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 Expansion WiretapNBA to be bigger-ticket itemMany of the best seats for Charlotte Bobcats home games will cost $15 to $30 more per ticket than the Charlotte Hornets charged their last season here. The Bobcats announced their ticket prices Wednesday for the 2004-05 season, when they'll play in the Charlotte Coliseum. The team will move into a new, uptown arena the following season, when they'll likely again raise ticket prices. The Bobcats will charge $115 for a courtside seat sold on a single-game basis that first season. That same seat cost $85 in the 2001-02 season, before the Hornets moved to New Orleans. The Bobcats say they're offering season-ticket discounts that narrow that price difference. For instance, a $115 ticket drops to $100 as part of a 43-game season-ticket package. Bobcats officials say they have to charge more than the Hornets did to have any chance to break even. Team owner Bob Johnson is paying the NBA a $300 million expansion fee and underwriting millions in start-up costs. "To be honest, this is the price for building a viable business in the NBA," Bobcats executive vice president Ed Tapscott said. "We're balancing a pricing schedule that's sensitive to this market with (the ability to be) viable and competitive in the NBA." The Bobcats hope to get Hornets fans back into their old seats. The team is offering former Hornets season-ticket holders first chance to buy Bobcats season tickets, before they go on sale to the general public. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Bobcats leader might be closeCharlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson is receptive to Ed Tapscott running the new team's basketball operation if Michael Jordan doesn't accept that role. Jordan hasn't given Johnson an answer on whether he'll join the Bobcats as part owner and president of basketball operations. Tapscott, the Bobcats' executive vice president, formerly was a scout and interim general manager of the New York Knicks. "If (Tapscott) wants to run the entire organization and appoint somebody to run basketball operations, I'll support him. If he wants to wear two hats, I'll support him. It's up to him," Johnson said Tuesday. Johnson won't put a public deadline on Jordan's decision, but this summer is when the Bobcats planned to name a general manager and start hiring scouts. It could be difficult to hire top NBA scouts if they don't know who their boss will be. "I think it's clearly to a point where I have to make a decision" regarding Jordan, Johnson said. "I know when we have to move to get the talent that's available." Jordan has made no public comment since May, when he left the Washington Wizards. Jordan was close to buying the Milwaukee Bucks in June before that team's owner, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), pulled the franchise off the market. "(Jordan) has indicated to me he is still considering his options, whether or not he will get back into professional basketball," Johnson said. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback No Bad Bobcats allowed?Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson can't promise that his players will never drive drunk or get into a domestic dispute. He does guarantee that Charlotte's new NBA team will do everything it can to avoid trouble, and to deal firmly with problems if they do occur. Johnson says that's essential to making his franchise succeed once it debuts in 2004. "We're challenged by people not willing to tolerate bad-boy behavior and pay $60-$70 (per ticket) to watch it," Johnson told The Observer last week. "They're not going to take that anymore." Johnson's comments came during a month in which six NBA players either were arrested, pleaded guilty to a crime or received a league suspension. In the highest-profile incidents, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant was charged with sexual assault in Colorado on Friday and Sacramento King Chris Webber admitted to lying to a grand jury about payments he received from a University of Michigan booster. Asked if he'd cut a player -- and pay off a guaranteed contract -- to rid the team of a chronic troublemaker, Johnson said: "My primary focus is the brand. And the brand is the Charlotte Bobcats being good corporate citizens in Charlotte. ... There's no individual player above the brand." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Jul 2003 Archive
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