NBA Manchester Game 2027: San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans, 17 January 2027

The NBA Manchester Game 2027 is the San Antonio Spurs against the New Orleans Pelicans at Co-op Live on Sunday 17 January 2027, the first regular-season NBA game ever played in the city. Doors open at 3pm, and the league's schedule puts tip-off at 10.30am Eastern time, which is 3.30pm in Manchester.

It is a Sunday afternoon game, and Victor Wembanyama is in the San Antonio side.

Most NBA games played in Europe are in the evening, which makes for a late finish. This one tips off mid-afternoon in January, so a group travelling in from London, Leeds or Glasgow can realistically be home the same night. For guests with families, or anyone due at work early on Monday, the timing is one of the most practical things about the day.

A first for Manchester, and for the Spurs in England

The NBA counts this as its second game in Manchester, its first regular-season game in the city, and the 20th game featuring an NBA team in England since 1993. The league announced it on 20 May 2026, paired with a game between the same two teams at Accor Arena in Paris three days earlier. For the Spurs it's a first game in England. For the Pelicans it's a first in both England and France.

RC Buford, the Spurs' chief executive, said when the games were announced: "It's an incredible honor to make our return to France and play our first-ever game in England." The NBA also plans community work around the game, including NBA Cares programmes and Jr. NBA youth clinics, though the Manchester details haven't been published.

George Aivazoglou, the NBA's managing director for Europe and the Middle East, said the two dates reflect "the strong momentum we're seeing for basketball" in France, the UK and across Europe. There is a practical side too: Manchester now has a large modern arena suited to an event of this size, and the league has chosen to use it.

How both teams started the 2026-27 season

Both teams coming to Manchester lost on opening night of the 2026-27 season. Oklahoma City came to San Antonio on 20 October 2026 for a rematch of last spring's seven-game Western Conference Finals and left with a 116-104 win. NBA.com's report had Wembanyama making one of his 13 field-goal attempts, with four turnovers and six blocks, and he put the night down to being "indecisive".

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept the result in proportion afterwards: "This game really doesn't mean that much," he said in NBA.com's write-up. The bright spot for San Antonio was De'Aaron Fox: 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from a three-guard start alongside Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle.

New Orleans fared little better a night later. The Pelicans went into the fourth quarter six points up at home to the Indiana Pacers on 21 October 2026 and still lost 123-120. Dejounte Murray's 23 points, seven assists and three blocks and Zion Williamson's 22 weren't enough, and Derik Queen chipped in a 10-point, 10-rebound night off the bench, according to Crescent City Sports.

One October night says little about January. By the time these teams reach Manchester they will have nearly three months of the season behind them, and both will have had plenty of games to settle their line-ups.

Why a regular-season game is different

This is not an exhibition. The result goes into the standings, and both teams will be in the middle of a long season with their own reasons to win it. The schedule matters as well. Both sides play in Paris on the Thursday, so by Sunday afternoon they will have spent most of a week away from home with one European game already played. That could mean a sharper second performance or tired legs, and there is no reliable way to know which in advance.

Who people will come to see

Wembanyama is the player most of the crowd will come to see, whatever his opening night looked like. In 2025-26 he became the first player ever voted Defensive Player of the Year unanimously, and he took the Spurs to the 2026 NBA Finals, which they lost to the New York Knicks. The box score rarely captures his defensive value, much of which shows in the shots opponents decide not to take.

He doesn't arrive alone. Fox is a two-time All-Star, Castle was the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year, and Harper, picked second in the 2025 draft, has started the season in the first five. It is a young, quick backcourt, and this will be the first chance for a Manchester crowd to see it in a regular-season game.

For New Orleans, Williamson is the name most UK fans will know. He played 62 games last season, a lot by his standards. Jeremiah Fears and Queen, both picked for the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars game as rookies and now in their second season under the new head coach Jamahl Mosley, are the younger pair worth watching. A January roster can look different from an October one, and Williamson has been the subject of trade talk since April, so the line-up is worth rechecking nearer the game.

Co-op Live and its premium spaces

Co-op Live sits on the Etihad Campus in east Manchester. It was built with music in mind, but the bowl is compact, with suites closer to the floor than in a traditional arena layout, which also suits basketball.

The arena lists a wide range of premium spaces: Private Suites, The Bentley Record Room, Hideaway, Gallery Suites, the Cîroc Lounge, The Club by Barclays, the OVO Lounge, Encore Restaurant and the Co-op Backstage Club. The food changes room by room: comfort food in the Gallery Suites, small bites and sharing plates in The Bentley Record Room, a Mediterranean menu by Simon Rimmer in Hideaway and a steakhouse-style dinner in Encore Restaurant. The Co-op Backstage Club is the early-entry option, with street food, its own bar and seating before the show.

Across the premium side, the arena lists early entry through a private entrance, dedicated hosts and premium parking. With doors at 3pm on a January Sunday, early entry means premium guests can eat inside before tip-off rather than waiting outside.

The spaces differ mainly in size and privacy. Private Suites give a group its own room and door for the afternoon, while The Club by Barclays and the OVO Lounge are a more straightforward fit for two or four guests.

Getting there and planning the day

Co-op Live publishes its own travel guidance for the Etihad Campus. Parking that can be paid for in advance depends on what else is on across the campus that day, the arena says, and may only open closer to the date. With a 3.30pm tip-off, the day has a simple shape: arrive for doors at 3pm, eat inside if your ticket includes dining, watch the game, then travel home in the early evening.

Manchester or Paris?

The same teams play at Accor Arena on Thursday 14 January 2027, and our Paris game page covers that night. Paris has Wembanyama's home crowd and an 8pm start. Manchester needs no passport, starts in the afternoon and falls on a Sunday. For a day out within the UK, Manchester is the simpler of the two.

There's more on the building in our Co-op Live guide, other league games abroad on our NBA international games page, and the rest of the sport in our basketball hospitality section. To register your interest in the Manchester game, talk to our team.

Photo credits: Co-op Live exterior by Anthony Parkes, CC BY-SA 2.0. Co-op Live by Peter McDermott, CC BY-SA 2.0. Victor Wembanyama at the 2026 NBA Finals by The White House, Public domain. Zion Williamson and Kevin Love by Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0. Portrait photo: Zion Williamson by Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0.