THE GOOD NEWS for NBA fans in New Orleans is that their favourite basketball team look set to stay put in the Big Easy.
The bad news, however, is that the team seem intent on changing their name from the Hornets to the Pelicans.
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According to Yahoo! Sports, the move is expected to happen as early as the 2013-14 NBA season.
The move has been planned since April of this year when Tom Benson, who also owns the Saints NFL franchise in the city, bought the team.
Benson also owns the rights to the Pelicans nickname.
Louisiana is known as the Pelican state and a brown pelican appears on both the state flag and seal. It was previously the nickname of a minor league baseball team in the city.
According to reports, other potential nicknames included the New Orleans Brass or the New Orleans Krewe which, apparently, is the name given to the groups of costumed paraders who take part in the annual Mardi Gras carnival.
The change of name could also have knock on effects in the NBA as the Hornets nickname came with the team when the moved from Charlotte in 2002. The team currently based in Charlotte, the Bobcats, are already on record as saying they would reclaim the Hornets nickname should it become available.
Please stand for your New Orleans... Pelicans?
THE GOOD NEWS for NBA fans in New Orleans is that their favourite basketball team look set to stay put in the Big Easy.
The bad news, however, is that the team seem intent on changing their name from the Hornets to the Pelicans.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the move is expected to happen as early as the 2013-14 NBA season.
The move has been planned since April of this year when Tom Benson, who also owns the Saints NFL franchise in the city, bought the team.
Benson also owns the rights to the Pelicans nickname.
Louisiana is known as the Pelican state and a brown pelican appears on both the state flag and seal. It was previously the nickname of a minor league baseball team in the city.
According to reports, other potential nicknames included the New Orleans Brass or the New Orleans Krewe which, apparently, is the name given to the groups of costumed paraders who take part in the annual Mardi Gras carnival.
The change of name could also have knock on effects in the NBA as the Hornets nickname came with the team when the moved from Charlotte in 2002. The team currently based in Charlotte, the Bobcats, are already on record as saying they would reclaim the Hornets nickname should it become available.
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