Gambit editorial

[Shiloh]

Well thought out editorial from this week's Gambit. Sorry if it's already been posted.

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/disp...ommentary.html

COMMENTARY 03 12 02

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Let's Get Buzzin'!

This Friday (March 15) is the first deadline for early season ticket sales in our last best chance to bring professional basketball back to New Orleans. It's time for a full-court press.

"The time to act is now," says Doug Thornton, general manager of the New Orleans Arena, which was built by the state primarily to attract an NBA franchise. "If we fail to meet these ticket goals and the NBA decides to block the re-location, we will forever be doomed."

Louisiana Senate President John Hainkel, R-New Orleans, hedges, but not by much. "It is certainly the best chance we will have in the next 10 to 20 years," Hainkel says.

This is New Orleans' third attempt to land an NBA team since 1979, when the Jazz moved to Utah. The league blocked an effort to lure the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1994. City leaders courted the Vancouver Grizzlies last year, but the team ended up in Memphis.

So what makes the Hornets different?

For starters, the team wants to come here. Equally important, Hornets owners George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge don't want to stay in Charlotte, where voters refused to approve an NBA-ready arena -- something New Orleans already has.

The Hornets represent a major opportunity to stimulate economic development in the metro area -- and to showcase other attractions, such as our local arts, music and cultural scene. Thornton notes that by gaining the Hornets, New Orleans is landing a $200 million business, with a payroll of $70 to $80 million, that directly employs 100 people.

But these numbers just hint at the overall economic impact. UNO economist Dr. Timothy Ryan estimates that the "New Orleans Hornets" can pump a total of $120.02 million into the state and local economies. "Over the next 10 years, the Hornets will bring in $862.99 million in new direct spending ... and will generate $106.10 million in new state and local tax revenue ... after all incentives are accounted for," Ryan says.

Those incentives include $15 million in improvements to bring the Arena up to NBA standards. Hainkel says $10 million of that sum can be allocated from last year's state surplus.

State Rep. John Alario has said that major funding for the 10-year lease with the team can be secured by shifting money from the local hotel-motel tax -- without tapping statewide revenue sources. In addition, the city has pledged $6.5 million for a team practice facility in eastern New Orleans, an area hungry for economic stimuli. During construction of the practice site, the Hornets will practice at the Alario Center on the West Bank.

There are other encouraging signs of what the Hornets might bring: the team pledges to share the limelight with our classical and performing artists. Imagine a symphony performance at halftime -- at center court. Picture local actors in costume bounding up the Arena aisles, or the works of our visual artists on display in the facility's VIP suites.

Can a pro sports franchise really support the local arts? "Absolutely," says Alex Martins, director of operations for the Hornets. "We have done that type of program in Charlotte. And we intend on bringing that type of program here to New Orleans with us."

But moving the Hornets is not a slam-dunk. An NBA relocation committee, led by skeptical NBA Commissioner David Stern, will meet here on March 20 to assess the economic ability of our area to support big-league hoops. The panel will consider a range of factors, including television market size, the size of our arena, the team's lease here, and last-ditch efforts to retain the team in Charlotte. A final vote will be taken at an NBA meeting April 6-7 in New York City.

The NBA is concerned about New Orleans' media market size, which ranks 43rd nationally. Charlotte ranks 27th. New Orleans' median household income is $38,800 a year. In Charlotte, it's $51,000.

We urge the NBA to take a long look at New Orleans, because we are unique among U.S. markets. While smaller than most NFL cities, New Orleans nonetheless has hosted more Super Bowls than any other NFL town. We are on the cusp of a turnaround with a new, pro-business mayor. A new spirit of optimism and enthusiasm permeates our business community.

Hornets owners Shinn and Wooldridge recognize these qualities in New Orleans, but we still have to prove ourselves worthy to the NBA. The best way to do that is to show immediate, significant community support for the team. The Hornets have set up shop at the Superdome, and local civic and business leaders have been buzzing to boost season ticket sales. It's time for all of us to "get buzzin'."

We urge our readers to help the team reach its "internal goal" of 8,000 season tickets, 2,400 club seats and 54 box suites by "partnering" with friends, relatives and co-workers to buy season tickets. Call (800) HORNETS to order tickets, or visit www.800hornets.net. Do it now.

The ball's in our court.

[West Coast Hornet]

Good find! Thanks.

[Zone Buster]

The sad fact is that the state is spending all those millions of taxpayer's money just to get a business that generates $55 million a year, the same as a Super WalMart! The article also mentions how much the team will generate in salaries, but fails to point out the majority of those monies go to the players, and will end up going out of the state!

[NBA_in_N.O.]

Originally posted by Zone Buster
The sad fact is that the state is spending all those millions of taxpayer's money just to get a business that generates $55 million a year, the same as a Super WalMart! The article also mentions how much the team will generate in salaries, but fails to point out the majority of those monies go to the players, and will end up going out of the state!

Last time I went to a Super WalMart, I didn't see Michael Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe there. Sorry, but I'll take the Hornets.

