[StBernard] Hornets, State agree on 2006-07 schedule

[Westley Annis]

Hornets, State agree on 2006-07 schedule
New Orleans to host 2008 NBA All-Star game 

Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco announced an agreement today between the
State and the New Orleans Hornets that will maintain the team's presence in
New Orleans.

"The agreement reached today will ensure the Hornets stability while the New
Orleans market fully recovers and, at the same time, maintains our presence
in the NBA," Governor Blanco said.

At the Hornets' request, the lease agreement for the New Orleans Arena will
be amended to allow the team to play 35 of its regular-season games in the
2006-07 season in Oklahoma City and six games in the New Orleans Arena.

As part of the agreement, the league will enter negotiations exclusively
with the State in order to bring the 2008 NBA All-Star Game to New Orleans.
The Hornets have agreed to waive all financial inducements and incentives
for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 fiscal years. The NBA has also agreed to hold
its annual marketing meetings in New Orleans in October, with some 300-400
people expected to attend. 

"The permanent identity of New Orleans as an NBA City is important to the
economy of our entire region," said Governor Blanco. "New Orleans has always
been a great city for big events, and we are confident that we can quickly
negotiate a deal to bring the All Star Game to New Orleans."

"As we recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," she continued, "we are
diligently working on many other important issues. Therefore, I am pleased
that the NBA, the Hornets, SMG and the LSED were able to bring this matter
to a quick resolution." 

LSED Board Chairman Tim Coulon said that the Hornets asked the state for
relief from the contract requiring them to play all of their home games in
the Arena next season. "We understood their concerns about marketing a full
41-game schedule with the city continuing to rebuild in the aftermath of
Katrina," Coulon said. "We felt it was better to focus on the long term,
assuring the better opportunity for success and permanency."

"The opportunity to get the All-Star game is a coup for us," said SMG
Regional Vice President Doug Thornton, who spearheaded the negotiations with
NBA officials. "It will draw national attention to New Orleans and will
continue to brand the Arena as a major league venue."

The Hornets moved most of their 2005-06 home games to Oklahoma City in the
wake of Katrina, scheduling six games in Baton Rouge. They later moved two
of those back to Oklahoma and three to the New Orleans Arena.

The first game back in the Arena is Wednesday, Mar. 8, vs. the Los Angeles
Lakers. The Hornets will also play the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, Mar, 18
and the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, Mar. 21. 


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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People
www.louisianahelp.org