A new arena for the Hornets "looks further away than
some thought," as "meetings to discuss a possible deal"
between the Charlotte City Council and the team "were
canceled" last night during a 90-minute closed-door session,
according to Denise Dory of WBTV-CBS. The Council voted to
cancel an Economic and Planning Committee meeting scheduled
for October 3 and a Council hearing on October 12. WBTV's
Paul Cameron noted the cancellations came during a meeting
"where taxpayers and reporters were not allowed to hear what
was said." WBTV's Mike Cozza: "Even though it may cost $100
million of taxpayers' money, nobody wants the public to know
where this is heading." Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory: "Our
goal is still to meet the December 31st deadline [when the
Hornets can break their lease without penalty] and I think
we're doing the best job that we can" (WBTV, 9/25). Also in
Charlotte, Markoe & Bonnell cite sources who attended the
meeting as saying that the city "is prepared to walk away
from the negotiating table if the Hornets don't show more
commitment to striking a deal." The Council "agreed that
talks scheduled for [tomorrow] with the Hornets would be ...
a last chance to save the prickly relationship between the
Hornets and the frustrated council." A Council source said
that if the Hornets do not provide the legal and financial
information requested by the Council and "fail to move the
talks forward, the city will terminate the discussions and
draw up a take-it-or-leave-it arena plan on its own."
Hornets co-Owner Ray Wooldridge: "I'm not in control of the
process as far as whether they negotiate with me. If
negotiations are discontinued we'd have to assume they don't
want an NBA franchise." Asked if that meant moving the team,
Wooldridge said, "Absolutely" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/26).
