Charlotte Hornets News: Team Gets Green Light From City for Practice Facility

The Charlotte City Council has given the green light to the Charlotte Hornets, off a 7-1 vote (three voters were not available, and District 4 rep Renée Johnson cast the only vote against the project), to begin construction on a brand-new practice facility, writes Erik Spanberg of The Charlotte Business Journal.

The Hornets' new practice space will be erected, on taxpayer-funded property, behind the team's home arena, the Spectrum Center. It's a 3.2-acre, city-owned area located at 501 E. Trade Street. The team will have 350 parking spaces, while 125 spots will be earmarked for employees of city government during the day when the facility is finished. As many as 125 more can also be used while the project is under development.

The city of Charlotte owns the arena, which the Hornets will occupy through 2045 thanks to a lease extension. The Hornets assume all operating costs (and earn all operating-related profits) while running the building.

In 2022, the city agreed on a $275 million commitment to the Hornets, as part of the team's lease extension. The allocation of those funds has changed, Spanberg notes. $245 million, not $215 million, will be put into arena renovations. Practice center resources have accordingly been shrunk to "just" $30 million.

The city will now own a portion of the fresh practice space. The Hornets' new ownership group will put $70-100 million of its own resources into the practice facility project. The previous agreement had been negotiated with former majority owner Michael Jordan.

Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall led a 20-investor group in a purchase of a majority stake in the franchise. Jordan retains a piece of the team, however.

Charlotte's new practice space is now set to be opened as soon as 2026, as the team announced. The Hornets had previously been expected to open the facility at some point in 2027 or 2028.

"[The new deal] alleviates the city's financial obligations associated with potential cost of penalties on construction delays, required 350 parking spaces (to be provided to the team), cost overruns and practice facility maintenance," city administrators are quoted as proclaiming, per Spanberg.

The Hornets are hoping to emerge out of an underwhelming run under Jordan's stewardship. The Hall of Fame shooting guard/small forward has owned a piece of the franchise since 2006 but didn't take majority ownership until March 2010. He sold the majority stake in August 2023.

During Jordan's tenure as majority owner, the team made the playoffs just three times in 14 seasons (he took over midseason in 2009-10 so we're counting that playoff appearance), although it never advanced beyond the first round. Charlotte missed the postseason in the final seven years of his ownership (and has already been eliminated from postseason contention in the first year under its new owners, too).

Don't cry for MJ, though, sports fans. As usual with his business dealings, he made out just fine despite all his team's on-court losing. According to Jack Maloney and James Herbert of CBS Sports, Charlotte had been valued at $275 million when Jordan took over. It was sold to Plotkin, Schnall and co. being pegged at a $3 billion valuation 13 years later.

In fairness, the team does have some intriguing young pieces now. All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, if he can ever stay healthy, is an exciting, jumbo-sized playmaker with a solid scoring touch. Rookie forward Brandon Miller, the No. 2 pick out of Alabama in last summer's draft, has already become a prolific scorer. The 6'9" combo forward is averaging 16.8 points on .434/.368/.811 shooting splits, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks a night. Here's hoping there are brighter days ahead for this reconfigured franchise.