The NBA has announced that its board of governors has given its anticipated approval of the purchase of the New Orleans Hornets.
Commissioner David Stern announced back on the 6th that the league intended to buy the Hornets from majority owner George Shinn and minority owner Gary Chouest.
Shinn had been trying to sell the club to Chouest since last spring but negotiations stalled and Chouest backed out of Round One of negotiations.
Stern says the franchise is worth about $300 million and that the league will look to sell the club to a more permanent owner, preferably one that would continue to operate the team in New Orleans.
The Hornets were founded in Charlotte by Shinn in 1988 and moved to New Orleans in 2002. According to the league, Jac Sperling, a New Orleans native and sports executive with over 20 years of sports-industry experience, will serve as the team’s chairman and representative on the league's Board of Governors.
Team President Hugh Weber will continue directing the day-to-day activities of the team.
Here's Paul Murphy's piece on the local groups trying to keep the Hornets local...
((HT: WWL-TV))
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