<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Even with their win last night, the Bobcats have the worst record in the NBA at 12-36. And, while the NBA's biggest names have rolled through Charlotte lately, the schedule has been counterproductive to drawing big numbers night in and night out. The Bobcats are in the middle of a six-game homestand, and a stretch of seven home dates in eight games. When you can get your fill of NBA basketball with Shaq, Kobe and LeBron, it's easy to stay home when Atlanta's in town. Put it all together and the 16,529 average is a solid number. To put 16,529 for 23 dates in context, it would rank second only to North Carolina (average 19,764 for 12 home games) in attendance throughout this basketball-rich state. N.C. State is averaging 13,191 for 14 home games in a bigger arena, despite having its best team in 20 years. "We're pleased," Chris Weiller, the Bobcats' executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said before last night's game. "We expected a spike in attendance from the first year and we're getting it. We've done really well on the weekends (17,659 average in 11 weekend dates). We're doing a good job with our group sales and our family packs; we've had far more families, more kids, than last year. We're getting a lot of individual-ticket purchasers who are returning. And we're finding that our season-ticket holders are giving their tickets to friends and business associates when they can't make the games. "A lot of folks are coming in and test-driving the building, as we knew they would, and our surveys show they're coming back. So I think people are enjoying the building, and I think they understand what we're going through on the court and why we've struggled." This is a significant issue, especially right now. There are two elements to follow with this second-year franchise. One is how quickly that the team develops on the court. The other is how the organization wins back the fans. And since injuries have thrown such a wrench into the team's on-court progress, the fan issue comes to the forefront. Furthermore, these are the days when the novelty of the new arena could be wearing off, especially with the team struggling. Make no mistake, the Bobcats have a long way to go in a lot of areas. This is still a skeptical city. As impressive as the arena is, the atmosphere during most games is nothing close to that of the NBA's most-electric arenas. There was a buzz in the air last night because of Bryant, but this was not the norm. Two weeks ago, when the Hornets came to town, Paul's 500 friends and family made more noise than the rest of the crowd combined. And one must wonder how much the public is embracing these players despite the Bobcats' community-relations and marketing efforts. Okafor has been extremely active in the community and has been the face of this franchise for two years, but he hasn't come close to capturing the fans' hearts the way that Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson and others did in the Hornets' glory days. None of that is overly discouraging to Weiller, though. "This is a process," he said. "We're not going to get to where we want to be - which is a packed house every night and a perennial playoff team where we're winning 50 games - for a few years. We know it, and we're patient. And I think a lot of our fans are patient. "We understand it's going to take time for the Charlotte market to fully engage and embrace us in a way where we are top of mind, front and center. A lot of it has to do with winning, and as we win more, that'll happen. This market has a tremendous amount of sports offerings, and it has a premier winning football franchise. That changes the expectations on the success front for us. When you taste what it's like to be a premier team, like the fans of Charlotte have with the Panthers, your expectations become that for everything else." In that context, 16,529 isn't bad at all for now. "You know, I don't blame the marketplace for taking a little more time to give their heart and soul, because it's not your typical expansion market," Weiller said. "We're over the fact that the Hornets have left and we've come in, but the reality is it's a second marriage. And things happen in a different way in a second marriage. "But we know it's going to happen for us. As long as we keep working hard, and as long as we keep putting the effort forth and providing hope, we'll be fine."</div> Source
