It is official
It is now the New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets.
City council approves Hornets deal
By Bryan Dean
The Oklahoman
The Oklahoma City Council approved a deal this morning that will bring the New Orleans Hornets to Oklahoma City for most of the 2005-2006 season.
The deal calls for the city, the state and a private investment group to share the risks and rewards of having the National Basketball Association franchise at the Ford Center. The group will guarantee $10 million if the franchise struggles and misses its $40 million revenue goal.
If the team is successful, the partners will make money. The team will play 35 of its 41 games in Oklahoma City, with the remaining six games to be played in Louisiana, according to the deal approved Wednesday.
City Manager Jim Couch said the city team needs to average more than 10,000 spectators a game to reach its revenue goal.
“We’re looking in the $45 to $50 range for average ticket price,” City Manager Jim Couch said. “There are going to be tickets much lower than that and tickets much higher than that.”
Ward 5 Councilman Jerry Foshee expressed some concern that games against premier opponents such as the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers - and superstars Shaquille O’Neil and Lebron James - might be moved to Louisiana, making it difficult for the team to reach its financial goals.
The schedule included in the deal lists six games that will be played in Louisiana. All six games are against Western Conference opponents that the Hornets play twice each year. All six teams will play once in the Ford Center.
The city also expects increased sales tax revenue from tourism.
“People are going to be coming from all over the state to see these NBA stars,” Foshee said. “They are going to be staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants, buying merchandise.”
The deal gives the Hornets the option to renew the agreement for another season. The team will officially be known as the N.O./Oklahoma City Hornets for games played at Ford Center.
Representatives from the Hornets and the NBA are expected to announce more details about the team’s move at a 10:30 a.m. press conference at Ford Center.
“We put this deal together in roughly 22 days,” City Manager Jim Couch said. “Normally these type of deals take months and months and months to put together.”
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