Whatsup Squad,
With the NBA and NHL Playoffs in full swing, host cities are buzzing with excitement.
On Sunday, the Minnesota Timberwolves dethroned the reigning champion Denver Nuggets in an exciting Game 7 matchup.
That said, it’s what happened after the game that transcended the sports world.
The Moment
Immediately after the Timberwolves win, Anthony Edwards spoke with Charles Barkley in a postgame interview.
The Wolves haven’t earned a spot in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals since 2004, and Barkley told Edwards that he hadn’t been to Minnesota in 20 years.
Edwards’ comeback has quickly gone viral and is becoming one of the most powerful tourism campaigns ever for the state of Minnesota.
Minnesota’s Response
Explore Minnesota, the state’s department of tourism, seized the moment and posted a tweet that has generated more than 414,000 views as of Friday morning.
The bringyaass.com website address also now redirects to Explore Minnesota’s landing page.
It reads:
“Welcome to a state of possibility. Whether you’re planning a visit or pondering a move, Minnesota is ready to welcome you.
In other words...”
Considering Charles Barkley also asked Edwards for restaurant recommendations, it’s only fitting that one is now prominently featured.
Even state Governor Tim Walz gave significant visibility to the issue in a State of Minnesota Proclamation.
Read the first letter of each statement.
Minnesota was already running a Star of the North campaign where visitors’ own experiences are at the forefront, and Edwards’ comments perfectly fit into the broader narrative.
Going forward, Explore Minnesota is discussing further collaborations with the team as the playoff run continues.
In the meantime, the department’s web traffic has more than doubled, with official t-shirts and hats already up for sale.
Dallas – The Blueprint
Excitement was high as ever for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals in Minneapolis.
Despite the loss for the Timberwolves, there’s a lesson to be learned from the Mavericks and the city of Dallas.
Like Minneapolis, Dallas is one of 10 American cities with at least one team from each of the five major professional sports leagues (MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLS).
Just six months after the Rangers (MLB) brought home the first major professional sports title to the Dallas area in over a decade, the Stars (NHL) and Mavericks are continuing the recent trend of success.
For the first time in the franchises’ existence, both teams reached the conference finals in the same year.
Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen and Mavericks star Luka Doncic made their regular-season professional debuts less than two weeks apart in October 2018.
They were both drafted third overall in their respective leagues just a year apart.
The playoff run for both teams has even caught the attention of the Cowboys — the one Dallas team that hasn’t reached the conference finals this year, let alone this century.
Still, the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports team in the world.
The Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones are not new to leveraging sports to boost local tourism – they virtually wrote the playbook.
Since opening in 2009, AT&T Stadium has positioned itself as the home of major sporting events beyond Cowboys games.
At 3 million square feet and a capacity of up to 105,000, AT&T Stadium was the largest NFL facility ever built.
The $1.2 billion stadium, aka Jerry World, was selected by Sports Business Journal as the facility of the decade. It makes the Dallas-Fort Worth area one of the best cities to host major events.
Fans flock to this masterpiece of a stadium year-round for concerts, basketball games, soccer, college and high school football games, rodeos, motocross, professional wrestling and more.
AT&T Stadium is scheduled to host nine matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, more than any other locale.
Dallas’s status as an elite sports city is not due to the success of its teams, but rather its deep commitment to elevating the entire sports experience.
Final Thoughts
Sports moments do not happen in a vacuum, and these regions exemplify how players, teams, and facilities can be a be a catalyst for economic activity.
That said, one playoff run and one tourism campaign can only go so far.
Sports tourism starts and ends with facilities. On-court success is no match for world-class infrastructure.
Until next time ✌🏾