Report: Charlotte Hornets To Bid On All-Star Weekend
By Phil Watson
According to a report, the Charlotte Hornets will submit a bid to the NBA on Tuesday for the right to host either the 2017 or 2018 All-Star weekend.
Citing a “source close to the process,” the Charlotte Observer reported that the team and the Charlotte Sports Foundation have scheduled a press conference for Tuesday morning at which time a formal announcement of the Hornets’ pursuit of the event will be made.
More from Charlotte Hornets
- Who is James Nnaji, and what can he become for the Charlotte Hornets?
- Should the Hornets be worried about Brandon Miller’s Summer League woes?
- P.J. Washington has named his price: Is he worth it?
- The new NBA flopping rules explained
- NBA Free Agency Live Deal Tracker: Grading every signing made worst to best
The franchise has been moving forward in the last year, earning a playoff berth just two seasons after a 7-59 disaster in 2011-12 set an NBA record for the worst winning percentage in a single season.
In May, Charlotte took back its original NBA identity, renaming the team the Hornets and returning to the purple-and-teal color scheme that marked the city’s first NBA entry.
The original Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002, but when that franchise was renamed the Pelicans for 2013-14, Charlotte was able to reclaim the Hornets name after playing as the Bobcats for 10 seasons.
The Hornets have not been quiet about their intentions to host the league’s premier in-season event, but commissioner Adam Silver said in March that the city would have to make some upgrades to Time Warner Cable Arena.
"“It’s part of the understanding here that the building remain state of the art,” Silver said this spring. “Nothing dramatic is needed. But certainly an upgrade to the scoreboard, some things with the suites and the lighting.”"
The 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend will be played in New York—with events set for both Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and Barclays Center in Brooklyn—with the 2016 game going to Toronto.
The NBA All-Star Game has been held once in Charlotte, a 116-114 victory for the Eastern Conference behind MVP Charles Barkley in February 1991.