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N.O. HORNETS


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its official that the hornets will be in okc for the season. i'm sure there are plenty of ticked off people in louisiana, but the nba is a regular business and they needed a place to house the hornets. so if there are any angrey louisianans feel free to comment, or anyone else for that matter.

for other hornets related talk go to the topic THE NBA CHOOSES TULSA FOR THE NBDL.

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its official that the hornets will be in okc for the season. i'm sure there are plenty of ticked off people in louisiana, but the nba is a regular business and they needed a place to house the hornets. so if there are any angrey louisianans feel free to comment, or anyone else for that matter.

for other hornets related talk go to the topic THE NBA CHOOSES TULSA FOR THE NBDL.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

New Orleans residents might not be happy about it but I would think they would understand the move. I was surprised Little Rock didn't make much of an effort. They seemed more interested in the Saints which they had no hope in getting. But from what I've heard it sounded like OKC was bound to host the Hornets games because of their facilities.

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35 of the 41 games will be played here. the other 6 will be played in baton rouge. all teams will play here at the ford center. the deal is that they play the season but that if the hornets want to play another season they can. for all games here in okc they will be known as the new orleans/oklahoma city hornets. i wonder if new orleans will have the population for the hornets to return next year?

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I don't think many NO fans are pissed off at the move. But they probably are pissed at the articles from the Oklahoman basically advocating pursuing a campaign to keep the team there. Bad taste doesn't even describe those articles. I believe most Oklahomans wouldn't want to land a team that way. It's a great way to garner an ignominious name for yourselves.

The article, gleaned from another forum (hornetsreport.com -- they are pissed, and kind of are playing the self-pity a little bit toooo far, even for this obvious tragedy) b/c I refuse to sign up for that newspaper:

http://www.newsok.com/article/16220...plate=home/main

I think you need to sign in. In case you don't want to, here are some quotes:

That hard work and those big dreams have led to this faith: this is no temporary status, this elevation of Oklahoma City to the fraternity of New York and Chicago and Phoenix and LA and Dallas.

We are here to stay, if we so desire.

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Looks like Shinn is trying for an easy way to relocate the team again without paying another $200 million relocation fee. He had a great thing in Charlotte until he refused to pay to keep players and got in trouble with the law, then moved the team to New Orleans where he got rid of more players and had the worst attendence in the league last year. What an embarassment for the league if he turns his back on NO after they gave him a sweetheart deal a few years ago.

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I think the Hornets will fail if they move to OKC. JMHO. The city is not the kind of city that can support a Pro sports tem, if for no other reasons than simple population. I think Baton Rouge would have been a better move considering the city now has half of the evacuees from NO. The city has doubled in size literally overnight.

A2

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I think the Hornets will fail if they move to OKC. JMHO. The city is not the kind of city that can support a Pro sports tem, if for no other reasons than simple population. I think Baton Rouge would have been a better move considering the city now has half of the evacuees from NO. The city has doubled in size literally overnight.

A2

charlotte: 1,474,734

new orleans:1,319,589

okc:1,144,327

its a comparable city in size, so what kind of city is it then?

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The Hornets will be back in New Orleans, you can count on that.

I wasnt pissed about the move to OKC at all, it was necessary.

I am a huge Hornets fans, I have season tickets,I buy their merchandise, and I contribute to their charities, but basketball just isn't that important right now, and that is why they needed to move.

New Orleans will be back, it will be better then it ever was, and the Hornets, along with the Saints, will be back!

charlotte: 1,474,734

new orleans:1,319,589

okc:1,144,327

its a comparable city in size, so what kind of city is it then?

The Hornets also have a very large fan base in Baton Rouge(750,000) and Lafayette(550,000), and a large fan base along the Mississippi gulf coast(500,000).

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Looks like Shinn is trying for an easy way to relocate the team again without paying another $200 million relocation fee. He had a great thing in Charlotte until he refused to pay to keep players and got in trouble with the law, then moved the team to New Orleans where he got rid of more players and had the worst attendence in the league last year. What an embarassment for the league if he turns his back on NO after they gave him a sweetheart deal a few years ago.

What else was Shinn going to do this season?

If a hurricane had wiped out Miami with its successful franchise, even the Heat would still be playing in another city this season.

So, I'm not entirely convinced he's looking for another relocation.

Looks like George is on the move again. I do not think New Orleans will be able to support the Hornets for a long time. I predict they will land up in Kansas City.

99% of the people in Jefferson Parish will be back soon. Even teachers are reporting this week. St. Tammany is up and running as far as I know. The River parishes are doing fine. I would guess that half of Orleans parish will be back by Christmas at the latest. St. Bernard Parish is gone.

