As the New Orleans Hornets ready themselves for their third season, its status as a bonafide NBA city remains unclear. Last year attendance dropped by 5 percent, as nearly 1,000 season ticket holders did not renew.
In attempts to remedy the decline, the franchise's marketing department has worked to assist the city embrace the Hornets. They have run more TV and radio commercials targeting a youthful demographic recently, and implemented a network of regional sales offices aimed at fans from Biloxi, Miss., to Baton Rouge.
"This is a key season for us," Hornets COO Jack Capella said. "We know the league is watching. I don't know that they are looking at it to see whether basketball can make it in this city, but they are certainly expecting us to perform better than we have in the first two years."
There is reason to be optimistic as the Hornets will shift into the Western Conference, meaning more games with high profile teams such as the Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Kings and Spurs.