MUMBAI – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Mahindra Group, one of India’s largest and most respected companies, today announced a partnership to launch a new multi-city community-based recreational basketball league. The new league for boys and girls ages 14 and up will tip off in Bangalore, Ludhiana and Mumbai, in collaboration with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

Mahindra will be the title partner of the new recreational league, Mahindra NBA Challenge, which will run for seven weeks annually in two divisions: youth ages 14-17 and adult 18+. The BFI will work with the NBA to implement and oversee league operations across all markets. The Mahindra NBA Challenge will provide basketball enthusiasts and newcomers to the game the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the game and apply their skills in a fun, competitive environment.

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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) – Hall of Famer Michael Jordan has agreed to buy a controlling interest in the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, majority owner Bob Johnson said on Saturday.

“He (Johnson) has signed a definitive agreement to sell the majority interest of Bobcats Sports and Entertainment to Michael Jordan and MJ Basketball Holdings LLC,” a statement said.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C.- (Business Wire) Charlotte’s hometown airline, US Airways, teams up today with the city’s NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, in a new corporate sponsorship agreement. US Airways and the Bobcats will hold an event for the airline’s 6,100 Charlotte-based employees later this week to celebrate the new partnership.

US Airways will sponsor in-game promotions and contests for fans at Bobcats home games. Additionally, the airline will secure promotional scoreboard signage at Time Warner Cable Arena in downtown Charlotte. US Airways will also have client hospitality opportunities at Bobcats home games.

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – A Michigan investment firm has finalized a deal to sell its 15 percent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers to Albert Hung, bringing LeBron James’ team a step closer to adding the National Basketball Association’s first big Chinese investor.

A Cavaliers spokesman declined to comment, but Cavaliers vice chairman David Katzman, whose Camelot Venture Group owns the stake being sold, said an all-cash deal was reached and should be approved by year end. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – The National Basketball Association on Monday announced the launch of its first-ever online and mobile sites designed for fans in India.

The sites, which includes live games, video highlights, select Hindi content, player blogs and columns from two India-based columnists, is being introduced with marketing partners Hewlett-Packard Co and Adidas AG’s Reebok.

The sport has more than 4 million active participants in India, according to the NBA, which cited data from the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Lakers not only won the National Basketball Association title last season, but seized the crown as the U.S. sports league’s most valuable franchise.

However, for the first time since Forbes magazine began tracking the finances of NBA franchises 11 years ago, the average team value declined this year.

The value of an NBA team, on average, fell 4 percent to $367 million and 12 of the league’s 30 teams were estimated to have posted operating losses last season, according to Forbes, which released its annual list on Wednesday.

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SHANGHAI (PRNewswire-Asia) – At a symbolic signing ceremony today on the banks of the Huangpu River, leading pioneer automobile brand Mercedes-Benz became the naming rights partner of the arena currently under construction in Shanghai. The arena, which is being jointly developed by world-class culture and sports entities Oriental Pearl Group, AEG and the National Basketball Association (NBA), will be the first arena in China to have a naming rights partnership.

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PHOENIX (BUSINESS WIRE) – Today Best Western announced it is renewing its sponsorship of the New Orleans Hornets Bookmobile, an interactive library-on-wheels that has distributed more than 90,000 free books to students in southeastern Louisiana. Since 2007, the World’s Largest Hotel Chain® has been presenting sponsor of the Bookmobile, which supports the NBA’s Read to Achieve initiative. The renewal agreement is for two more years — a $110,000 commitment.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York State lawfully seized land needed for the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, the state’s highest court ruled on Tuesday.

The project, which includes plans to build a basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets alongside office and apartment buildings, has been repeatedly delayed by lawsuits and financing problems.

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – The average price for a ticket to a National Basketball Association game fell for the first time in eight years as the weak economy continued to affect U.S. sports leagues.

The average price fell 2.8 percent to $48.90, the biggest drop ever for the league and the first decline since the 2001-2002 season, according to Team Marketing Report, or TMR. It was the second-biggest decline behind the National Hockey League’s 7.5 percent drop for the 2005-2006 season following a season-long lockout.

In 2001-2002, the NBA cut ticket prices by 2.3 percent. That was before TMR started separating tickets into general and premium categories. This year’s decrease is only for general tickets, which do not include amenities.

None of the other three major North American sports leagues showed a decline in 2009 ticket prices. The NHL was up just 0.1 percent, the National Football league was up 3.9 percent and Major League Baseball, thanks to two new parks in New York, posted a 5 percent increase.

In the NBA, 14 teams had price declines, while 13 kept them unchanged, TMR said. The Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Hornets were the only teams with increases.

The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers repeated as the team with the highest average at $93.25, TMR said. The Boston Celtics were second at $68.55, while the Memphis Grizzlies had the lowest average at $24.10. All three left prices unchanged from last year.

The biggest declines were at the Indiana Pacers (down 29.5 percent to $30.02) and the New Jersey Nets (down 19 percent to $44.51), TMR said.

Meanwhile, the NBA’s Fan Cost Index (FCI) — the average cost for a family of four to attend a game, and buy two beers, four soft drinks, four hot dogs, two game programs and two caps, as well as pay for parking — declined 1.4 percent to $289.87, TMR said.