Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) champions the Beijing Ducks will play all their home games at the MasterCard Center from next season on, the club ­announced Thursday at a news conference in Beijing.

The Shougang Gymnasium, which can hold 6,000 spectators, has been the Ducks' home court in past seasons. Starting from 2011-12, the Ducks began to hold their playoff home games at the MasterCard Center which has a capacity of 18,000. The Ducks won their first-­ever CBA title that season, and went on to claim their second (2014) and third (2015) over the following three seasons.

The MasterCard Center, formerly known as the Wukesong Culture & Sports Center, hosted the basketball events at the 2008 Olympic Games. In January 2011, MasterCard Worldwide acquired the naming rights and it was renamed the MasterCard Center.

Following the Ducks' on-court success, more and more fans are eager to watch basketball at the stadium. But the Shougang Gymnasium's 6,000 seats are not enough anymore, the club said.

Former NBA star Stephon Marbury, who played a key role in winning all of the Ducks' three titles, jokingly said playing games at MasterCard Center means he will spend less time driving to work.

He told reporters at the news conference that he still remembers "the amazing feeling" when he first played a sold-out game in the stadium. Marbury's first game there was the CBA All-Star Game in 2010, when he was ­playing for the Shanxi Brave Dragons during his first season in China. He said the CBA's regular-­season games have ­finally moved to an "NBA-level" stadium.

Also on Thursday, the CBA announced the winners of the Best Coach award for the 2014-15 season. Ducks coach Min Lulei and Qingdao Eagles coach Li Qiuping shared the honor.

Min led the Ducks to their third CBA title in the last four years. The Eagles, minnows in previous seasons, finished with the third-best record in the 2014-15 regular season under Li, but lost to the Liaoning Flying Leopards in the semis.

Zhou Qi of the Xinjiang Flying Tigers won the Best Rookie award. The 19-year-old averaged 14.1 points and seven ­rebounds in the 2014-2015 season.