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Goodbye Hornets?; New Orleans To Be League-Owned
Topic Started: Sunday Dec 5 2010, 03:01 PM (252 Views)
WeatherManNX01
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The Yanks are coming!

ESPN
 
Chris Paul and the rest of the New Orleans Hornets will soon be playing for the first franchise in league history owned by the NBA.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com on Sunday that the league's fast-moving plans to take temporary control of the Hornets are going ahead "100 percent" and will be publicly confirmed within the next few days, mirroring what Major League Baseball did with the Montreal Expos before that franchise was sold and moved to the nation's capital as the Washington Nationals.

This unprecedented twist in the Hornets' roller-coaster history, beyond what it means for the franchise and its fans in New Orleans, is likely to revive leaguewide curiosity about Paul's future. The

All-Star guard can become a free agent in the summer of 2012 and has been targeted for months by rival teams believing they could capitalize on New Orleans' unsettled ownership situation to pry him away, but the Hornets' surprising 11-1 start had just begun to hush the frenzy of speculation about their ability to keep him long-term.

After the long-stalled sale of the Hornets from longtime owner George Shinn to minority partner Gary Chouest collapsed for good in recent days, NBA officials moved forward with their proposal to purchase operational control of the team, with the intent to not only end the cash-strapped Shinn's reign but also have a greater say in who ends up buying the team.


Full article.


Given that the Hornets are not drawing well and have not drawn well in recent years, and given that no suitable local owner has been found to step in (because if there were, they probably would have done so already), I'm going to operate under the assumption that the Hornets will eventually be sold and relocated. Question is, to where?

Seattle would probably love to have a team back, but unless the Hornets are willing to play while upgrades are being done, I don't see that as an option. A move to Seattle would have to involve upgrades to KeyArena, and that measure would have to get passed pretty quickly in relation to the sale and relocation.

Las Vegas is a market mentioned by pretty much every league, and even though the NBA is probably fine with moving a team there (though there's no suitable facility as of yet), I am not convinced that a pro sports team can work in Las Vegas.

Kansas City? A few preseason games were held there, and the already-profitably Sprint Center would be drooling over the books to have an NBA team in the house.

Other than that, I see few options. San Diego? Pittsburgh? Baltimore?
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PSUSyr5
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I'd like to believe the first city to get a chance would be Seattle. I'd also like to believe that Seattle has learned their lesson from losing the Sonics and will move quickly to do what it takes to get the team back. Notice...I said "like to believe" not just "believe" in those 2 statements. Though if that does happen, they could put the new Seattle team in the Northwest division and put the OKC team in the Southwest division.

Other than the cities you've mentioned, I could see St. Louis as a possibility as well. A little outside the box is Louisville, though they may be more of college fans than pro, similar to Syracuse. Another outside the box idea is Albuquerque, NM. With no other pro teams, the first to arrive could be one that the city calls their own. They are the 34th biggest city in the U.S. so it might be worthwhile to try. Hey, if Oklahoma City can work (ranked 31st biggest), why not Albuquerque?
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WeatherManNX01
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Interesting relocation options. St. Louis is one I had completely forgotten about.

And I totally agree on Seattle being the first option and hoping they learned their lesson.
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WeatherManNX01
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According to Arena Digest, potential homes include, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Anaheim, and Seattle.

On the Seattle front, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's name is floating around as a potential buyer. Ballmer was part of a group that tried to buy and save the Sonics from relocation (and I think he had even offered significant money toward renovation of KeyArena).
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PSUSyr5
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Not too thrilled about Anaheim. That would be 3 teams in the LA area, seems to be a bit much. If Anaheim wants a team, grab the Clippers.
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WeatherManNX01
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Today's story from Arena Digest also suggests the idea of a move to the Chicago suburbs, stating that the Orlando Magic had been granted approval to explore the same more before arena funding went through.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of multiple-team cities. I think many of the current ones barely pull it off at best (Jets-Giants and Cubs-Sox are probably the best at it, though the latter is more debatable), and I wouldn't shed a tear for most if they split up (Lakers-Clippers, Galaxy-Chivas USA come to mind).
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WeatherManNX01
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Add Louisville to that list (though I can't imagine they'd actually play at Freedom Hall).
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PSUSyr5
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Yeah, I doubt Freedom Hall would be an option. I didn't even realize that was still in working condition until a few days ago when I saw it on TV for the Big East/SEC Challenge. :lol: So, yeah, if Louisville was an option, the Yum! Center would have to be the main arena.
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