[PELICANSFAN]

Originally posted by Zone Buster
The sad fact is that the state is spending all those millions of taxpayer's money just to get a business that generates $55 million a year, the same as a Super WalMart! The article also mentions how much the team will generate in salaries, but fails to point out the majority of those monies go to the players, and will end up going out of the state!

Do you have any facts to support your contention of how much benefit a Super Wal Mart generates to a community? Since you are the omnipotent one, our local Wal Mart and the city can use you instead of paying $100,000 for a study they are commissioning to study a Wal Mart project. Maybe you can get in touch with them and let them know you are the expert and they do not need to commission that study.

[izzydean]

Originally posted by HORNETSFAN


Do you have any facts to support your contention of how much benefit a Super Wal Mart generates to a community? Since you are the omnipotent one, our local Wal Mart and the city can use you instead of paying $100,000 for a study they are commissioning to study a Wal Mart project. Maybe you can get in touch with them and let them know you are the expert and they do not need to commission that study.

Why waste money. Plenty of studies have already been done with the Wal-Mart impact.

[PELICANSFAN]

Originally posted by izzydean


Why waste money. Plenty of studies have already been done with the Wal-Mart impact.

Well, maybe you should call them and make a boatload of money! Man, is there anything that the wonderful people of Charlotte do not know?!

[izzydean]

Originally posted by HORNETSFAN


Well, maybe you should call them and make a boatload of money! Man, is there anything that the wonderful people of Charlotte do not know?!

Take it easy. It was just a joke.

[Zone Buster]

Originally posted by HORNETSFAN


Do you have any facts to support your contention of how much benefit a Super Wal Mart generates to a community? Since you are the omnipotent one, our local Wal Mart and the city can use you instead of paying $100,000 for a study they are commissioning to study a Wal Mart project. Maybe you can get in touch with them and let them know you are the expert and they do not need to commission that study.

I believe it was one of your fine professors in economics in New Orleans that did a study on how much the Hornets would generate annually in revenues. I believe it was "Say what" who posted a link on this site concerning the story. The Super WalMart comparison is simply to give you a reference point! When you say that the Hornets will generate $55 million annually it doesn't mean much to those who read it! You could use any business with the same revenues, however, when you use the Super WalMart comparison, people can relate to it since it something they most people have contact with in their daily lives. It simply makes it eaiser to understand the dollars the Hornets will generate each year!

I think it also gives taxpayers food for thought! I am sure many wonder why so many tax dollars are being used to bring a business to town that will only generate roughly the same dollars each year as a Super WalMart!

[PELICANSFAN]

Originally posted by Zone Buster


I believe it was one of your fine professors in economics in New Orleans that did a study on how much the Hornets would generate annually in revenues. I believe it was "Say what" who posted a link on this site concerning the story. The Super WalMart comparison is simply to give you a reference point! When you say that the Hornets will generate $55 million annually it doesn't mean much to those who read it! You could use any business with the same revenues, however, when you use the Super WalMart comparison, people can relate to it since it something they most people have contact with in their daily lives. It simply makes it eaiser to understand the dollars the Hornets will generate each year!

I think it also gives taxpayers food for thought! I am sure many wonder why so many tax dollars are being used to bring a business to town that will only generate roughly the same dollars each year as a Super WalMart!

You're talking in circles. I am not arguing a "point of reference." You are just throwing numbers out there that are meaningless. Do you know that a Wal-Mart would generate $55 million to the area? If not, your comment is mesleading and useless. I could say a snowball stand generates $1 billion to the N.O. economy. Does that mean it is more valuable than the Hornets? You are just, once again, spouting off irrelevant and unfounded bull to stir the pot. Are you sure you are not tyl1956?

[say-what-x]

Originally posted by Zone Buster
I believe it was one of your fine professors in economics in New Orleans that did a study on how much the Hornets would generate annually in revenues. I believe it was "Say what" who posted a link on this site concerning the story. The Super WalMart comparison is simply to give you a reference point!

Sorry, while I referenced the article, I did not have a link (I do have the article from Tim Ryan and he said the Hornets would have an overall impact of about $130 million or so with $55 million being new money as he described it). Don't know about the Wal-mart studies, never researched it, but $55 million a year is nothing to sneeze at. Should we refuse to provide government subsidized incentives totaling $3 million a year to welcome a new business to town because it will only return $55 million per year in new money to the economy?

Let's reverse your argument, why is Charlotte now willing to spend taxpayer dollars on a new arena and fighting so hard to keep a business that only generates $55 million per year?

Answer this and you have answered your own question.

[westbank chris]

speaking of tyl, if anybody wants to hear his latest thoughts...

he is certain that, in just a few days, the state will pull out of the deal...not only to avoid embarassing ourselves with the inevitable relocation rejection, but also because the state is scared of the charlotte banks. the reason the hornets lowered the ticket deposit required? so the state can force its own employees to make deposits, thus pushing the ticket numbers higher (so as to avoid embarassment, of course). of they don't do this, their careers will suffer. so says the state.

makes sense, huh? after all, "baton rouge is where all the money is."

another thing i bet y'all didn't know: the REAL reason the jazz left had nothing to do with a mormon owner or playing in the superdome. no. it was because of...organized crime, mainly carlos marcello.

who'd have thought...