Hornets hope to build on successful first year in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Driving to the airport, Hornets president Paul Mott could only hope that Hurricane Katrina wouldn't hit New Orleans. Then came the sobering reality that a storm that large had

Saturday, April 22nd 2006, 12:09 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Driving to the airport, Hornets president Paul Mott could only hope that Hurricane Katrina wouldn't hit New Orleans. Then came the sobering reality that a storm that large had to strike somewhere.

When it did, and subsequent floods forced the Hornets out of the New Orleans Arena, Mott was at a loss. Only four months into the new job, Mott and his colleagues had to figure out what to do with an NBA team that was suddenly homeless.

``We did not know what to do,'' Mott said. ``These players' contracts are guaranteed. There's an NBA schedule that's set. We've got to play. And near as I can tell, I might have no ticket revenue and no sponsor revenue. And then it took me five days to find and make sure that every employee was alive.''

The eventual solution was a temporary landing in Oklahoma City, where they were able to double their win total and move from last in the league in attendance to selling out half of their home games.

``It's one of those things that I think it's impossible to put into words,'' Mott said.

Heading into their second season in Oklahoma City, the Hornets will have months instead of weeks to prepare. That has Mott thinking even bigger.

He wants to retool the team's radio arrangement so more people can listen to the broadcasts, and he's looking for ways to build on the team's Ford Center attendance average of 18,717.

``I'd like to sell the building out every game,'' Mott said.

Mayor Mick Cornett, who led the effort to bring the Hornets to Oklahoma City, also sees bigger things _ in part because of the presence of rookie of the year contender Chris Paul.

``When you have the rookie of the year on your team, a lot of people want to see him,'' said Cornett, a former sportscaster. ``We will get a lot of national TV coverage next year that we didn't get this year.''

Cornett plans to meet with Hornets officials in the coming weeks to find out what can be done to make next season even better. The Hornets have said they'll play 35 games in Oklahoma City next season but the team's arena lease in New Orleans requires a return to the city in 2007-08. They'll also play six games next season in New Orleans, where two of their three games sold out this year.

Cornett said he would see if the Hornets recommend any improvements to the 19,163-seat Ford Center and consider whether they make financial sense. Michael Thompson, the Hornets' director of corporate communications, said the team may suggest a few minor adjustments aimed at fans' experiences.

``If you don't continually update your arenas, they get out of date pretty quickly and then you have to replace them,'' Cornett said.

Although final numbers are not yet in, Cornett believes the Hornets exceeded revenue benchmarks that would have required Oklahoma City to pay for part of the shortcoming. In fact, Cornett believes there may be money to spare even after the city recovers its costs for helping the team relocate.

It was a year ago this week that Cornett visited NBA commissioner David Stern at his New York office and talked about Oklahoma City's prospects for a major-league franchise. Stern recommended he pursue an NHL team.

After Katrina hit, Stern called Hornets owner George Shinn to recommend Oklahoma City as a temporary location.

``I was probably the most optimistic person in town, but I think it exceeded even my expectations,'' Cornett said.

Mott said his staff will research why the team was successful this year. After moving to Oklahoma so late, that's something the Hornets simply haven't had time to do.

Shinn also suggested he might be willing to increase the team's payroll in an attempt to improve the team on the court too.

``I'm not going to be crazy about it but our goal is to get better,'' Shinn said.

In their second year in New Orleans, the Hornets' average attendance dropped by about 1,300 to 14,332 despite the team making the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The Hornets drew about the same number last season, when they went 18-64.

Mott doesn't expect a similar drop-off in Oklahoma City.

``We have already collected deposits for a tremendous number of new full-season tickets and our renewals have gone very successful. So this talk of a second-year kind of sophomore slump? Not there,'' Mott said. ``I think people believe in the Hornets, they're excited about the Hornets and they want to be part of it for next year and see what this team will be like next year.''