Mercedes-Benz Arena, one of the venues in China to have hosted NBA preseason games, on Wednesday welcomed retired NBA star Horace Grant.

After a brief tour at the arena, one of the permanent venues left after the Shanghai World Expo in 2011, the four-time NBA champion and the game's ambassador said he was looking forward to the preseason game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, which will be staged at the arena later this year as part of the NBA's China Games.

"I have been to a lot of arenas throughout my career and this is one of the top ones I have been in. It's a state-of-the-art arena for state-of-the-art things," he said.

As one of the remaining structures after the Expo, the Mercedes-Benz Arena stands nestled among the China Pavilion, Shanghai Exhibition Center and the Shanghai Theme Pavilion.

It boasts an 18,000-seat multi-functional performance area. The main arena can be partitioned and divided to host any number of shows and satisfy numerous lighting, sound and seating arrangement requests.