New Orleans: Getting Back on the Map
By Patrick Rees | January 25, 2007
New Orleans is a special place.
Those who have ever visited or lived in New Orleans know that the city’s character and history offer a rich experience unlike any other town in the nation.
The Big Easy has endured recent tragedy but in spite of the hard times, the city and its inhabitants have rebounded and are bringing back the atmosphere that is notorious for southern Louisiana.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Hornets were forced to move to Oklahoma City (OKC) for the 2005-06 season. The franchise managed to turn an overwhelming situation into an inspiring success story, as they finished 11th in the league in attendance with 22 sellouts.
With the great support from Oklahoma City, the Hornets ended last season with a 38-44 record, only two spots back of the final playoff position in the West. OKC has definitely impressed NBA officials and would be a possible location for an expansion club if the league expanded beyond 30 teams.
With the addition of players such as Tyson Chandler, Bobby Jackson and Peja Stojakovic, the Hornets were hoping that the 2006-07 season would be a success and one that could possibly lead to a birth into the playoffs.
Unfortunately for the Hornet faithful, the opposite has occurred with a team plagued by injuries to its core group of players. Although they’ve had recent troubles, the Hornets have pulled off impressive victories against Washington and Orlando, the two top teams in the Southeastern division.
Despite the tremendous support from Oklahoma City, the Hornet organization with influence from David Stern is planning for a return to New Orleans. Breaking ties with Oklahoma City will indeed be difficult but the team has loyalty to its prior home and hopes that the Crescent City can once again support the club.
The Orlando Sentinel recently quoted Hornets Owner George Shinn as saying, “the people in Oklahoma City have been not just gracious, they’ve been wonderful. But it’s just a situation that got down to what is the right thing to do, and the right thing is to go back. Our plan is go back and give every effort to make this thing work.”
One example of how the league is trying to revitalize New Orleans as an NBA city, is the fact that the 2007 NBA sales and marketing meetings were held there earlier this month. Representatives from every club and the league gathered in New Orleans from January 7 through January 9, to share best practices and discuss opportunities for improved business approaches at the team level as it relates to sales and marketing. The meetings were a success.
Some look to the Saints successful return and want to use that as an example of how the Hornets could be embraced by the city. The big difference in the two cases is that the Saints have only 8 home games to sell while the Hornets are dealing with 41 regular-season home games. The move is made even harder because the Hornets had trouble selling tickets before Katrina hit, but if the team starts winning games all the rest will fall into place.
With the support of the league office, they have announced that the 2008 NBA All Star Game will be held in New Orleans, the Hornets are heading back for the 2007-08 season. Similar to the Saints taking on the title as America’s team, the NBA family and its fans are routing for a successful return for the Hornets.
Patrick Rees currently serves as an intern in the communications department
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Those who have ever visited or lived in New Orleans know that the city’s character and history offer a rich experience unlike any other town in the nation.
The Big Easy has endured recent tragedy but in spite of the hard times, the city and its inhabitants have rebounded and are bringing back the atmosphere that is notorious for southern Louisiana.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Hornets were forced to move to Oklahoma City (OKC) for the 2005-06 season. The franchise managed to turn an overwhelming situation into an inspiring success story, as they finished 11th in the league in attendance with 22 sellouts.
With the great support from Oklahoma City, the Hornets ended last season with a 38-44 record, only two spots back of the final playoff position in the West. OKC has definitely impressed NBA officials and would be a possible location for an expansion club if the league expanded beyond 30 teams.
With the addition of players such as Tyson Chandler, Bobby Jackson and Peja Stojakovic, the Hornets were hoping that the 2006-07 season would be a success and one that could possibly lead to a birth into the playoffs.
Unfortunately for the Hornet faithful, the opposite has occurred with a team plagued by injuries to its core group of players. Although they’ve had recent troubles, the Hornets have pulled off impressive victories against Washington and Orlando, the two top teams in the Southeastern division.
Despite the tremendous support from Oklahoma City, the Hornet organization with influence from David Stern is planning for a return to New Orleans. Breaking ties with Oklahoma City will indeed be difficult but the team has loyalty to its prior home and hopes that the Crescent City can once again support the club.
|
One example of how the league is trying to revitalize New Orleans as an NBA city, is the fact that the 2007 NBA sales and marketing meetings were held there earlier this month. Representatives from every club and the league gathered in New Orleans from January 7 through January 9, to share best practices and discuss opportunities for improved business approaches at the team level as it relates to sales and marketing. The meetings were a success.
Some look to the Saints successful return and want to use that as an example of how the Hornets could be embraced by the city. The big difference in the two cases is that the Saints have only 8 home games to sell while the Hornets are dealing with 41 regular-season home games. The move is made even harder because the Hornets had trouble selling tickets before Katrina hit, but if the team starts winning games all the rest will fall into place.
With the support of the league office, they have announced that the 2008 NBA All Star Game will be held in New Orleans, the Hornets are heading back for the 2007-08 season. Similar to the Saints taking on the title as America’s team, the NBA family and its fans are routing for a successful return for the Hornets.
Patrick Rees currently serves as an intern in the communications department
