NEW ORLEANS -- A day after Charlotte Hornets owners
announced plans to move their NBA team here, local fans had
requested about 4,800 season tickets.
"That's just off the press conference; there will be an
orchestrated marketing campaign by the team that hasn't even begun
yet," said Bill Curl, spokesman for the management company that
runs the 2½-year-old New Orleans Arena.
Team officials can nullify their agreement with the state if
they have been unable to sell about 10,500 season tickets and 54
luxury suites by March 15.
Bill Hines, chairman of the local economic development agency
Metrovision, said those bench marks were essentially met last year
when the city sought to attract the NBA's Grizzlies from Vancouver
before that club settled on Memphis, Tenn.
"If you look at the current 44 suite owners, 95 percent of
those people at higher NBA prices re-upped on their suites," Hines
said. "I'm assuming we're starting with almost 50 suites already
sold. We just have to reconfirm the orders, in effect."
A sign outside the Louisiana Superdome, which is next to the
arena and run by the same company, advertised a toll-free phone
number and Web site for anyone interested in Hornets tickets for
next season.
Workers taking phone requests said season ticket prices are
$10,750 for courtside seats, between $5,375 and $3,870 for club
levels, $2,365 for lower corner, $1,935 for lower level behind the
baskets, $1,634 for upper level sideline, $1,225 for upper level
corner and $795 for upper level behind the baskets.
Suites will go for about $97,500, a price that will cover
basketball, minor league hockey and concerts.
Team owners George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge, like local
government officials, have beamed optimism about the Hornet's
prospects in New Orleans, a relatively small market.
Skeptics have pointed out that New Orleans' median household
income is $38,800 a year, below the national average and below
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.
New Orleans has only one Fortune 500 company. Charlotte has
seven.
Also, the optimism for New Orleans shown by the Hornets
contrasts sharply to attitudes shown by NFL Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue and Saints owner Tom Benson, who have questioned
long-term viability of the Saints here.
Last fall, the state offered the Saints about $180 million over
ten years to stay for at least for that long, while public
officials study whether to build a new stadium or substantially
renovate the 27-year-old Superdome. That agreement is pending
approval by the state Legislature this spring.
The NBA, which says its policy is for teams to move as little as
possible, also has a say in whether the Hornets can leave
Charlotte. A league committee is expected to arrive in New Orleans
after the Feb. 10 NBA All-Star Game to evaluate the local market
and facilities.
Hines said economic statistics cited by nay-sayers do not
account for the potential business growth or the vast amounts of
old money here.
"There is significant private wealth in the New Orleans and
Baton Rouge area," Hines said, noting that LSU sold out its 70
suites at Tiger Stadium, with prices ranging from $35,000 to
$95,000. "That's for only six football games and no concerts.
"These are people with extraordinary amounts of money. The
issue is motivating them to spend it and NBA basketball has been a
fairly easy sell," Hines said.
Based on demographic and economic data from the past 10 years,
it may have been fair to assume that New Orleans is stagnant or
contracting, Hines said. But that same data has served as a wakeup
call to officials now working aggressively to turn the city around,
he said.
"This isn't just about an NBA team, but about the beginning of
a rebirth of the New Orleans economy," Hines said. "It's part of
rebranding the city."
Hornets officials said they hope to have approval to move by an
April 8 owners meeting.
Hines said team owners have told him approval is all but
guaranteed if New Orleans fans meet ticket and suite sales levels
outlined in the deal.
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