez live in Bermuda and were visiting New York when they flew to San Francisco–with no tickets–in the hopes of watching the game.
"We just arrived, what, eight o'clock from San Francisco International Airport," said Ed. "Just to experience what's happening here. Just to experience what's going on around this area right now."
"It is, it's exciting," said Cherry. "Even though we're not able to go inside, but at least the surroundings, the ambiance, the energy of the people around. This makes us happy."
The couple are Filipino and they say their country is wild about basketball. So, they took patio seats at Senor Sesig, a Filipino fusion restaurant at Thrive City. Ed and Cherry were hoping to watch the game on the plaza's big screen, but it turned out there was a change of plans.
"So, what happened yesterday," said manager Shane Curran, "we noticed that a lot of people were coming to watch the big screen, but they decided not to display it. They didn't want too big of a crowd in the Thrive plaza, right?"
Instead, Curran said people jammed into the restaurants to watch the events on the TVs, which made for booming business Saturday night.
"The place was packed, everyone was cheering with every dunk, and the three-point contest and everything," he said. "It's been fun. This is kind of like the adrenaline rush that we all love in the restaurant industry, right? Like this is kind of what makes us who we are at the end of the day, right?"
But some who hung out at Thrive on Sunday did have tickets, including four Knicks fans from New York who said they have traveled to every single All-Star game in the last 20 years.
"I'm sorry to all our wives and girlfriends that we always miss Valentine's Day because they usually put All-Star games around Valentine's Day," said Bernard Hall. "But the men of the family have chosen that this is our comradery, this is how we get together, this is how we break bread."
And over the last two decades, L.V. Wilson said they've watched as a non-serious exhibition game turned into a global phenomenon. Now, it's estimated that the All-Star Game will deliver up to $350 million in economic benefits to the Bay Area.
"Oh, it's definitely gotten bigger," Wilson said. "It's spread out through the city. There's things to do, things to do for the kids. The events that's coming up to it, to the event. And just being here. Just being here is a pleasure. Just being here at the All-Star Game 2025."
Waiting to get in with her three kids, Hana Cluff said she hoped it would be the experience of a lifetime for them.
"They will remember this for the rest of their life," she said. "And we're really excited about the All-Star Game tonight."
With the game rotating between host cities, it will be at least 2055 before it comes back to the Bay. Just in time for today's young fans to be able to take their kids, if they can get a ticket.
