subject: Sperling looking for local buyer for Hornets [print this page] Sperling looking for local buyer for Hornets
For those wondering if the long-term future of the Hornets includes New Orleans, the man the NBA put in charge of getting the franchise back on firm ground for a potential buyer says to look at his background.
A New Orleans bred Ben Franklin grad, where to buy Discount NBA Jerseys? maybe ujersy is a good choice.
"I'm from New Orleans. I grew up here," Jac Sperling said in his first thoughts since NBA Commissioner David Stern named him point man in the league takeover of the Hornets.
"He asked me. You can read into that what you want. But the commissioner has been pretty positive about this city, going back to when this team was awarded in 2002, after Katrina, the team coming back after Katrina and also the awarding of the 2008 All-Star game.
"I think we're in a difficult spot, yes, but I think his selection of me is a further indication of what's in his mind. He wants to try to make this asset more attractive so perhaps a local buyer will step up."
Local shipping magnate Gary Chouest pulled his offer to buy the Hornets from founder George Shinn in October, necessitating the move. Stern said Monday that Shinn didn't have the financial resources to run the team at a loss anymore and went to the league with the suggestion for it to buy the team in an effort to keep the team in New Orleans.
Sperling's job will be to get what he referred to as the "asset" into better shape and cited past revenues as giving him hope that the team can survive and, indeed, profit in New Orleans.
That includes fattening up a season-ticket base that has dwindled since the year after the Hornets won the Southwest Division title in 2007-08 and earned a No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, if you want to buy Boston CelticsJerseys, go to ujersy.
In the most recent lease agreement of the New Orleans Arena, which runs through 2014, a benchmark of 14,735 fans per game was placed in it.
The two-year reporting period ends in January and attendance has flagged to the point that the franchise could employ the opt-out clause. So far this season, attendance is 13,860, which would be combined with a tad more than 15,000 last season.
"We just have to figure out how to do it, how to get to our fans," Sperling said. "We've got to earn it. It's not something fans owe us. It's something we have to earn from our fans."
That includes putting a successful product on the floor and so far this season, Sperling sees that happening. The Hornets started a franchise-record 11-1, though they've hit a rough patch lately, dropping six of their past eight to fall to 13-7. The next home game is Wednesday night against Detroit.
Team president Hugh Weber, who will continue to run the franchise on a day-to-day basis, hinted that in on-going talks that have gone on for more than year, discussion of attendance benchmarks could be ignored, if not ditched altogether.
"We've been working closely for a long time to make these benchmarks a non-issue and we'll continue to do ...
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