Johnson's Ownership Stake In Bobcats Increases As Losses Grow

Johnson Increases Bobcats Stake As Losses Mount

Bobcats Owner Bob Johnson, who last week said that the franchise has "lost $50[M] since its inception" in '04, now "owns close to 80% of the franchise, up from 65%" in '04, according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Johnson's ownership stake has "increased in recent years as local investors declined overtures to answer capital calls as the franchise hemorrhaged cash." Johnson: "When I came here in 2003, it was with the idea that we would have a group of local owners who dollar-for-dollar would invest as I invested. And when that didn't happen, I had to carry that responsibility. I felt that having that local ownership base would show a unified commitment to making the arena a success and the Bobcats a success. For whatever reason, it hasn't happened." Bobcats investor Felix Sabates: "Bob hasn't spent enough time [in Charlotte], and I've told him that. People don't know him. And I think [Bobcats Managing Member of Basketball Operations] Michael Jordan should spend more time here, too. This business about Michael being an owner and not making appearances to promote the team is a bunch of crap. He's a ghost." Johnson spent the past week in Charlotte "assessing the organization and its operations from top to bottom." Johnson "proclaims the organization in good health from a basketball perspective -- in the form of [Jordan] -- as well as from business and marketing standpoints." The Bobcats have made "10,000 season tickets a long-range goal; the team now has 7,400 season-ticket holders" (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/18 issue).