Baton Rouge, LA - The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets announced that proceeds from their preseason game against Shaquille O’Neal and the Miami Heat at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, October 25th will benefit the team’s Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

“We are excited about this opportunity to not only play in front of our fans in Baton Rouge, but raise money to assist in the rebuilding of New Orleans at the same time,” said Hornets’ President Paul Mott. “I would like to thank our partners at Cox Communications for helping us put together this unique fundraising event.”

The game will be broadcast commercial-free on Cox Sports Television in both Louisiana and Oklahoma, and viewers will be given the opportunity to make a pledge or donation by calling a 1-800 number or visiting a website posted on the screen. All money raised from the telethon will support the Hornets’ community relations initiatives in Louisiana for the 2005-06 season.

In addition to the fundraising element, the Hornets have invited a number of Hurricane Katrina evacuees living in Baton Rouge to attend the game and a special meet-and-greet session with Hornets players.

Tickets for the game range in price from $50 for a lower level seat to as little as $10 for an upper level seat, and are available at hornets.com or the box office at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.