Jan 31, 2008, Beijing – The Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center (BWCSC), NBA China and AEG have formed a strategic partnership to design, market, program and operate the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena (BOBA). The three party collaboration will present a world-class arena during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a first-ever NBA-style multi-purpose arena for fans after the Olympic Games, it was announced today at a press conference in BOBA.

The official announcement today was presided over by Mr. Chen Gang, Deputy Mayor of Beijing Municipal City; Mr. Xu Bo, Director of Beijing 2008 Projects Construction Headquarters; Mr. Xu Jian, Director of Construction & Environment Department, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG); Mr. Mu Peng, Deputy Chief Executive of Haidian District and Venue Manager of Wukesong Precinct; Ms. Zhao Yan, Chairman of Beijing Wukesong Cultural & Sports Center Co., Ltd.; Mr. Tim Chen, CEO of NBA China and Mr. Timothy J. Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG.

NBA China has advised BWCSC in all aspects of arena design to develop BOBA into a world-class multi-purpose NBA-style venue that will host the upcoming Olympic basketball competition and be heralded as the region’s basketball home immediately following the games. AEG, as one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world, will oversee the operations of the arena during the Olympic Games as well as post-Olympics, in addition to booking the most popular performers, special events and family shows from China and around the world.

“Our partnership with NBA China and AEG - leaders of the sports and entertainment industry – will make a significant impact to the city of Beijing in terms of sports, cultural and economic development,” said Ms. Zhao. “With the expertise of NBA China and AEG, the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena will become a premiere destination for fans after the Olympic Games.”

Mr. Tim Chen said, “We are proud to partner with BWCSC and AEG to be involved with the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena, which sets a new standard for arenas in Asia.” He added, “We are committed to working with the city of Beijing, the General Administration of Sports, the Chinese Basketball Association and our partners to grow the sport of basketball in China, and this arena is an important step in accomplishing that goal.”

“The Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena will instantly become the region’s finest and most modern showcase for basketball and other sports in addition to the most popular performers in the music industry,” said Mr. Leiweke. “Along with our partners at NBA China and Beijing Wukesong Cultural & Sports Center Company, we are committed to creating and operating an arena that provides the highest level of guest services and the best schedule of sports and entertainment anywhere in China. Thank you to the people of Beijing for the opportunity to be part of your City and the confidence you have in our partnership. We won’t let you down.”

The Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena will have a capacity of 18,700 with 2,500 club seats, 9,600 lower bowl seats and 48 private suites. Apart from two restaurants, concession facilities will be distributed throughout the public concourse. The interior of the arena has an optimal design to not only host basketball games including NBA games, but also world-class concert tours, theatrical and family shows, and a multitude of regional and local events. The court will also convert into a regulation 30m-by-60m “sheet” of ice that can accommodate local and international ice events including hockey, figure-skating competitions, and ice shows.

Following the 2008 Olympics, BOBA will be opened to corporate partners interested in arena naming rights, brand ownership of specific areas inside the arena, in-arena signage, and other branding opportunities.

The Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena is part of the Chang An Plaza development in western Beijing’s Haidian District in the Wukesong area at the intersection of two of Beijing’s most important and highly traveled roads – Chang An Avenue and West Fourth Ring Road. In addition to BOBA, Chang An Plaza will feature the Wukesong Baseball Field (Olympics Venue), 300,000 square meters of commercial, cultural and entertainment space and three office buildings.

About NBA China
The NBA has interacted with Chinese basketball for decades, including first hosting the Chinese National team in 1985 and regularly providing training for the team through U.S. coaching clinics, exhibition matches against NBA Development League teams and an invitation to the 2007 NBA Summer League. The NBA currently has relationships with 51 Chinese telecasters - including a partnership of more than 20 years with national broadcaster CCTV. The league has also organized hundreds of touring basketball events for fans, and currently conducts community enrichment programs and maintains 16 marketing partnerships with a combination of Chinese-based corporations and U.S.-based multinationals.

The NBA opened its Hong Kong office in 1992 and currently employs 100 people in four offices in greater China. NBA.com/China has become the most popular single sports Web site in China and “NBA” is consistently the most searched sports term on Baidu.com, the top search engine in China. More than 500 unique NBA products are available in China at Wal-Mart, Carrefour, adidas stores and many other retail locations. The NBA became the first American sports league to stage games in China in 2004, with the NBA China Games 2004 in Beijing and Shanghai. The league returned this season for NBA China Games 2007, three preseason games played in Shanghai and Macao.

About BWCSC
BWCSC-formed in 2003, is the owner and developer of Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center which occupies 128 acre land located in west of Beijing. BWCSC is engaged in developing a multi-purpose entertainment and sports center which consists in phase one Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena, a 3 million square feet ChangAn mall and three office towers. Working with NBA and AEG together, One of BWCSC’s focus is to develop and operate Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena after Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and make it the best multi-purpose arena in Asia.

About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA), NOKIA Theatre Times Square, NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie (TX), the El Rey Theatre (Hollywood, CA), the WaMu Theatre (Seattle, WA), Target Center (Minneapolis, MN) and three just opened arenas, Sprint Center (Kansas City, MO), Prudential Center (Newark, NJ) and The O2, a 28-acre development located in the eastern part of London along the Thames River which includes a 20,000 seat arena and over 650,000sf of leisure and entertainment use; sports franchises throughout the world including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Los Angeles Riptide (MLL), the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo (MLS) in addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA). AEG developed and operates The Home Depot Center, a $150 million national training facility on the Campus of California State University Dominguez Hills in Carson, California designated as an “Official U.S. Olympic Training Site” by the United States Olympic Committee that includes major facilities for soccer, tennis, track & field, cycling, lacrosse, rugby, action sports, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. AEG’s live entertainment division, AEG LIVE is one of the world’s leading concert promotion and touring companies.

AEG is overseeing the development of L.A. LIVE, a 4 million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, residential & entertainment district featuring NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE, a 7,100-seat state-of-the-art live theatre which opened this October, a 54-story, 1001-room convention center “headquarters” hotel, Club NOKIA at L.A. LIVE, a 2,400 capacity live music venue, a 14-screen Regal Cineplex, “broadcast” facilities for ESPN, along with entertainment, restaurant, residential and office space and additional arenas, O2 World, on a 45-acre site in the heart of Berlin, Citizen’s Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California and in Las Vegas, Nevada.