Kansas City, MO (Aug. 2, 2008) - Kansas City will welcome Big 12 Alumni including Maurice Evans, Acie Law, Raef LaFrentz, LaMarcus Aldridge as well as Greg Oden, first pick of the 2007 NBA draft and Jerryd Bayless, 2008 Summer League Player of the Year, when the teams tipoff at Kansas City’s new arena at 7:00 p.m. Members of the Atlanta Hawks coaching staff have ties to the Kansas City area (Mike Woodson, Head Coach and Assistant Coach, Larry Drew) and Blazers General Manager, Kevin Pritchard, was starting point guard for the 1988 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion KU Jayhawks.

"Kansas City has a rich tradition of NBA fans and basketball history," said Brenda Tinnen, T-Mobile Center General Manager and Senior Vice President. "Celebrating the first anniversary of T-Mobile Center’s Grand Opening with our first ever preseason NBA game is truly remarkable."

Ticket prices for the Blazers vs. Hawks game start at only $10. Additional tickets are available at a variety of levels including $30, $50, $65, $90 including a limited number of courtside seats for $200 each. Tickets go on sale Saturday, Aug. 9 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and charge by phone at (816) 931-3330. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Group tickets are on sale now and may be purchased by calling 816.949.7175 or e-mailing grouptickets@t-mobilecenter.com.

Opened on Oct. 10, 2007, T-Mobile Center Kansas City’s home for sporting events, concerts, family shows and special events. Elton John’s grand opening concert on Oct. 13, 2007, was the first of several sold out performances and events during T-Mobile Center’s inaugural year. To date, Kansas City has welcomed a variety of diverse shows including Rascal Flatts, Billy Joel, Reba McEntire, two sold out Bon Jovi shows and nine record breaking sold out shows by Garth Brooks -- including a live broadcast into more than 300 movie theaters around the world.

Home to the College Basketball Experience, T-Mobile Center hosted the sold-out 2008 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championships and will see first- and second- round action of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships and 2010 NCAA Women’s Basketball Regional. T-Mobile Center will exceed initial attendance projections having welcomed more than 1.2 million guests since opening.