World's First NBA Playzone Opens in Shanghai [全球首家NBA乐园落户上海]
Ever since Yao Ming made history to become the first Mainland-born NBA All-Star, the league has enjoyed massive popularity in the country. In the same year that the great center was elected into the basketball hall of fame, NBA China has opened its first ever NBA Playzone in the big man's hometown.
Located in Xintiandi's Hubindao Mall, the NBA Playzone is a 1,500 square-meter family destination, complete with 10 areas full of activities designed to "inspire young people across China to use the sport of basketball and the NBA to live healthy active lifestyles."
Digital interactive games like Halftime Live are impressive for its technology - allowing the little ones to use shadows of their hands to shoot balls into a computerized net in a game that mixes a video game feel with physical activity.
More conventional is the Rookie Challenge - a soft-play obstacle that will have the kids jumping, climbing, crawling and dunking. The Mascot Training Ground (see cover image) is an over-sized jungle gym that will have children entertained for hours - full of slides, a ball pit and a mini zip-line course for the budding thrill seeker.
For the older aspiring baller, The Arena area is roughly one-third the size of an NBA regulation court and designed to teach basketball fundamentals to the more serious player. Meanwhile, the Dunk Zone is an enclosed trampoline area for budding Michael Jordans to practice their jamming skills.
Fans of all ages will dig the Measure-Ups area featuring the handprints, footprints and measurements of star NBA players like Kobe, Yao, Kevin Durant and more for fans to compare. The In the Paint area is an arts and crafts designated space while NBA-themed private party rooms are available for birthday parties and special events.
Although that event is a private affair, McGrady and Denver Nuggets Emmanuel Mudiay (who famously played for Guangdong two years ago as an 18-year-old) will be the special guest at NBA 5V5 National Finals - a five-on-five basketball tournament featuring 16 teams from all over China featuring the best youth players, which is going down at Century Square this weekend.
While Shoemaker is reluctant to compare the NBA Playzone to Shanghai Disney and other players in China's amusement park boom, he has high hopes for it.
"Chinese fans are the best fans in the world. We think the NBA Playzone meets market demand for fun, safe and clean indoor active spaces. We expect to see NBA Playzones in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and all over China in a few short years," Shoemaker says.
"It is something that we've designed in China, was inspired in China and is now being created and built in China. It wouldn’t surprise me if something we started with the NBA in China grew and found itself in other countries around the world as well."
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自姚明成为中国内陆第一位进入NBA联赛的球星之后，国内的“NBA热”愈发流行。今年，继姚明正式列入“NBA名人堂”之后，NBA中国也在这位巨星的家乡揭开了首个NBA主题乐园的面纱。
这个占地1500平方米的主题乐园落户于新天地湖滨道商城，共有10个配置完全的游乐区域，旨在“鼓励中国的年轻人爱上篮球运动和NBA，倡导健康的生活方式”，可谓沪上家庭活动的新天堂。
NBA中国总裁David Shoemaker认为：“运动是日常教育的一个重要方式。像篮球这样的团队运动可以让孩子们体会到团队精神、沟通、领导力的重要性。当然，还有面对输赢的心态调整。”
Halftime Live这样的电子类互动游戏采用了先进的技术，让孩子们通过影子投射在虚拟游戏赛场上，体验真实的赛场竞技和投球。
相较之下，Rookie Challenge则比较传统，通过在场地上设置障碍物要求孩子们完成跳跃、攀爬、俯身穿越和扣篮等任务。本文封面所示的Mascot Training Ground是一个巨大的运动空间，孩子们可以在里面玩耍很久。它配有各种长度的滑梯，一个海洋球场以及一个小型的曲折通道，专门为了喜欢挑战的孩子准备。
Arena场地比较适合大一些的篮球爱好者。赛场大小是按照正规NBA赛场的1/3建成，主要是用来提升初级爱好者提的教学空间。旁边的Dunk Zone是一个非敞开的跳床场地，是给未来的扣篮之星训练灌篮技能的地方。
相信Measure-Ups会是各个年龄粉丝所趋之若鹜的地方，因为里面有许多NBA巨星如Kobe, Yao, Kevin Durant的手掌印、脚掌印以及各类测量数据，供粉丝自行比较。In the Paint场所正如其名，供粉丝们做各类艺术创作；而NBA主题私人派对房间可供举行生日派对和各类活动。
NBA芝加哥公牛队的吉祥物Benny和休斯顿火箭队的吉祥物Clutch也会经常出没在乐园中哦！而麦迪和穆迪埃将会作为NBA 5V5总决赛的特邀嘉宾。
NBA主题乐园正式运营之际推出多种套票，例如价值3588元含20张票的家庭套票（限一位成人和一名儿童）及价值5508的无限次年卡。平日票为188元，周末票为239元（票价含一位成人及一名儿童）；另有成人随行，每位需另付50元。
虽然Shoemaker并不愿和上海迪士尼乐园及中国其他主题公园相比较，但他对NBA乐园还是寄以厚望的，他说道：“中国的粉丝是最好的。NBA主题乐园既具有娱乐性，也符合室内活动的安全卫生准则。我们在接下来几年内可以在北京，广州，深圳，成都和中国各个城市都能建立NBA主题乐园。这个主题乐园的概念是受到中国市场的启发并为之度身打造的。当然，如果这个乐园在中国受到欢迎，还能影响到全球其他城市，我们觉得这是非常自然的。”
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