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City of Phoenix focusing on heat relief during WNBA All-Star game

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PHOENIX — The AT&T WNBA All-Star game is bringing in thousands from all over the country to Phoenix, including those who are not used to our triple-digit temperatures.

Marcia Presberry loves to volunteer. She got out to the event area at around 9:30 a.m. Saturday to pass out water bottles and keep people cool.

“We’re the hydration station, making sure people that are coming to visit Phoenix and people that live here in Phoenix are not thirsty… bottom line right?” said Presberry, who volunteers with the City of Phoenix.

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The City of Phoenix’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation put out seven hydration stations all around where the game is happening. Ice cold water was passed out free for the taking, with volunteers happy to hand them out.

“Some people are a little hesitant to come into Phoenix in the summer time, so we’ve done a lot to make sure that we mitigate that with water distribution centers around the downtown,” said Eric George, the city major events administrator for the City of Phoenix.

“I’m not handling it well. I double fist the hydration, for sure, and I have a Gatorade pouch in my pocket,” said one woman in a group of friends visiting from Omaha, Nebraska.

Around 17,000 basketball fans are slated to be in Phoenix over the weekend, with many taking part in WNBA Live, or the fan fest for the game, where fans can meet players, get autographs and participate in skills challenges.

The Footprint Center has already sold out tickets for the game.

“We want people to feel like when they came to Phoenix, they felt the love and we have a lot of love for them. So keep visiting,” said Presberry.