Hornets Reach Attendance Benchmarks, Will Not Need State Cash

Hornets Will Not Need Inducement Payments After Surpassing Attendance Benchmarks

The Hornets have exceeded the attendance benchmarks set in their lease with Louisiana and "will not need any inducement payments from the state this year," according to Nakia Hogan in a front-page piece for the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. The Hornets this season have sold out 14 games and are averaging 17,122 fans per contest at the 17,188-seat New Orleans Arena, thus surpassing the 80% capacity benchmark set as part of the amended lease agreement reached in '07. Under the lease, the state could have had to pay the Hornets up to $6.8M if the team "failed to reach certain attendance and revenue benchmarks tied to ticket sales." This marks the first time since '02, when the team relocated from Charlotte, that it has "not received inducement money." Hornets President Hugh Weber Thursday said, "It's a happy day because it shows that our fans are connected to this brand. 99.6[%] of our capacity is being sold." Also under the lease agreement, the Hornets "could have renegotiated or terminated the lease after this season and also can do so in 2011-12 if the team doesn't draw an average of 14,735 a game over consecutive seasons." When the lease was amended during the '07-08 season, the Hornets were averaging 12,202 fans per game, 29th in the 30-team NBA, but now rank 16th in the league in attendance.

CREATING A BUZZ: Hogan writes the "success already has the Hornets looking to the future, with hopes of eventually signing a long-term deal that would keep the franchise in New Orleans for the foreseeable future." However, Hornets execs appear "poised to wait until after the state secures a lease deal" with the Saints at the Superdome before beginning "talk of an extension." Weber: "We would love to sit down and we plan to sit down with the governor and the [Louisiana Stadium & Expo District] and look at a solution that is a partnership. ... We'll look at doing that when the timing is right. The priority right now for the state is to maybe look at the Saints' deal and make sure that that's buttoned up" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 3/13).