The Hornets enter the '14-15 season having "attracted more new season ticket holders than any NBA team" except the Cavaliers, according to Jonathan McFadden of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The Hornets also "beat their own season ticket record." Counting partial plans and renewals, the team said that it "sold the equivalent of 10,000 season tickets -- reaching that number for the first time since it started play" as the Bobcats in '04. Merchandise sales for the team "have increased" by 77% since execs mounted a $4M rebranding effort last year. The Hornets also "have added 30 new corporate sponsors, including McDonald’s, Mercedes-Benz and Food Lion" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/25). In Charlotte, Erik Spanberg notes since taking over the team in '10, Owner Michael Jordan in a "series of gradual steps ... junked almost everything the Bobcats did during their first decade." That culminated in May '13 when he "disclosed plans to ask for the Hornets name." Over the past five years, season-ticket sales and equivalents sold as partial-season plans "grew to 10,000 from 6,000." Emory professor Manish Tripathi said that the Hornets name "works on two levels: with older fans nostalgic for the past and younger fans who embrace the logo and colors and know the Charlotte Hornets were popular long ago" (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/24 issue). The Hornets ran a full-page ad in yesterday's Charlotte Observer featuring a letter to fans from Jordan and touting the team's opening week promotional giveaways (THE DAILY).
