redman Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 What kind of sense does this make? Didn't they just lose a franchise from there? Board of Governors approves expansion franchise in Charlotte By CHRIS SHERIDAN, AP Basketball Writer January 10, 2003 NEW YORK (AP) -- The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the league's 30th team Friday, granting an expansion team to Charlotte to be owned by billionaire Robert Johnson. The team will begin play in the 2004-05 season. ``It gives me great pleasure to welcome Charlotte back into the NBA, since we appreciate how supportive their fans have been in the past,'' commissioner David Stern said. ``We are particularly excited to have Robert Johnson as our newest owner. Bob has shown a great understanding for building a new company, and we are confident in his ability to develop a strong NBA organization.'' The approval of the Board of Governors, with one representative of each of the 29 ownership groups, was considered a formality. Only one owner, Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, expressed public reservations over whether expanding to 30 teams was a sound idea. The new team will replace the Hornets, who left Charlotte after last season and relocated to New Orleans. Johnson also takes over ownership of the WNBA's Charlotte Sting, effective immediately. He was chosen last month by the NBA's expansion committee, getting the nod over a group led by Boston businessman Steve Belkin that included Hall of Famer Larry Bird. The price of the new franchise was $300 million. Johnson is the founder and chief executive officer of Black Entertainment Television, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. He becomes the first black majority owner of a major American professional sports franchise. In 2000, Johnson sold BET to Viacom for approximately $3 billion. The all-stock transaction made Johnson the second largest individual shareholder in Viacom behind its chairman, Sumner Redstone. Johnson's team will play its inaugural season in the Charlotte Coliseum and move to a new $260 million arena to be constructed for the 2005-06 NBA season. :shootinth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaRock Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 Yeh they did, and that team is doing awesome in NO> they should have gotten larry bird tho. No team name announced yet is there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuskin Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 This is old news. It was up to the NBA to decide which ownership group to go with. Everyone I know would have loved to keep the Hornets, just lose their owners. It'll be interesting what the new name will be and how long before anyone cares. It's too bad about the Hornets because there used to be some very dedicated, rabid fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuskin Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 Here's a follow up link. http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/basketball/4897066.htm Johnson seems like an ok guy. Here's another one. http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/basketball/4900767.htm One more http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/basketball/4897070.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88Comrade2000 Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 They approved a new stadium, so the NBA agreed to put a team back in charlotte. You could use the same arguement for DC baseball. The already had 2 teams and they couldn't keep the expansion team given to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brave Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 There were several reason why the Hornets moved from Charlotte. The blame, though, lies squarely on the sholders of George Shinn ... not the fans. The city supported that team in record numbers until the owner screwed things up in a BIG way. - Shinn refused to keep any of the teams star players. Alonzo Mourning, Kenny Anderson, Eddie Jones ... the list goes on. As soon as a player got good enough to warrant a nice pay day Shinn ushered him right out of town. - Shinn demanded a new stadium less than a decade after having the brand new Charlotte Coliseum built for his Hornets ... and he demanded not to have to pay for it. The city refused to foot the bill as did the public. Not for him. - Shinn was accused (can't remember if ever formerly charged) of sexual assault and grew tired of references to it in the local media. This was not a case where the team didn't win, the fans lost interest and didn't show up for games. The relationship between the city and the owner lead to the rift and the lack of support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebreaker Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 Bob Johnson is the founder of BET, and I believe a multi-billionaire. He's been looking to start his own franchise for sometime, he tried to get a baseball franchise started in D.C. with Dan Snyder but it didn't work out. He's a very dedicated person once he gets interested in something, so you can expect him to turn this new franchise into a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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