Defending champion Chicago Sky to host WNBA All-Star Game

The reigning WNBA champion Chicago Sky will host this season’s WNBA All-Star Game at Wintrust Arena on July 10, the league announced Thursday.

Chicago is hosting the event for the first time. The Sunday contest will serve as the centerpiece for a weekend full of WNBA events.

It's official:

We're hosting the 2022 @WNBA All-Star Game at @WintrustArena!

📰 https://t.co/mDg1D6aP6q pic.twitter.com/Vw32fsEUhN

— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) April 28, 2022

In addition to the All-Star Game, the WNBA will debut the two-day “WNBA Live” at McCormick Place, the site for the Nike Tournament of Champions and the Girls Nike Nationals. The outdoor event will give fans an opportunity to interact with the WNBA, with the league saying it will provide more details about “WNBA Live” in the coming weeks.

The WNBA is excited to bring the All-Star festivities “to Chicago, a city that showed such electric support for the Chicago Sky and the WNBA throughout last season and especially during the WNBA finals,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement.

As a part of the weekend’s events, some of the league’s biggest names will play in front of the participants of the Girls Nike Nationals on July 9. The two WNBA All-Star teams will hold practice indoors at McCormick Place where the Nike TOC and Girls Nike Nationals are taking place.

Later Saturday afternoon, at 2 p.m. ET, the 3-Point Contest and WNBA Skills Challenge will kick off at McCormick Place and air live on ESPN.

“I look forward to welcoming the WNBA All-Star 2022 championship and festivities to our city,” Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said. “Chicago is a city of sports fans, and we’re thrilled to cheer on the Chicago Sky as they defend their title at Wintrust Arena. I’m grateful to AT&T and the WNBA for choosing Chicago for this exciting event as well as the Chicago Sky for continuing to represent the best of our city.”

The WNBA All-Star Game will air on ABC on Sunday, July 10, at 1 p.m. ET. Tickets for the game will go on sale on Friday, May 13, at 12 p.m. ET.