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The mayor of Mexico City is welcoming the Phoenix Suns, who will play two of their regular season home games there this week.

For Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera, this week’s games are a big deal. In 2016, Mexico City attracted the NFL, Formula 1 and, so far in 2017, the NBA.

“We said we would start the year with world-class sporting events, and now here’s the NBA,” Mancera told a crowd in downtown Mexico on Tuesday.

The Suns is sending about 150 people to prepare for the games and help promote them, explained team President Jason Rowley.

Rowley said he hopes the games will help the team attract Mexican-American fans living in Arizona and help foster good will between Arizona and Mexico.

"Our belief is that we have a lot of connectivity there and there's a lot of opportunity there to continue to develop our Mexican American and Hispanic fan base,” Rowley said.

The Suns will be host  at the Mexico City Arena for the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.