BATON ROUGE, La. -- State officials and the owners of the
Charlotte Hornets appeared to be on the verge of completing a deal
to bring the NBA team to New Orleans.
"We are a perfect fit. We love New Orleans. We're bringing a
very good team here," Ray Wooldridge, co-owner of the team with
George Shinn, said after a Wednesday afternoon meeting with Gov.
Mike Foster.
A majority of the 29 NBA owners would still have to approve the
move.
Wooldridge and Foster said a deal could be announced Thursday or
Friday. However, Foster also urged reporters to listen to his
Thursday afternoon radio show for a possible announcement, and
officials at the New Orleans Arena called a news conference for
Thursday.
Wooldridge said discussions included improvements to the
18,500-seat arena, which is already close to NBA standards, and
state help in the sale of luxury box suites and season tickets.
Jack Capella, a lawyer for the commission that runs the
Superdome and the neighboring arena, said he believes the state and
the owners are working on a memorandum of understanding that would
be converted to a lease prior to April 1.
Part of the deal, he said, would include using state
construction money to expand the number of arena suites from 44 to
60, and expand with locker rooms and a club area.
Earlier Wednesday, a state advisory committee proposed using the
New Orleans hotel tax to pay for inducements to keep the New
Orleans Saints from moving -- and to lure other professional sports
teams.
New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, another meeting participant, was
cautious: "We've been down this path before."
The NBA blocked an attempt to bring the Minnesota Timberwolves
to New Orleans in 1994, and the city made a major effort last year
to land the Vancouver Grizzlies, who moved to Memphis instead.
In Charlotte, Mayor Pat McCrory acknowledged that the Hornets,
who also tried to relocate to Memphis, want to move to New Orleans.
McCrory said he was told by Mike Crum, director of operations
management at the Charlotte Coliseum, that the team plans to apply
to the NBA for permission to move.
Crum could not be reached. NBA officials deferred comment to the Hornets.
Hornets players said Shinn told them a deal with Charlotte looks
unlikely, but mentioned nothing about applying to move.
Shinn told the players the Hornets "lost a lot of money.
Something has to happen. He didn't say one way or the other,"
forward P.J. Brown said.
Coach Paul Silas said he and the players were trying to ignore
the issue.
"We would like to have some sort of closure, but who knows when
that's going to be," Silas said. "I'm kind of tired of the whole
thing. And I have no concern about that. We've got to win
ballgames. That's what I want my players to concentrate on."
When the team applied last spring to relocate to Memphis, it
then went on a strong playoff run that temporarily brought sellout
crowds back to Charlotte Coliseum. So the Hornets withdrew the
request.
Shinn and Wooldridge resumed their search for a new home in June
after Charlotte voters rejected a package that included a $200
million publicly financed downtown arena.
The Hornets' owners have said they cannot survive economically
in the Coliseum, which has 23,698 seats, but only 12 lucrative
suites. The New Orleans Arena has 44 suites and room to add another
20.
Chief executives of three of Charlotte's largest corporations
last week pledged $100 million to help fund a $190 million downtown
arena. Wooldridge said the proposal hasn't been presented to team
officials.
McCrory said the city won't significantly change its proposal to
keep the Hornets in Charlotte.
"We have a very sound proposal and we won't get into a bidding
war," he said.
New Orleans has a smaller metropolitan population than Charlotte
and a median household income of $38,800 a year, below the national
average and Charlotte's median income of $51,000.
New Orleans' TV market, ranked 43rd nationally, would be the
smallest in the NBA. Charlotte's TV market ranks 27th.
The Grizzlies' move last year was the league's first relocation
in 15 years. New Orleans lost the Jazz to Salt Lake City in 1979.
Also on Wednesday, the NBA said it wants to keep the Orlando
Magic in central Florida.
"We love having a team in Orlando," NBA deputy commissioner
Russ Granik said. "It's been a great market for us and it's
supported the Magic well. It's a little surprising that there's
discussion about the team moving. I don't think that's in anybody's
head right now."
The Magic's owners said Monday the franchise is for sale,
prompting speculation that any buyers would have to move the team
to succeed. Magic officials claim they are losing about $10 million
annually because their home court, T.D. Waterhouse Center, lacks
luxury suites and club seating. There are no plans to build a new
arena in Orlando.
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