NEW ORLEANS — David Stern believes the SuperSonics will leave Seattle, and the Hornets will remain in New Orleans, two strong proclamations made during the NBA commissioner’s annual press conference at NBA All-Star Weekend.
The team in Seattle, rich in tradition, sought public funding for a new arena, but the plan fell through. Stern said he told the SuperSonics to try to buy out the remaining two years of their lease to Key Arena from the city. The $30 million offer was rejected. The lease expires in 2010.
“It’s apparent to all who are watching that the Sonics are heading out of Seattle,” Stern said. “I don’t know why anyone would expect in the absence of what they’ve been saying all along, which is funding for a new building of some kind and a plan for it that they would be staying. I accept that inevitability at this point. There is no miracle here.”
As for New Orleans, the city is recovering and reopened after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and though the average attendance is 12,645, second-worst in the NBA, the team is playing well and there has been a spike in attendance in the past month. And the All-Star Weekend here has been well-received, notably by Billy Hunter, the president of the players association, who said last year that he was worried about an All-Star Game in New Orleans.
The franchise can opt out of its lease at New Orleans Arena if it doesn’t average 14,735 fans at the end of the 2008-09 season, a goal the team is confident it can reach.
“When I leave here after the All-Star Game, I’m much more optimistic about the prospects of the team meeting the goals that have been set,” Stern said. “The people I hear interviewed, the businessmen I speak to, the fans, the government officials, I think there is going to be a unique, unified effort to make sure that New Orleans is very much a basketball town.”
International expansion? It’s possible the NBA could begin expansion to Europe within the next decade, Stern suggested. It’s possible five franchises could open in Europe, though there is a litany of surrounding questions, about travel to scheduling to ownership.
“What we’ve always said was that if there were the appropriate arena structure, if there were the appropriate fan affinity, and there was the pricing structure that would be necessary for a team to compete in the NBA, then it would seem to be an opportunity for us to grow,” Stern said.
Birdman waits.
Former Nugget Chris “Birdman” Andersen is awaiting possible reinstatement to the NBA, following a two-year suspension for substance abuse. Stern said Andersen’s papers have been submitted, and evaluation is in “full swing. We are working as fast as we can to conduct the speediest investigation and determine his status.”
Andersen and people surrounding him told The Denver Post last month that Andersen is clean and confident that he has fulfilled the requirements for reinstatement. If he indeed is allowed back into the league, the Hornets, Andersen’s most recent team, will have 30 days to try to sign him.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
