The Orlando Magic will play a preseason game in Brazil on Oct. 17.
The Magic will play in Rio de Janeiro against the Brazilian team Flamengo at HSBC Arena.
The NBA is expected to announce the details of the exhibition today.
The Magic’s involvement is no accident.
Magic executives told NBA officials they wanted to play a game in Brazil. In 2013, almost 770,000 visitors from Brazil visited Central Florida — the highest number of visitors from any overseas country — according to the tourism-marketing agency Visit Orlando. A share of those visitors attend Magic regular-season games, especially during January and February.
Last year, the Magic sent three employees to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo to meet with tour-group operators who bring tourists to Central Florida and with business owners whose businesses could become Magic corporate sponsors one day.
The Magic hosted Flamengo in an preseason game last October.
Josh Robbins covers the Orlando Magic and the NBA for the Orlando Sentinel. You can reach him via e-mail at jbrobbins@tribune.com and connect with him on Facebook at facebook.com/JoshuaBRobbins. Follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.