My conclusion is that out of a pre-Katrina metro of c. 1,300,000, there will be well over a million inhabitants of the msa leading absolutely normal pre-Katrina lives within 2 months. And those folks are the wealthy suburbanites who bought the season tickets. As far as the necessary corporate support, there will be umpteen corporations salivating over the federal disaster/rebuilding money flowing into the city, many of which would make their local presence known by ticket purchases.

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The article, gleaned from another forum (hornetsreport.com -- they are pissed, and kind of are playing the self-pity a little bit toooo far, even for this obvious tragedy) b/c I refuse to sign up for that newspaper:

I'm not sure how this post from the Hornets site is self-pity. It sounds like a factual statement to me:

"This storm has been disastrous and has touched the lives of everyone in and around New Orleans. Many have lost everything they own. Some lost their lives. Those of us who escaped catastrophic property damage have had our lives turned upside down. I'm dealing with insurance adjusters, FEMA, contractors, displaced and distraught family, and a temporary job relocation to Atlanta. There are food shortages, gas shortages, traffic everywhere and a disruption in commerce the likes of which I have never seen."

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I'm from New Orleans and I'm not ticked that the Hornets are playing in OKC. It'll be a treat for NBA fans there. And I'm not, in the least, concerned about the Hornets leaving New Orleans. They sold almost triple the number of season tickets this year over last year and were looking at a remarkable season in New Orleans. I hope they can recoup some of the money in OKC. Last I heard, the only season tickets being sold in OKC were the cheap ones in the upper bowl. There mustn't be many people in OKC willing to put out $10,500 for the club seats. That's quite a deal for good seats...only $21,000 for a married couple to have season tickets right up close to the action.

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I don't think many NO fans are pissed off at the move. But they probably are pissed at the articles from the Oklahoman basically advocating pursuing a campaign to keep the team there. Bad taste doesn't even describe those articles. I believe most Oklahomans wouldn't want to land a team that way. It's a great way to garner an ignominious name for yourselves.

The article, gleaned from another forum (hornetsreport.com -- they are pissed, and kind of are playing the self-pity a little bit toooo far, even for this obvious tragedy) b/c I refuse to sign up for that newspaper:

http://www.newsok.com/article/16220...plate=home/main

I think you need to sign in. In case you don't want to, here are some quotes:

That hard work and those big dreams have led to this faith: this is no temporary status, this elevation of Oklahoma City to the fraternity of New York and Chicago and Phoenix and LA and Dallas.

We are here to stay, if we so desire.

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the article is from an opinion coulumnist not a real reporter. this is just his opinion.

heres another quote."If this market supports the NBA franchise, which it appears we are on the verge of doing, the NBA will find us a franchise," he said. "I don't know if the Hornets will be here next year, but if we assume our role of supporting this team, we'll have an NBA franchise if not immediately, then very soon. If you are a proven entity, teams will find you." this is from the management of the hornets on why they chose okc over kc because of our success with the minor leagues.

also most of us here are glad we can help out. we are not trying to steal the team like ive heard of san antonio trying to steal the saints.

I guess the question is whether this columnist is getting substantial endorsement/encouragement from his consumers to continue along this line of columns? Or is he getting backlash from those who think he is representing their community poorly? How much support is this guy getting for these views? And how vocally are people distancing themselves from it within the community? I mean, it's pretty callous and incendiary stuff, in my opinion. I just don't see very many folks going out of their way to distance themselves from it. Although a few folks have said that the newspaper is a fishwrap. But I don't know if that's a general consensus.

I just worry that that puts OKC in a bad light. The newspaper does provide a first impression to many, and if I didn't ask around, I would be assuming certain things due to the coverage and atmosphere many of the media and government officials are presenting surrounding the Hornets decision.

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charlotte: 1,474,734

new orleans:1,319,589

okc:1,144,327

its a comparable city in size, so what kind of city is it then?

REGARDING CHARLOTTE:

The 1.4M you are qouting from for CLT is a 2000 MSA (which is VERY small in total area for typical MSA's)

A more acurate number to look at is the near 2,350,000 CSA number for Chalrotte, or the Metro Region, which has a lot to do when bringing in a fan base to support a team.

The Metro Region of Charlotte is OVER 2/3 the population of the entire state of Oklahoma.

It is also important to point out that the Hornets were more than just a city team. They were a state team (not to mention SC joined in the fun). NC alone is almost 9,000,000 people compared to roughly 3,500,000 in the entire state of Oklahoma. If you add 4,100,000 in SC, then you are looking at a market of roughly 13,000,000 in the Carolina's alone.

