<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">As a Charlotte Bobcats season ticket holder, Greg Economou thinks he understands what it will take for the city's sports fans to more fully accept the team. Now it's his job to help make that happen. "We've got to give the people some meaning for the Bobcats," said Economou, who was named the team's executive vice president and chief marketing officer Tuesday. "It's not just an awareness, but an affinity for their team. It happens in other towns. It takes time and patience." Charlotte is a one-time NBA hotbed, still hung over from the acrimonious departure in 2002 of the Hornets to New Orleans. In their two seasons, the Bobcats haven't approached the 1990s' popularity of the their predecessors. In fact, season-ticket sales of about 5,700 last season -- the team's first in a new uptown arena -- were third lowest in the league. Enter Economou, 41, majority owner Bob Johnson's latest hire in an offseason quest of putting together a front office he hopes will more effectively bring that old NBA magic back to Charlotte. Michael Jordan bought part of the team and is the team's managing member of operations. Fred Whitfield came on as chief operating officer and president. Economou was managing director of Brandthink, a Huntersville-based sports marketing firm, before he briefly went to the NBA in April as the league's senior vice president of marketing and communications. At Brandthink, Economou served as a consultant with NBA and major-league baseball teams and NASCAR. He helped the Detroit Pistons, once struggling at the gate, improve from 21st in the NBA in attendance to No. 1. That caught Whitfield's eye. "That's what's so attractive to us," Whitfield said. "He's a guy other NBA teams have sought out, and his advice and expertise have worked. Now we're looking at a new brand here. It's exciting to bring a guy in like that." At the NBA, Economou helped market the U.S. team playing in the world basketball championships. He was directing the league's marketing for the upcoming season when the Bobcats called. "He's very good at taking a lot of concepts and bringing them together," said NBA Commissioner David Stern. "He'll do that in Charlotte. The team has extraordinarily good young talent and a spectacular building in a thriving city. Under Fred and Greg, and with the addition of some guy named Michael, they'll get it going."</div> http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/spo...ts/15394241.htm Bernie is doing all he can to turn the Bobcats into a winning team, and putting those fans in the seats each night, another good business descision by Bickerstaff.
