More Weekend Games Have Hornets Execs Hopeful Of Big Attendance Boost

The Hornets will play 18 of their 41 home games during the '16-17 season on a weekend night, something team officials "say will provide a big boost to their already growing ticket base," according to Katherine Peralta of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The 18 weekend games are "three more than the Hornets had last year." Hornets Exec VP and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Pete Guelli said that attendance at weekend games "is always higher" than during the week. Peralta reported higher attendance at games "could also help offset some of the lost business from canceled shows at Time Warner Cable Arena because of North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2." The NBA last month pulled the '17 All-Star Game from Charlotte because of HB2. Meanwhile, Guelli said that more than 11,000 season tickets "have been sold this year, putting the Hornets in the top five in the league for new season ticket sales." More than 2,000 of those are new (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/13).