The Hornets have experienced "astounding success" with an offseason campaign aimed at selling 10,000 season tickets "by mid-September for a basketball schedule that could be shortened -- or canceled entirely -- by a work stoppage," according to Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. Hornets Chair Jac Sperling said, "When the playoffs ended, ticket sales slowed down, which is natural. We couldn’t afford to wait until October when people start thinking about the season. We’ve sold (a lot) since then, new season tickets. New, full packages. We’re at 8,500 full season-ticket packages. We’re doing really well." Hornets Senior VP/Ticket Sales & Services Bill Bailey and members of his staff "attend each one" of the team's scheduled offseason events; there will be 100 in 100 days as part of the "I'm In, Are You?" campaign. Bailey is "gearing up for a series of institution-specific events -- oil and gas industry, medical professions and so on -- that will begin soon." Sperling and President Hugh Weber indicated that the Hornets "were at 6,300 season tickets sold at the end of the season and have sold about 2,200 since the season ended, ranking New Orleans second in the league, at this point." The team is 1,500 tickets shy of the stated goal of 10,000. Weber and Sperling "explain to prospective buyers how that number will make moot the team’s attendance benchmarks in the current lease with the state, increase sellouts at the Arena and how close the Hornets are to be leading the league in new ticket sales." Sperling said that the fans with whom he has talked since the lockout began on July 1 "haven’t seemed overly inquisitive about lockout issues, even though the Hornets cannot speak about CBA negotiations under threat of a $1 million fine" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 7/17).
CAN THE HORNETS SURVIVE? CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger examined the Hornets' "obvious candidacy for contraction." The criteria for determining the viability of all NBA franchises "must be fairly straightforward, though the order of importance might vary depending on the team." It should include, total local revenues, annual losses, market size and arena lease terms. Based on that criteria, the NBA-owned Hornets "pass the test with flying colors." During the '08-09 season, the Hornets were 20th in the NBA with $28.3M in "net gate receipts," which is "not bad for the smallest TV market in the NBA." However, the team's $9M in "local broadcast revenues in the fiscal year 2009 was a full $3 million less than the Trail Blazers commanded in the nation's 22nd-largest TV market." Berger: "Add the crushing debt obligations the team was saddled with, a $16.6 million operational loss in 2008, and an arena lease agreement with a mere $10 million penalty -- which, according to the amended lease, would be reduced by millions in unpaid relocation fees if exercised in 2012 or '13 -- and the Hornets meet enough criteria to warrant a close look" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/15).
