April 18, 2016 – The Charlotte Hornets today unveiled promotional plans for the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs, in which they will face the Miami Heat in a best-of-seven series. The Hornets will host Games 3 and 4, and Game 6 if necessary, at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday, April 23, at 5:30 p.m. and Game 4 will take place on Monday, April 25, at a time to be determined. If it is needed, Game 6 would be played on Friday, April 29.
Fans in attendance at each home playoff game will receive “Enter the Swarm” T-shirts and headbands. The T-shirts will be black for Game 3, purple or teal for Game 4 and white for Game 6. Single-game tickets are on sale now for all three home games online at hornets.com or ticketmaster.com, on the Hornets Mobile App, via phone at 1-800-4NBA-TIX, or at the Time Warner Cable Arena box office. Upper-level tickets start at $35 per seat.
Doors will open 90 minutes before home games. Prior to Game 3, pregame activities on the Trade Street Plaza will include music and additional entertainment. Inside the arena, the Hornets will celebrate the energy and excitement generated by the team’s fans through several live and video elements, building up to new team intro and pre-tipoff videos just before the game begins. Hugo and the Honey Bees will of course be part of the game presentation, while the Lil’ Stingers will perform during both games and the Flight Squad will make an appearance for Game 3. Fans will be able to ride the LYNX light rail to and from the games free with a game ticket.
National recording artist Edwin McCain will sing the national anthem before Game 4. Halftime entertainment will include Christian and Scooby from season nine of “America’s Got Talent” for Game 3 and 10-year-old crossover violinist Giovanni for Game 4. The national anthem performer for Game 3 is still to be determined.
In order for fans to get ready for the home playoff games, the Hornets Fan Shop at Time Warner Cable Arena will hold a playoff sale on Friday featuring 20% off all in-stock items, including footwear and clearance items. In addition, Hugo and members of the Honey Bees will be on hand at various times throughout the day.
Time Warner Cable, McDonald’s and Novant Health are the presenting partners of the 2016 Hornets Playoffs. The three companies will be involved with in-arena branding and activation elements, as well as have their logos in Hornets playoff advertising.
The Hornets are also hosting Watch Parties throughout Charlotte for road playoff games. The Watch Party for Game 2 will take place at Hickory Tavern’s Metropolitan location (1100 Metropolitan Avenue). Watch Parties for potential Games 5 and 7 will be announced at a later date.
The entire schedule for the Hornets-Heat series is as follows:
*= if necessary
All Hornets playoff games will be broadcast on WFNZ-AM (610). WFNZ will air a special two-and-a-half-hour pregame show live from Time Warner Cable Arena beginning at 3 p.m. for Game 3. The normal 15-minute pregame show will air prior to all weekday playoff games.
Hornets TV partner FOX Sports Southeast will televise Game 2 and will air a postgame show for Game 3 at 8:30 p.m.. Details for the remaining games of the series will be announced when they are determined.
Hornets.com and the team’s social media outlets (Twitter: @hornets, Instagram: @hornets, Facebook: /hornets, Snapchat: hornets) will continue to provide fans with in-depth access of the playoffs, including expanded coverage of road games.
For the playoffs, the Hornets are continuing to use the “Enter the Swarm” theme that was in place during the regular season. The tagline is intended to be both an invitation for fans to join the growing Swarm of Hornets fans and a declaration of what opponents will face on the court. The playoff campaign features dramatic images of players with purple and teal Hornets branding painted across their faces, portraying the intensity of a fierce swarm of aggressive hornets that are ready to battle. Advertising elements include digital ads, transit media, uptown digital billboards, center city light pole banners, television and radio spots, social media and email marketing. The campaign was created by the team’s marketing and creative services department.