2011 NBA All-Star Game in L.A.

ESPN: The adage in Los Angeles is that everyone needs a car and anything worth seeing is 30 minutes from downtown. But next year, when the city hosts NBA All-Star weekend, the longest trip anyone might have to make from hotels to events and parties is across the street.

The 60th NBA All-Star Game will be played next year at Staples Center, with the NBA All-Star Jam at the adjacent Los Angeles Convention Center. The recently built L.A. Live, a 4 million-square-foot, $2.5 billion complex across the street, includes a Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott and more than a dozen restaurants, bars, clubs and theaters.

The only reason to leave downtown Los Angeles during next year’s All-Star Weekend might be to soak in the sun-kissed twists and turns of the Pacific Coast Highway or visit Mickey and Minnie at Disneyland. It will be a far cry from Dallas, where American Airlines Arena was a 10-minute drive from the media hotel, the Dallas Convention Center was a 15-minute ride and Cowboys Stadium was a 30-minute trip without traffic. That was, of course, for those who actually made it to Dallas after a snowstorm delayed and canceled hundreds of flights into the city.

Apparently this was news back in June. Wow, I just got word. Sorry guys for the delay. I'm pretty excited that the NBA All-Star game will be in my neck of the woods next year! Tickets are already on sale. Mark your calendars, the 2011 NBA All-Star game is on Feb. 20, 2011.

Go to Vivid Seats to get your tickets! I find through personal experience that purchasing tickets through Vivid Seats is a lot easier than most tickets selling agencies. Their seating arrangement chart is interactive and very easy to follow and most importantly their ticket prices are competitively cheap.