NBA owners give nod to new Charlotte team

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports: NBA owners today approved the league's effort to find owners for an expansion team that would play in Charlotte starting in the fall of 2004.

Scott Dodd of the Charlotte Observer reports: A tentative deal reached between Charlotte and NBA negotiators has the city paying to build an uptown arena, with a new team operating the building and making all the money off it.

City Council members and NBA owners must still approve the agreement, which was presented to the council in a more than two-hour closed-door meeting Monday night and will be outlined by the league at an owners' meeting in New York today.

If both sides agree, a new team would be awarded to Charlotte to replace the Hornets. It would play the 2004-05 season in the Charlotte Coliseum, with the arena opening in fall 2005.

The league set up a six-member expansion committee that will consider various ownership candidates. That committee includes Hornets co-owner George Shinn, who commissioner David Stern said is "among the most enthusiastic supporters of a return to Charlotte."

Via Charlotte Observer

Expansion

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NBA: Charlotte in good shape for '04 team

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports: The NBA is poised to return to Charlotte in the fall of 2004 if negotiations between the league and city continue on their current path, a top league official said.

Speaking publicly about Charlotte for the first time in months, NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik told The Observer that talks between the city and the league leave Charlotte in a strong position to replace the Hornets.

"We think we've had very positive meetings with the city and the business community," Granik said.

Charlotte lost the Hornets to New Orleans this summer after two years of sometimes-hostile arena negotiations with the city. Granik said a new team would play one season in the Coliseum, then move into a new uptown arena full of the luxury suites and club seats the Hornets wanted.

Granik said if the NBA returns to Charlotte, there would be no reason to wait until a new arena opens in fall 2005. Coliseum Authority Director Mike Crum said the earliest an arena could open is fall 2005.

"If the spirit is there, we'd rather not wait another year," Granik said. "It's not like the Coliseum has been a terrible venue for basketball. The problem was on the revenue side. Certainly for one year you could play there."

Granik will brief NBA owners Tuesday on the Charlotte situation during a meeting in New York. If owners approve, the league would soon begin negotiations with candidates to own a Charlotte expansion team.

Charlotte City Manager Pam Syfert said Granik's comments "sound very positive" but wouldn't discuss the state of talks between the NBA and city officials, which have been secret.

Syfert expects to say more Monday night when she gives City Council members an arena update. She said Friday she hopes to report on the NBA negotiations and the city's efforts to secure an uptown arena site.

Sources say the NBA will set the expansion fee at about $300 million -- money that would be divided among the 29 existing NBA teams. That's about $10 million per ownership group, including the Hornets' George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge.

Via Charlotte Observer

Expansion, General Basketball

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