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Macau is becoming a city of sports and entertainment


Sands China CEO and president Grant Chum said Macau was diversifying its economy away from gaming to become “a sports city and… an entertainment city”, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the city that concluded on Friday.

In an interview in “Squawk Asia Box“Chum cited an agreement announced in early December between Sands China and the National Basketball Association of North America to play two NBA preseason games in China.

“We are bringing NBA China games back to China, but this time in Macau,” Chum told CNBC’s Emily Tan. “We don’t want to just do a one-off event. We believe that a multi-year partnership, where we will play these pre-season games for several years, will really strengthen Macau’s positioning.”

The games are part of Sands China’s commitment to invest $4.5 billion in the city through 2032, of which “more than 90%… will be in non-gaming investments,” Chum said.

Collectively, the six gaming operators of Macau, China’s special administrative region, has pledged to invest nearly $15 billion to make its economy less dependent on gaming revenue. The operators’ gaming licenses were renewed in 2022, albeit for 10 years, instead of 20. after each promised to invest heavily in non-gaming projects.

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But for some, the transformation is not coming fast enough.

In a speech in Macau on Friday, Xi praised the special administrative region before laying out “three expectations” for the city, including a call to “keep pace with the trends of the times,” while demonstrating “greater courage in reform and innovation”. according to a transcript provided by China’s State Council.

Xi also urged the city to take steps to attract more foreign talent. a sentiment echoed by Allan Zemannon-executive chairman of Wynn Macao, Thursday “Squawk Asia Box“.

Building the Macau brand

Chum said Sands China has already accomplished one major project: the renovation of the 14,000-seat Venetian Arena, formerly known as Cotai Arena, in November.

“We have invested more than $200 million in the fundamental improvement and renovation of the Venetian Arena,” he said. “These facilities will be state-of-the-art, not only for exhibitions and conventions, but also for live music concerts and also for increasingly important sporting events.”

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The Venetian Arena will host NBA preseason games starting in 2025. The first two games, between the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns, are scheduled for October, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said. earlier this month.

Chum said those games will increase Macau’s position as a destination for major world events.

“We hope that over time this will build the value of the Macau brand,” he told CNBC.

Chum said Macau’s gaming revenue has recovered to about 80% of 2019 levels, while tourist arrivals, which he called “the most important health indicator for the tourism economy,” reached pre-pandemic levels in August and October.

Friday marked the 25th anniversary since the British returned Macau to China in December 1999.

The NBA deal also marks the return of preseason games to China for the first time since 2019. In October of that year, China abruptly ended an agreement to broadcast preseason games in the country by a tweet made by then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, which expressed support for anti-Beijing protesters in Hong Kong.



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