TNT's Peter Vecsey reported last night: "Sources tell
me that in the next couple of days [Hornets Owner] George
Shinn and Michael Jordan will ... come to some kind of
agreement on Jordan buying half the club. It's either going
to heat up or it's going to break down. A lot of buyers
have surfaced for this team who are willing to pay real
money. Michael wants to be comped" ("NBA on TNT," 4/27).
THREE'S COMPANY, OR A CROWD? In Charlotte, Lauren
Markoe reports that the Hornets "want to add a third partner
to any deal the team strikes with the city to construct a
new arena." Hornets Exec VP/Business Sam Russo: "We put in a
third, the public puts in a third, and a developer puts in a
third. It makes the burden less for the public and less for
the team, especially since we're a one-team building." New
Arena Committee Chair John Fennebresque said he was
"skeptical" about a third investor: "I've had trouble enough
trying to figure out how to do it with just two partners."
Russo added that other arenas had been financed by three
partners, but that the Hornets "had not approached any
potential third investor" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/28).
