Rebranding to the Hornets with Hornets sale in the future?

[BobCatsFanInTx]

Raleigh is a quality host of the Hurricanes, so that's not entirely true.

And legally, it cannot happen until 2034 I believe.

On the first part you are correct about Raleigh being a quality host of the Hurricanes of the NHL and that could possibly open the door for MLB expansion. However to add to that point the Hurricanes like the Panthers had the intelligence to name their teams the CAROLINA Hurricanes and the CAROLINA Panthers. For a basketball team trying to forge it's own identity it seems to me to be a mistake to name the team Charlotte anything. The name Charlotte in NBA terms connects to the past when the Hornets were there.

Keeping the name CHARLOTTE till 2034 in my opinion was a mistake. The team could have been seen more as a team of all the Carolina's as opposed to just Charlotte. If the state was somehow going to add another NBA team in the near future I could see naming the team after the host city but it is not likely going to happen till we are all flying cars as opposed to driving them on the ground. When you all had the Hornets the name Charlotte made more sense since the team name had a connection to the city. The name Bobcats has no real connection to the city but it does have a connection to much of both Carolina's.

All in all it is no big deal but I think those involved with bringing the Bobcats to Charlotte and ALL the Carolina's dropped the ball by not naming the team the Carolina Bobcats.

[Demon DeaCat]

No offense to our South Carolina bretheren, but as a native North Carolinian, it's always been a pet peeve of mine that the two states are often lumped together as though they are one and the same. They are two different states, each with their own rich, but distinct, histories and identities. I would be opposed to the name "Carolina" on that basis. As long as it was the North Carolina whatever, I'd be fine with that.

[teej]

Keeping the name CHARLOTTE till 2034 in my opinion was a mistake. The team could have been seen more as a team of all the Carolina's as opposed to just Charlotte. If the state was somehow going to add another NBA team in the near future I could see naming the team after the host city but it is not likely going to happen till we are all flying cars as opposed to driving them on the ground. When you all had the Hornets the name Charlotte made more sense since the team name had a connection to the city. The name Bobcats has no real connection to the city but it does have a connection to much of both Carolina's.

When Shinn took the Hornets and Stern announced an expansion to Charlotte for '04, the lease agreement for the arena that was required to be built stipulated that, just as the new team could not leave the lease for 30 years without paying a heavy exit penalty, they would be named Charlotte for the entirety of the lease. Because Stern had already announced the team to Charlotte, the locals had all the bargaining chips on their side, and since Charlotte was the only one involved with the negotiations (only Charlotte tax raises for the building, etc.) the rest of the Carolinas had no voice in it. Also, if you look at all the major cities (which Charlotte wants to be), they all have city-named sports teams. The Los Angeles Lakers/Dodgers/Angels/Clippers/Kings, the New York Yankees/Giants/Jets/Mets/Knicks, the Dallas Cowboys/Mavericks/Stars, the Chicago Bulls/Bears/Cubs/White Sox, the Boston Red Sox/Celtics/Bruins, even the Atlanta Hawks/Thrashers/Falcons and most of all the Atlanta Braves, who have the largest reach as far as local fans. They do advertising from Alabama to Virginia! Only the minor-league cities (outside NE Patriots, Texas Rangers, and Colorado Rockies) name the team after the state/region. As with all other issues, if your team has enough history and winning, the fans will come regardless of the name.