George Shinn
George Shinn
George Shinnis the former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets as well the Charlotte Knights and Gastonia Rangers minor league baseball teams along with the Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks of the World League of American Football. He purchased the Hornets for $32.5 million in 1987. In 1997, he lost his bid for a potential National Hockey Leagueexpansion franchise to be called the Hampton Roads Rhinos...
biggest city committed embraced great jersey oklahoma orleans playing rebuilding special thank wearing
New Orleans is our home, and we are committed to rebuilding that great city and playing there again. But at the same time, we feel that it's important to acknowledge the way Oklahoma has embraced this team. Wearing an Oklahoma City jersey is the biggest way we can say thank you for a very special season.
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It's not just the arena (being) in playing condition, but will there be any fans there. I don't know how many will come back, how quickly they'll come back. I'm convinced New Orleans will rebuild. With the dollars that the federal government is putting in, I can see it rebuilding and even being stronger. But how long is it going to take? This option (for a possible second year in Oklahoma City) was just a cushion just to make sure if it got to that point.
affected beginning commitment fans focused great helping hurricane orleans provide rebuild relief
This is just the beginning of our commitment to provide relief to our family, friends and fans who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina, ... New Orleans is our home, and we are focused on helping to rebuild and revitalize our great city.
agent coach good great jeff talk wants
I've told him that I want him back. I think he's a great coach, and he's good with the guys. So I told him if he wants to talk, he can talk to me. But I'm not going to talk to an agent. If he has an agent involved, he has to talk to (General Manager) Jeff Bower, not me.
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I see what Tom Benson is going through, ... I don't want to be the bad guy, OK? I'd rather the NBA be the bad guy. I ask David (Stern) every day, 'What should I do? What should I say?' I can't read the tea leaves, but the day of the announcement, I knew we had hit a home run.
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The team would be an absolute financial success to stay in Oklahoma. I can't deny that. If everybody here, the state and everybody, can step up and give us some confidence, than everything's going to work here. ... I want it to work.
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The thing everybody's got to remember is our goal is simple. We want to play in New Orleans. That's our home. But we can't. We can't come back even if the facility was clean because there's nobody else there. The city will come back. We don't know how long it will take, therefore we've got to find a temporary home.
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Like so many businesses and families uprooted by Hurricane Katrina, the Hornets were forced to leave New Orleans while the city recovers from this tragedy,
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We've gone from being last in the league in attendance last year to being a t op 10 team in season-ticket sales this year, ... The fans here have really stepped up and made it happen.
business
From a business standpoint, it's always benefited me. The more I give, the more I get back.
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From the state of ... this great state.
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But we've got to remember the economics have to be there to support it,
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Right now, I think everybody's got to accept the fact that New Orleans is not ready for this coming season. They're not ready, so we should play in Oklahoma City next year, and then start working and putting everything together to come back.
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My exact words were, 'Oklahoma where?' ... I said, 'You've got to be kidding me, David. Do they have an arena?' I knew nothing about Oklahoma City.