Hornets Expand Push For Market Share In Post-Katrina New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ As the 2006 hit song ``Crazy'' echoed in the background, Hornets vice president of ticket sales Kevin Terry stood courtside at New Orleans Arena to talk about the NBA team's

Friday, August 24th 2007, 6:11 pm

By: News On 6

NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ As the 2006 hit song ``Crazy'' echoed in the background, Hornets vice president of ticket sales Kevin Terry stood courtside at New Orleans Arena to talk about the NBA team's latest sales offers.

Many people think it's crazy, from a financial standpoint, that the Hornets have returned to New Orleans, where the population is down and a number of businesses, as well as premium ticket-buying professionals such as doctors, have moved away in significant numbers since Hurricane Katrina struck nearly two years ago.

But the Hornets continue to plod along in their attempt to fill their 18,000-seat, 54-suite, home stadium for 41 regular season games.

This weekend, the Hornets invited people who put down $50 deposits on partial season ticket to come to the arena to pick the seats they'll have for 21, 15, or 10 games, depending on how much they want to spend.

On Monday, the Hornets will open sales of their 11 different so-called ``miniplans'' to the public.

``It's been great so far,'' Terry said. ``The majority of what people are buying are 21 and 15 (games), so that's a good sign.''

Terry noted that in the first four hours of Friday's open house, 25 fans asked if they could upgrade their seats for the full season _ a request the club was all too happy to accommodate as it looks to have the equivalent of 10,000 full season tickets sold by sometime this coming season.

Temporarily displaced by Katrina, the Hornets played 71 of their 82 home games in Oklahoma City during the past two seasons. In Oklahoma, they sold out 30 times and came close to selling out many more.

In rebuilding New Orleans, where the popular music clubs and famous restaurants compete nightly for discretionary spending, the Hornets ticket sales team has work to do.

``We're going to continually introduce new plans into the market even after the season starts. We're going to come out with some holiday plans, and then we'll come out with six-game plans and four-game plans all throughout the year, so we'll continually sell and we'll get to that 10,000 number,'' Terry said. ``It may not happen right before the season starts, but that's our goal, that's where we want to be, and if we can get close to that, we'll be in decent shape.''

Perhaps more importantly, Terry noted that only seven suites remain unsold for the 2007-08 season. He said there had been a surge in suite sales since Louisiana businessman Gary Chouest bought a quarter of the team.

``Gary's been a great help to us. He's got a lot of contacts and relationships out there,'' Terry said. ``We think we're going to sell them out ... because we've got some verbal (commitments) and we've got four or five out there that are definitely interested.''

Suites range in price from $57,000 to $137,000 per season. ``So it's going to help us tremendously'' if the suites sell out, Terry said.

At the Louisiana Superdome next door, the Saints have sold all 68,000 seats and 137 suites for the entire season.

The Hornets face a few challenges the Saints do not, however, because they play four-times more games and many are on week nights, meaning they can't rely on large numbers of fans traveling long distances to games as the Saints do.

Also, football has long been king among sports in the South and the Saints have become a beloved cultural institution since their founding four decades ago.

So the Hornets, which first moved to New Orleans from Charlotte, N.C., in 2002, are trying to tailor a range of plans to different types of audiences. An ``executive plan'' of 21 or 15 games is aimed at professionals who want higher end seats that include parking and access to club lounges. A 15-game weekend plan is aimed at both families or fans in places like Baton Rouge, Biloxi or fast-growing suburban communities on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

A ``super suite'' plan will offer access to a large, catered suite located behind one of the baselines.

Even if success at the gate remains uncertain, there's no turning back now.

The Hornets have moved their training equipment back into the Alario Center in suburban Westwego, which will be their practice headquarters. The corporate offices are up and running in a downtown high rise and some staff is working out of the arena.

Hornets spokesman Dennis Rogers said nearly all players on the roster had found new places to live around town. Star point guard Chris Paul will be living downtown, while a number of players opted for the upscale, gated golf course community of English Turn.

Players are expected to trickle into town over the next month and begin working out at the Alario Center on their own before preseason begins in October, Rogers said.