The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has affected a great deal of people from all areas of the world. While I would love to express my thoughts on the entire subject, I will only cover how the events have affected the NBA. For one, a lot of Hornets staff and players families are now homeless or possibly even jobless. Secondly, the Hornets already had one of the lowest attendance figures in the NBA. Now they will have to relocate for the majority, if not all, the 2005-2006 season. How will this affect the franchise down the road?
Without doubt, the Magic organization and others from the NBA will be making large contributions to the relief efforts but the Magic have done something rather unique. The Magic have volunteered to hire 11 New Orleans Hornets employees for the season. The organization will also be providing free housing for the employees at the Marriott Vacation Club. Everyone wants to help out in some way and usually the best thing to do is contribute money. In this case though, I believe the Magic are doing a good thing in helping out another franchise and the families that have been affected.
The major delima the Hornets are faced with is where to play. There are a couple things to think about here. For one, how do they best serve the fans. Do they play close to home in a smaller arena, or do they play in an NBA classed facility in another state? The most likey location is right down the road in Baton Rouge. The LSU Tigers play college basketball in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, which holds 14,164. The alternative is in another city. Oklahoma City has offered an NBA quality facility in the Ford Center as a potential location for the Hornets home games. While the Hornets would most likely focus on an arena closer to home, this could provide an attractive opportunity for the owernship. The team would be in a market that does not have an NBA franchise and Oklahoma City could be potential suitor for a move.
The issues with the current staff and the arena could be potentially contributing factors in where the Hornets end up after next season. What are your thoughts about the Hornets organization? Are they best served trying to stick it out nearby and see how the fans respond in another year? Or should they begin looking for a new market and home now?
