<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>NEW ORLEANS -- NBA Commissioner David Stern said the primary reason the league selected New Orleans to host the 2008 All-Star Game was to recognize and reward the city as it continues its slow recovery from Hurricane Katrina. But it might actually serve as an opportunity for the league to get in one last celebration before the hometown Hornets leave. Since returning from a two-year displacement in Oklahoma City, the Hornets have been a success on the basketball court but a bust at the box office in New Orleans. The team ranks second-to-last in the league in attendance (averaging 12,645, ahead of only Indiana) and is drawing worse than in its last season in New Orleans, 2004-05 -- when it was a league-worst 18-64, and the leading scorer was journeyman point guard Dan Dickau. "It's somewhat disappointing," Hornets point guard Chris Paul said of the low attendance at New Orleans Arena this season. "But at the same time, we just have to control what we can control -- and that's wins and losses. If we continue to play well and play hard, the fans will see what we're able to do and they'll come out." It could be happening. Paul made that comment before the Hornets produced their second sellout of the season last Saturday against lowly Memphis in their final home game before the all-star break. Hornets Owner George Shinn is hopeful that this weekend's all-star events can provide a much-needed attendance boost to his team, which should be the feel-good story of the league. The Hornets (34-15) have the second-best record in the Western Conference and hold the Southwest Division lead, just ahead of the Dallas Mavericks. Paul has played well enough to make the all-star team and get mentioned in the league's most valuable player discussion. Forward David West joined him as an all-star reserve and Byron Scott will coach the team. With the Hornets playing in a half-empty arena, Shinn last month negotiated a clause to possibly terminate the Hornets' lease if they fail to draw an average of 14,735 fans from December 2007 through next season. "I just want to have some kind of safety net in case the bottom falls out," said Shinn, who, as part of the agreement, freed Louisiana of its obligation to build a $20 million downtown New Orleans practice facility. That promise had helped lure the team from Charlotte. Stern called the attendance benchmark "modest," considering the Hornets would still be among the bottom third in attendance. To reach the target, the Hornets would need to average 15,251 fans over the next 57 home games. Many league observers have speculated that Shinn is merely trying to work his way back to Oklahoma City -- where the team averaged more than 18,000 fans -- especially with the Seattle SuperSonics' Oklahoma-based ownership group looking to move that team there. "I can't control what people are going to think," Shinn said. "I hope they understand and realize, I'm sincere. I didn't have to come back. And I don't want to move anymore. I'm tired of it. It's very costly. I'm 66." Shinn spent more than $10 million to move his staff back from Oklahoma City last summer. Opting out of the lease would cost Shinn approximately $100 million, he said. Roughly $30 million would be for relocation fees, penalties and reimbursements of past inducements from the state. Shinn would also be forced to pay back minority partner Gary Chouest, who bought a 25 percent interest for $62 million last July. Team president Hugh Weber said Shinn doesn't have one foot out the door. "If it was an opt out with a very little threshold for pain, a very little amount of money, then I'd say, 'Ooh, you're right,' " Weber said. "We're committed to New Orleans. If there was an opportunity to opt out of New Orleans and be bullish on New Orleans, it was 18 months ago, when we had a full stadium in Oklahoma City." Shinn has alienated a loyal fan base before: He squandered a once-successful union with Charlotte, where the Hornets led the league in attendance for seven seasons and sold out 385 consecutive games before the perennial playoff team left because of a lack of support. Not every NBA owner views Shinn as a sympathetic figure. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently questioned if Shinn is really trying to get people in the seats. "That's not New Orleans, that's effort," Cuban told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "Whatever it takes to get people in the arena, you gotta do it, and that's what they're not doing down there." Katrina did present a unique set of problems, though. Indeed, the storm forced the Hornets to start over with fans. Weber said the team lost contact with more than 2,000 of the 5,500 season ticket holders they had before the storm, leaving them with a small foundation. That didn't make the task of selling packages to a financially strapped area easier. Still, the Hornets have received considerable support from the local business community, selling more suites than in the previous three seasons in town. Stern said that if the Hornets' attendance doesn't improve, it "reflects the realities on the ground." Stern also intimated that concerns over the city may have made it difficult to attract the marketing and promotion talent needed to be successful. "It's a slow build," Stern said. "It's not necessarily a place people were looking to move to. They've been slowly adding people and gearing up for the challenge ahead. They are very committed. I remain optimistic." Several other issues plague the Hornets. Until a temporary agreement last week, games were not televised in St. Tammany Parish because of a dispute between the cable company that broadcasts games and the provider that carries them. And, even before the hurricane, there were questions about New Orleans's viability as an NBA market. Sagging attendance and poor play forced the Jazz to leave for Utah after five seasons in 1979. In the Hornets' first three seasons in New Orleans, the team was in the bottom half in attendance. The team rapidly moved from a playoff contender to a punch line, and the organization reached its nadir in 2004-05. Shinn was squabbling with minority owner Ray Wooldridge and later bought out his share of the team. Star point guard Baron Davis forced a trade to Golden State. The team averaged a league-worst 14,221 fans per game. Then came Katrina and Rita, which has left the city at almost two-thirds of its population. "It's definitely a different feeling," said West, the only player remaining from the 2004-05 New Orleans team. "The city's not [the same] in terms of the life, I think." Shinn was encouraged to move back because of the large crowds that arrived for the nine games played in New Orleans the past two seasons. "Oklahoma City was great. Everybody knew it was temporary, but they stepped up, supported us big time and I will forever be grateful," Shinn said. "We feel like [New Orleans] really needed us. After going through the destruction of the storm, it wouldn't be fair or reasonable to just walk away from them. I want to help be part of the fabric of rebuilding this community. That's important to me." Shinn is assisting the city's recovery efforts through several projects, including Hoops for Homes, which plans on building 20 new homes. The league has also required visiting teams to have some community relations event in New Orleans. "We've said many times before that you don't just turn the lights on and reconnect with fans after being away for two seasons," Weber said. "What we're trying to do is fast track some legacy and history and tradition in this town by connecting with fans on a very intimate basis." When asked if continued small crowds would be a message from the fans that they can't and won't support the team, Shinn shrugged. "Possibly, yes," he said. "If we get to the point, and we are below those numbers and we have the option to leave, my first course of action is to go to the governor and try to work out a deal. That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm not going to run off. That's not the plan. "We're going to do our best to make it work. We put it in God's hands. We feel it's going to work."</div> Source: Washington Post
