HEAT to Host Summer of 2010 Welcome Event

MIAMI, July 9 – The Miami HEAT announced today that they will host the HEAT Summer of 2010 Welcome Event to celebrate Dwyane Wade’s return to the team, and to introduce its newest acquisitions, Chris Bosh and LeBron James, to the South Florida community. The celebration is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. tonight at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m. Live, statewide TV coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. on FOX Sports Florida.

While the event is free and open to the public, those wishing to attend will be required to register for a free ticket by logging onto < a href="http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0D0044E9C89D65C6" target="new">Ticketmaster.com. Only those fans who register online for their free tickets will be granted admission to the Arena property and the event. Additionally, there is a two ticket maximum per person. Parking will be available in the Arena’s P2 parking garage for $5.00 per car and will be available on a first come, first served basis. Select concession stands as well as the Miami Hoops Gear store will be open for business.

“We share in the exhilaration and excitement HEAT fans everywhere are experiencing right now and we want to provide a place for them to celebrate,” said Eric Woolworth, President of The HEAT Group’s Business Operations. “But we also want to ensure everyone’s safety, so we’re making approximately 10,000 free tickets available on Ticketmaster.com. Fans will have to produce their free tickets to be given access to the event.”

HEAT fans that are unable to attend the event won't miss a minute as FOX Sports Florida will provide exclusive live TV coverage of the entire celebration and press conference beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET and stream it live on FOXSportsFlorida.com. The program, presented by Papa John's, will also replay on Sun Sports Friday night at 10:30 p.m. HEAT broadcasters Eric Reid, Tony Fiorentino and Jason Jackson as well as Sun Sports’ Kristen Hewitt and FOXSportsFlorida.com’s HEAT reporter Chris Perkins will bring viewers all the festivities. Additional highlights, commentary and analysis will be available on FOXSportsFlorida.com after the event.

Radio listeners can tune into WINZ 940 AM where HEAT radio broadcasters Mike Inglis, John Crotty and radio host Jeff Doforest will be broadcasting live. HEAT Spanish broadcasters José Pañeda and Joe Pujala will also be broadcasting live on WQBA 1140 AM.

The Miami HEAT is proud to have Assist-Card as the Presenting Sponsor for the 2010-11 season.