The 2019 NBA All-Star Game will be held in Charlotte after this year's edition was moved to New Orleans because of the North Carolina law restricting the rights of LGBT people.
The All-Star weekend festivities are set for Feb. 15-17, 2019. The game will be played at Spectrum Center, home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.
The controversial law, HB2, was repealed in March by the North Carolina legislature and Gov. Roy Cooper. However, the compromise legislation states that local governments aren't permitted to pass nondiscrimination ordinances covering things like sexual orientation and gender identity until December 2020.
"While we understand the concerns of those who say the repeal of HB2 did not go far enough, we believe the recent legislation eliminates the most egregious aspects of the prior law," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "Additionally, it allows us to work with the leadership of the Hornets organization to apply a set of equality principles to ensure that every All-Star event will proceed with open access and anti-discrimination policies. All venues, hotels and businesses we work with during All-Star will adhere to these policies as well.
"Sports have a long history of helping to change attitudes around important social issues. We believe holding our All-Star activities in Charlotte will be a powerful way for the NBA to continue this tradition."
Despite Silver's intentions, the Equality NC and the Human Rights Campaign has concerns that no protections for nondiscrimination policies for the LGBTQ community have been put in place by Charlotte or the state.
"North Carolina's discriminatory law prohibits the city of Charlotte from implementing non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ residents and visitors attending the All-Star Game. Nothing has changed that fact,'' said HRC senior vice president for policy and political affairs JoDee Winterhof.
Hornets chairman Michael Jordan said in a statement that his organization was "thrilled" that the All-Star Game would be played in Charlotte.
"We want to thank Commissioner Silver for his leadership throughout this process and for the decision to bring NBA All-Star back to Buzz City. All-Star weekend is an international event that will provide a tremendous economic impact to our community while showcasing our city, our franchise and our passionate Hornets fan base to people around the world," he said.
Hornets guard Nicolas Batum tweeted that he was "very happy for the Hornets organization" after Wednesday's announcement.
Very happy for the Hornets organization, the city of Charlotte and the states of North and South Carolina #BuzzCity #AllStar2019 pic.twitter.com/g8hoWuTqSA
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) May 24, 2017
Charlotte previously hosted the All-Star Game in 1991 at the Charlotte Coliseum, which has since been demolished.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.