Alex Martins said he was going to take a step back this year.
The Magic's vice chairman announced he was not going to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the team before the season began, as he began phasing out toward retirement. The hope was that he would be able to focus on other projects.
Martins will be inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame on March 23 in recognition of his more than 30 years working for the team.
While fans might bristle at that for his most public job as the team's president during the Dwight-Mare and the rebuilding years, Martins was instrumental in building the Magic and especially in building the Kia Center, the arena that likely kept the Magic in Orlando long term.
But there is still plenty of work for him to do for the Magic. His watch is not quite over yet.
He is still one of the organizers for the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation's Wine Festival and Charity Auction. And he is still working on one major project: Orlando's bid to bring the All-Star Game back to the City Beautiful.
That time is coming.
Martins said the city is set to submit its bid for All-Star Weekend sometime from 2028 through 2030 in April. And the city hopes it is a competitive bid to bring the big event back to Orlando for the first time since 2012.
"We've been fortunate enough that we've held it in Orlando twice. The event has grown tremendously since 2012. We jsut got back from LA. It's not just All-Star Weekend anymore, it's not just the All-Star Game anymore. Over the last couple of years it has been All-Star Week. LA showed us they made it a yearlong event in preparing for it and doing things for their community to uplift the community because of All-Star coming there. It's a much bigger event than the last time it was in Orlando."
Orlando eager to host All-Star again
All-Star Weekend has evolved a lot since 2012. So too has Orlando.
When the All-Star Game rolled into Orlando in 2012, it was during a lockout-shortened season. The Magic were in the middle of their Dwightmare season, too. It was a celebration of basketball and the city's new arena, but it was also muted.
If there was a complaint about the weekend's festivities, it was that the events were too spread out between the convention center on International Drive and the arena in Downtown Orlando. The space around the arena was cramped too, upsetting local businesses hwo looked to take advantage of the proximity to the building and were essentially shut out.
A lot of things have changed, including the city. It has grown up more and is more prepared to host these kinds of events.
The Magic have fallen and risen again. But the city has grown by leaps and bounds too.
Orlando got a second major professional sports team in Orlando City playing nearby at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions have hosted their own MLS All-Star Game too.
In addition to the annual college football bowl games, Orlando has become a destination for exhibition soccer games in the summer. They will host several World Cup warmup games this summer after their failed bid to host World Cup games.
UCF has joined the Big 12 and come into its own as well.
This is a city that has always been on the come up. And now it has come into its own.
But there is still clearly work to do to be ready to host one of the biggest events on the sports calendar.
Waiting on Westcourt
A lot of Orlando's hopes for hosting All-Star Weekend rest on the construction of the long-anticipated entertainment district, Westcourt.
The project has yet to break ground after being talked about since the team moved into the building in 2010 and after several renderings and false starts to get the project going.
Developers told Laura Kinsler of the Orlando Sentinel that the long-delayed project faced delays again because of uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, with the hope of breaking ground later this year. The entertainment district would likely not be ready for another two years, making a 2028 All-Star Game seem far-fetched.
Opening Westcourt and the space for gatherings around the Kia Center would likely be a key to the Magic getting another All-Star Weekend. That would put them in range to host the game in 2029 or 2030 if the Magic are indeed bidding for three potential All-Stars.
There is still clearly a lot of work to do to prepare for an All-Star Game.
But the Magic are certainly in the running to get the weekend festivities again.
"I'm proud of our community," Martins said at the Magic's Wine Festival and Auction last weekend. "As a community, we've collaborated so well thus far in putting our bid together. That [the NBA says] among most of the other cities that they work with that this community comes together in a way they haven't seen in most other cities. We're confident, but we're not overconfident. We have a lot of work to do. We have to make sure we submit the best bid and put our best foot forward. Hopefully, sometime in that window between 28 and 30, we'll have All-Star back in Orlando."
Martins is not going to get the chance to rest. He said he is working a lot more than he thought he would when he announced he was stepping back from his day-to-day role. There is still a lot of work to do if Orlando is going to get a third All-Star Weekend.