Looking for a rebound

Coming off their NBA playoffs debut, the Charlotte Bobcats are in the midst of their sixth season, with basketball legend Michael Jordan as the majority owner.

In February, Jordan bought a majority stake in the team from Robert Johnson, who in five years lost millions of dollars in revenue and alienated the business community and fans with what many say were arrogant, misguided decisions.

It’s was the second time Charlotte’s relationship with its NBA team turned sour. There was also the acrimonious split in 2002 when the owner of the Charlotte Hornets — the city’s first NBA franchise — moved the team to New Orleans.

But while Jordan brings plenty of clout and respect, along with big bucks, it remains to be see if his presence can improve the Bobcats’ sluggish game attendance and rekindle Charlotte’s love affair with its professional basketball team.

Michael Thompson, the Bobcats’ director of corporate communications, said Jordan has already improved the team’s business prospects, pointing to new sponsorships.

What kind of ripple effect, if any, Jordan’s ownership will have in Charlotte is hard to determine. Thompson said the Bobcats have never commissioned an economic-impact study and probably never will. And Molly Hedrick of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority said the CRVA has never done a study on the Bobcats and how the team impacts the city’s hospitality industry.

Among Charlotte sports bars and sports memorabilia retailers, though, Jordan’s ownership is a mixed bag as some, but not all, are seeing a boost to their bottom line.

And then there are those who say the team will never be as popular in Charlotte as the Hornets were, even with Jordan at the helm.

New sponsorships

Thompson said Jordan has already helped the team’s business prospects.

He said the Bobcats have sold more than 15 new sponsorships this year, including CPI Security Systems Inc., as well as companies already in Jordan’s portfolio: Hanes, McDonald’s and video-game company 2K Sports.

The team has also renewed contracts for sponsors who left years ago, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield and Footlocker, Thompson said, adding that this summer, the Bobcats were in the NBA’s top five for season-ticket renewals and the top 10 for new season tickets sold.

“One of the biggest effects he’s (Jordan) had is our ability to have conversations that lead to corporate partnerships,” Thompson said. “Once he took over, those discussions became a whole lot easier.”

Mixed bag

Some stores and restaurants are enjoying a boost in business since Jordan bought a majority interest in the team.

At Sports Fan-Attic in Northlake Mall, manager Eric D’Aiutolo said he’s seen a spike in sales of Bobcats T-shirts and hats.

But Liz Purnsley, manager at Lids, a Northlake Mall store that sells hats and caps, said she hasn’t noticed any change.

“We don’t carry much Bobcats inventory in general,” she said. “It’s sold very poorly over the last several years. Things might change if they start winning more games, but for right now it’s not happening.”

Spokespeople for Hooters and Vinnie’s Sardine Grill and Raw Bar, both in uptown, said they haven’t noticed any increases in crowds during televised Bobcats games.

But Matt Shope, general manager of Fox and Hound Smokehouse and Tavern in uptown, has seen a spike during some of the televised games.

Bram Bitton, floor manager at Dixie’s Tavern on East Seventh Street, has also noticed larger crowds. People seem more excited about the team this season compared with last, he said.

Bobcats fan Neel Jadeja is among the excited.

Jadeja, 34, who has purchased Bobcats season tickets for the past four years, said he’s optimistic about the team’s future.

“Bob Johnson was more of a businessman and seemed distant from the concept of the game itself,” he said. “Jordan is bringing not just his brand and name to the Bobcats, but his love of the sport.”

Changing hands

In 2002, after owner George Shinn moved the Hornets to New Orleans, the NBA awarded a Charlotte expansion team franchise to Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television. Johnson paid $300 million for the team.

From the beginning, the Bobcats struggled with a losing record and attendance numbers that hovered near the bottom of the league.

Johnson put the team up for sale last year. In February Jordan paid $275 million for a majority stake, $25 million less than Johnson paid eight years earlier. Jordan, who now owns 80 percent, had been a minority owner and head of basketball operations for the Bobcats.

Mark Packer, a former sports radio host for Charlotte-based WFNZ-AM, said Jordan is perhaps the best person to step in after Johnson, who he said made a mess of an already volatile situation.

“I thought for sure Johnson understood he was walking into a city where people already felt burned,” said Packer, who left the station Nov. 24. “Boy was I wrong on that one.”

Not the Hornets

Packer said Jordan buying the Bobcats from Johnson created a positive for the team almost overnight.

But regardless of how much effort Jordan invests, the team will never be as popular as the Hornets were back in the heady 1980s and early 90s, Packer said.

“I don’t think you’ll ever see that kind of love affair between Charlotte and a pro sports team again,” he said.

There are far more distractions for sports fan today, which has caused the number of fans to dwindle for almost every sport, he said.

Victor Matheson, an associate professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., said Jordan’s impact on the team’s popularity and economic viability will be negligible.

“The main driver of attendance and popularity is clearly the product you put on the court,” Matheson said. “And sports superstars have not reliably been able to transfer their skills on the court into the front office.”

Regardless of how passionate Jordan may be, or how deep his pockets are, he still has a limited influence in the NBA, Matheson said. For one, all owners are subject to an NBA salary cap.

There are also rules limiting how many promising college players an NBA team can draft, so Jordan can’t stack his team with all the best new players, Matheson said.

Matheson said another factor is hamstringing Jordan: Charlotte.

Given the salary cap, some players, such as Shaquille O’Neal, gravitate to Hollywood so they can have movie careers, he said.

Cities like New York and Los Angeles can offer such things to players that Charlotte simply cannot, he said.

But Jordan’s legendary status will work in his favor, Matheson said.

“That’s his one glimmer of hope. There’s something to be said for being a legend. So maybe he can leverage his own personal history and status into convincing a great free agent to come to what otherwise is not a necessarily attractive place for them to play.”

Sam Boykin can be reached at [email protected].