Monday, November 19, 2007

Hornets owner not happy with ticket sales

Wait, you mean George Shinn isn't thrilled to have moved out of a place where he was averaging well over 15,000 fans per game (Oklahoma City) and back to a place where he's lucky to crack 10,000 per game (New Orleans)? The audicity of that man!

I'm happy the Hornets came back to the Crescent City and vowed to go to at least 10 home games this season. I can't blame Shinn for chastizing New Orleans sports fans here. When only 9,000 people show up to watch a 9-2 team, something is terribly wrong with the fanbase. I understand that the Saints and LSU will always be bigger draws in southeast Louisiana than the Hornets, but fans should know that Shinn will vacate this city (and fast) when the team's lease with the city ends in a couple of years.

Part of the problem is that a large number of people who could afford to go to more games per season moved out of the city, particularly to the Northshore (St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes), and don't want to make the 30 mile drive to downtown Orleans to the N.O. Arena, only to get pricegouged for parking near the facility.

I'd like to believe that if the team continues winning, and at least stays competitive, than the butts will be in the seats, even for games that don't feature marquee opponents...but I won't hold my breath.

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