REGARDING NEW ORLEANS:

NO has a much larger TV market than OKC as well. The state has a population of 4,500,000 people (most of which are fans), This is mostly concentrated in the NO and Baton Rouge area. That is over 1,000,000 more people in Louisiana than Oklahoma @ under 3,500,000.

The Hornets will not survive in OKC. JMHO.

If they can't do it in Charlotte, and they abandon NO, the owners will certainly shrivel up and die in OKC. No offense to OKC residents. It is just simple economics.

A2

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The Hornets will not survive in OKC. JMHO.

If they can't do it in Charlotte, and they abandon NO, the owners will certainly shrivel up and die in OKC. No offense to OKC residents. It is just simple economics.

A2

I completely agree A219724.

And to add something, a large part of the fan base of the Hornets in New Orleans is the Mississippi coast.

There are a great deal of season ticket holders who live in the Biloxi metro area. So when you add the Biloxi CSA(500,000) to the New Orleans metro(1.3 million), the Baton Rouge metro(750,000), and Lafayette CSA(550,000), you have over 3.1 million people within 150 miles of New Orleans.

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NBA basketball is a dying league. That is one of the reasons why the Hornets eventually failed in Charlotte (that and the owners' debacle) and the reason why Bobcats' tickets aren't selling like hotcakes. I think eventually we can pull out a fan base in Charlotte because of a few fan favorites (Okafor, May, Felton) and I believe the team will soon be much better. OKC may do ok but there is no way I'd ever pay $21k for a Hornets game. NO may get their team back, hopefully they won't lose too many fans and it is true that most people who left NO were poor, so the "rich fans" can still afford the games.

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george shinn and his wife just bought the smallest house in the exclusive nichols hills area, at 2,500 sq ft. i'm not sharing this trying to convince others or myself that they are here to stay. just putting up more news that has to do with the hornets.

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I just thought I'd tell you guys that in this weeks edition of Sports Illustrated, it has a NBA preview and the Hornets are ranked last in the Western Conference. What do you guys think about this?

It says their starters will be, at center Jamaal Magloire, small forward Rasual Butler, power forward P.J. Brown, rookie poing guard Chris Paul and shooting guard J.R. Smith. For other key players it lists, rookie Arvydas Macijauskas, Speedy Claxton, Bostjan Nachbar, David West, and Chris Andersen.

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I know many people aren't too familiar with OK and possibly think there isn't a lot of money here, and that may be true in some areas but there are quite a few residents with some decent cash flow... since we have some of the lowest costs of living in the nation (you can still get a near mansion here for under 700K on acreage) we can afford to play a bit.

Saw this post on Soonerfans a minute ago, sounds very promising:

"I just met George Shinn about 10 minutes ago. I chatted with him one-on-one for a minute or two. Nice guy. He spoke at a meeting I attended, and said:

1. He feels even more strongly in his gut every day that the season will be a sellout. All 37 games.

2. Corporate participation has already far outstripped what they ever had in New Orleans. They already have 7 or 8 corporate partners locally who have spent $1 million plus for this season. He said that the notion that a city has to have a ton of fortune 500 companies is mostly a myth. The main thing is getting the butts in the seats, which he is confident they will do. Besides that, the main difference between a market of, say, New York and OKC is the television contracts. He said super large markets can make huge money off of TV, which the Hornets won't have the luxury of doing, but that puts them square in the same boat as many other teams.

3. OKC just passed Phoenix in group sales, taking over the number nine spot in the NBA. He believes we will end up in the top five, in rare air with New York, Miami, Dallas, LA... ...they all are pretty stunned by it.

4. He feels OKC will come very close to leading the league in average attendance, limited only by the fact that the Ford Center has 3-5 thousand seats less than a (very) few of the other arenas. Most of the arenas are the same size or even smaller than the Ford Center.

Overall, the OKC response has far exceeded their expectations, and ranks as one of the most impressive in the history of the NBA."

Anyhow, if anyone wants extra tickets for the Opening Night against Sacramento Kings 11/1 - I have a few extra $55 each upper level - face value... Section 324 Row K - Center Court w commemorative T-shirt and pre-game shows and half time shows. Lots of media will be there - should be am awesome game to attend.

[email protected] :thumbsup:

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A picture from the Hornets game in Baton Rouge

rayandgeorge6tv.jpg

^Ray Nagin and George Schinn seem to be the best of friends nowadays.

Nagin called Schinn a saint after he heard that Schinn guaranteed that the Hornets would return to New Orleans.

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