Olympic venue to host two Ducks games

Beijing's basketball fans will have an affordable chance to cheer for their home team at an Olympic venue.

Aiming to provide an Olympic-caliber experience for fans, the MasterCard Center will host two CBA regular season games of the Beijing Ducks on Dec 27 and 29 for the same ticket price as at Beijing's traditional home, the Shougang Gymnasium.

It will be the third time for the Ducks to play their home games at the MasterCard Center, which hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympics' basketball tournament, after the CBA finals in 2012 and the playoffs this year.

Beijing won its first CBA championship in franchise history at the 18,000-seat MasterCard Center in 2012 and the stadium has become a basketball Mecca for hoop fans in Beijing.

The ticket prices for the two games, against the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and Shanxi Dragons, will range from 80 yuan ($13) to 1,600 yuan. Fans can also book discount couple packages with www.mypiao.com or www.t3.com.cn.

"As the host of Olympic events, the MasterCard Center can provide cutting-edge facilities and atmosphere that other stadiums can't offer," said Guo Jinjiao, general manager of the stadium.

"Since Beijing winning the league championship here in 2012, the stadium has become a hoops destination and we hope to build a solid grassroots foundation of the game by working together with the Ducks."

Beijing, which ranks third in the league with a 11-4 record, beat Xinjiang, 106-98, on the road on Nov 10 and defeated Shanxi, 104-94, at their first match on Nov 13.