Sign the Petition!

[JGib23]

Wearing another team's jersey to the game is a disservice to the Bobcats players no matter how you look at it.

Is it disservice to the Bobcats players to sit beside the owner wearing Charlotte Hornets gear?

I don't think so! Neither does this guy....



I'm sure the players are more upset at the arena full of Knicks fans cheering the game winner than they are about my wardrobe.

[ND22]

It's a disservice when "Bobcats fans" wear Charlotte Hornets gear when the Bobcats are playing the Hornets.

And another point.

I find it hypocritical that one of the main arguments against the Bobcats name is because of Bob Johnson's ties to it, when George Shinn is the reason the Hornets left Charlotte in the first place. Both names are tied to bad owners, yet name change supporters act as if the Shinn's association with the name doesn't exist.

[SWedd523]

my wardrobe.

I never knew you were Cam Newton!

[ziggy]

Is it disservice to the Bobcats players to sit beside the owner wearing Charlotte Hornets gear?

I don't think so! Neither does this guy....

YES, It is a disservice for Cam to show up to a Bobcats game wearing another team's hat.

I'm sure MJ didn't appreciate it.

Cam was fortunate that the fans here don't have the mentality of Philly fans. I doubt if Cam would have the guts to show up court-side at a 76ers game wearing a Celtics hat.

[CatNation]

wouldnt surprise me one bit if MJ chewed Cam out for wearin that hat

[Felton for Prez]

I love me some Cam but I'm not sure he's the guy you want to be using as your barameter for what is wise or classy to do in public.

[JMo]

What part of incremental isn't getting through?

Incremental for purposes of this debate = people that will buy tickets as a result of the name change that aren't currently buying tickets.

If you can't understand the basic premise for why the Bobcats themselves are considering the switch, I can't engage in any further discussion with you.

Just for the record- the bills aren't getting paid. Forbes estimated the team lost between 20-30 million last season ( the team says the losses weren't that large)

You mentioned you do capital expenditure analysis for a living, correct? You must not be very good at it. As a business man I wouldn't expect to make money in the initial phases of a business, this is normal. MJ became majority owner of the Bobcats a few years ago and running a cash flow analysis of when he could expect to turn a profit was no doubt done. The nice thing about losses, if they were that large, is that there is a lot of beneficial tax treatment large businesses get to use to offset current and future income. So this team is not "bleeding money" right now. This team does not "need" this name change to keep operational. You're not doing us and the team some huge favor by bringing these hypothetical "incremental" fans you speak of.

[JGib23]

@Adam- great post.

Here's the crux of the issue.

The Bobcats themselves realize there is at least a good chance they can get more fans and make more money as the Charlotte Hornets than they can as the Charlotte Bobcats. As a result, they are investigating changing the name back.

You mention the 2k new season ticket holders and I think that is great that the team was able to attract 2k new STH after the worst season in NBA history.

Now let's look at the other side of the coin:
1. How many season ticket holders did they lose?
2. Are the new season ticket holders more profitable than the ones they lost?
2a. They offered season tickets for $2 per game- how many "new" season ticket holders spent $84 on an entire season of tickets with the intention of making money by selling the Lakers and Heat games?
2b. They offered buy one get one free season tickets.

What we really need to know is what is the net effect on attendance?
Has this influx of new season ticket holders made any impact on the gate?
Has having the #2 overall pick and rookie of the month and already matching last years win total made more people come to Bobcats games?

The answer is pretty much NO

2012 attendance for the worst team in NBA history = 14,757
2013 attendance with 2,000 new STH and an arena full of Knicks fans 14,978

So all of that momentum of a great up and coming team, giving away free tickets to everyone in attendance because Kemba Walker hit a 3 pointer in the 4th quarter of a game, selling $2 season tickets and buy one get one free tickets has resulted in a net gain of 221 fans per night.

Do you think that's a sustainable business model?

It's really simple- the Bobcats are investigating a name change because they need to know if they can improve attendance and revenue because their other efforts haven't yielded great results.

The answer

[JGib23]

It's a disservice when "Bobcats fans" wear Charlotte Hornets gear when the Bobcats are playing the Hornets.

And another point.

I find it hypocritical that one of the main arguments against the Bobcats name is because of Bob Johnson's ties to it, when George Shinn is the reason the Hornets left Charlotte in the first place. Both names are tied to bad owners, yet name change supporters act as if the Shinn's association with the name doesn't exist.

I agree about wearing Hornets gear if we are playing New Orleans and I would not do that.

The Hornets are named after Shinn.. If they were called the Shinnets no one would want the name back.

[JMo]

@Adam- great post.

Here's the crux of the issue.

The Bobcats themselves realize there is at least a good chance they can get more fans and make more money as the Charlotte Hornets than they can as the Charlotte Bobcats. As a result, they are investigating changing the name back.

You mention the 2k new season ticket holders and I think that is great that the team was able to attract 2k new STH after the worst season in NBA history.

Now let's look at the other side of the coin:
1. How many season ticket holders did they lose?
2. Are the new season ticket holders more profitable than the ones they lost?
2a. They offered season tickets for $2 per game- how many "new" season ticket holders spent $84 on an entire season of tickets with the intention of making money by selling the Lakers and Heat games?
2b. They offered buy one get one free season tickets.

What we really need to know is what is the net effect on attendance?
Has this influx of new season ticket holders made any impact on the gate?
Has having the #2 overall pick and rookie of the month and already matching last years win total made more people come to Bobcats games?

The answer is pretty much NO

2012 attendance for the worst team in NBA history = 14,757
2013 attendance with 2,000 new STH and an arena full of Knicks fans 14,978

So all of that momentum of a great up and coming team, giving away free tickets to everyone in attendance because Kemba Walker hit a 3 pointer in the 4th quarter of a game, selling $2 season tickets and buy one get one free tickets has resulted in a net gain of 221 fans per night.

Do you think that's a sustainable business model?

It's really simple- the Bobcats are investigating a name change because they need to know if they can improve attendance and revenue because their other efforts haven't yielded great results.

The answer

I don't get the harping about them offering buy one get one free? They've done that before. Buy one season ticket get your second one free. The only difference now is they moved it to another season. You're still getting a one seat "free" either way you slice it. JGib you're a real sucker for marketing ploys aren't you?