NEW YORK — The New York Liberty will host the first regular-season outdoor game in pro basketball history at the U.S. Open.
The Liberty Outdoor Classic will be held July 19 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, located in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. The Liberty will play the Indiana Fever in the first non-tennis sporting event at the venue.
“It will bring all of us back to our roots, celebrate the enormous growth and interest in the women’s game and provide an opportunity to gain unprecedented exposure for Liberty basketball and the WNBA,” said Carol Blazejowski, president and general manager of the Liberty. “That the game is taking place in a venue named after one of the greatest pioneers in women’s sports makes the event particularly meaningful.”
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation will receive a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales.
It will not be the first outdoor professional game. The Phoenix Suns defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in a preseason NBA game at a baseball stadium on Sept. 24, 1972, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The NBA will play another outdoor game on Oct. 11. Phoenix and Denver will meet in the preseason at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif.
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