ducks
08-30-2003, 03:20 PM
New NBA owner making splash in Charlotte
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ Bob Johnson celebrated his first game as owner of Charlotte's basketball teams by walking to center court and reciting lyrics from Petey Pablo's popular rap song ``Raise Up.''
``North Carolina, take your shirt off!'' he rapped as he twirled a Charlotte Sting shirt in the air.
The crowd at the Sting's WNBA season-opener roared its approval of the man who paid $300 million in December for the Sting and a new NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, who begin play in 2004-05.
Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television, has wasted no time endearing himself to a city that turned its back on the Charlotte Hornets and their owners long before the NBA team packed up and moved to New Orleans last year.
He draws large crowds at most of his Charlotte appearances and plays to potential ticket-buyers by sprinkling his speech with hip language and the latest slang. He patiently signs autographs and poses for pictures. He's also trying to hire Michael Jordan, and is likely to find out early next month if his pal will join the organization.
In Charlotte, a conservative banking town whose power structure is dominated by whites, Johnson almost instantly became the city's most high-profile black leader. And the crowds that come to see and greet him are predominantly black.
``I don't like to use the race issue, but he's reached an incredible plateau that few black men _ let alone white men, Asian men, any men, ever reach,'' Sting guard Dawn Staley said. ``He's a role model and he means something to those who think there's no way they can reach those levels.
``He's kind of a mystique. People knew his name, knew him through BET, but maybe they didn't think he was real.''
He donated $1 million to build a YMCA in a poor part of town. He speaks regularly at civic meetings, targets smaller local businesses to partner with and has made a conscientious effort to hire minorities.
``If you took pictures of all the NBA owners and tried to match up their names with the faces, you probably couldn't do three,'' he said. ``Being an NBA owner means having a platform and the ability to build things, create things and maybe even change things.''
Johnson is already putting his own stamp on the new team, nicknaming it after himself and following his teenage son's advice in choosing orange as the dominant uniform color.
And he's looking beyond the team's eventual wins and losses.
Johnson wants to use his high-profile role to ``urbanize Charlotte'' _ creating a hip scene in what's now a somewhat sleepy, conservative city.
He talks at length about using the team's new $260 million downtown arena _ scheduled to open in October 2005 _ as a platform to create instant nightlife in a business district that typically operates on banker's hours.
``I want restaurants and nightclubs and the ultimate entertainment experience,'' Johnson said. ``Because that's what it's really about, creating an experience and atmosphere that people want to come back to over and over again.''
Such goals are very much in line with Johnson's career. He made a fortune by building BET, a tiny cable start-up, into a black marketing and entertainment powerhouse. And when he talks about his new basketball team, it's in a language that includes buzzwords like ``branding'' and ``synergy,'' rather than ``zone defense'' and ``fast-break offense.''
Johnson's plan of building a winning franchise and using the Bobcats to remake Charlotte could get a boost if Jordan comes aboard.
The owner and the six-time NBA champion are close friends. Johnson has tried to hire Jordan, who was ousted last spring from the Washington Wizards' front office.
Jordan grew up in Wilmington, N.C., played his college ball at North Carolina and, in Johnson's eyes, would give instant credibility and mass appeal to his new team.
Johnson has promised Jordan any role he wants and has let two stated deadlines for a decision come and go. Now, with summer nearly gone and still no word from ``His Airness,'' the Bobcats risk falling behind in preparations for their first season.
``You need to get (Jordan's involvement) pinned in pretty quickly,'' said Pat Williams, senior vice president of the Orlando Magic. ``They have a draft in 10 months and go to training camp in 13 months. That time can vanish rather quickly and they need to get things figured out.'link (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=23240991)
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ Bob Johnson celebrated his first game as owner of Charlotte's basketball teams by walking to center court and reciting lyrics from Petey Pablo's popular rap song ``Raise Up.''
``North Carolina, take your shirt off!'' he rapped as he twirled a Charlotte Sting shirt in the air.
The crowd at the Sting's WNBA season-opener roared its approval of the man who paid $300 million in December for the Sting and a new NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, who begin play in 2004-05.
Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television, has wasted no time endearing himself to a city that turned its back on the Charlotte Hornets and their owners long before the NBA team packed up and moved to New Orleans last year.
He draws large crowds at most of his Charlotte appearances and plays to potential ticket-buyers by sprinkling his speech with hip language and the latest slang. He patiently signs autographs and poses for pictures. He's also trying to hire Michael Jordan, and is likely to find out early next month if his pal will join the organization.
In Charlotte, a conservative banking town whose power structure is dominated by whites, Johnson almost instantly became the city's most high-profile black leader. And the crowds that come to see and greet him are predominantly black.
``I don't like to use the race issue, but he's reached an incredible plateau that few black men _ let alone white men, Asian men, any men, ever reach,'' Sting guard Dawn Staley said. ``He's a role model and he means something to those who think there's no way they can reach those levels.
``He's kind of a mystique. People knew his name, knew him through BET, but maybe they didn't think he was real.''
He donated $1 million to build a YMCA in a poor part of town. He speaks regularly at civic meetings, targets smaller local businesses to partner with and has made a conscientious effort to hire minorities.
``If you took pictures of all the NBA owners and tried to match up their names with the faces, you probably couldn't do three,'' he said. ``Being an NBA owner means having a platform and the ability to build things, create things and maybe even change things.''
Johnson is already putting his own stamp on the new team, nicknaming it after himself and following his teenage son's advice in choosing orange as the dominant uniform color.
And he's looking beyond the team's eventual wins and losses.
Johnson wants to use his high-profile role to ``urbanize Charlotte'' _ creating a hip scene in what's now a somewhat sleepy, conservative city.
He talks at length about using the team's new $260 million downtown arena _ scheduled to open in October 2005 _ as a platform to create instant nightlife in a business district that typically operates on banker's hours.
``I want restaurants and nightclubs and the ultimate entertainment experience,'' Johnson said. ``Because that's what it's really about, creating an experience and atmosphere that people want to come back to over and over again.''
Such goals are very much in line with Johnson's career. He made a fortune by building BET, a tiny cable start-up, into a black marketing and entertainment powerhouse. And when he talks about his new basketball team, it's in a language that includes buzzwords like ``branding'' and ``synergy,'' rather than ``zone defense'' and ``fast-break offense.''
Johnson's plan of building a winning franchise and using the Bobcats to remake Charlotte could get a boost if Jordan comes aboard.
The owner and the six-time NBA champion are close friends. Johnson has tried to hire Jordan, who was ousted last spring from the Washington Wizards' front office.
Jordan grew up in Wilmington, N.C., played his college ball at North Carolina and, in Johnson's eyes, would give instant credibility and mass appeal to his new team.
Johnson has promised Jordan any role he wants and has let two stated deadlines for a decision come and go. Now, with summer nearly gone and still no word from ``His Airness,'' the Bobcats risk falling behind in preparations for their first season.
``You need to get (Jordan's involvement) pinned in pretty quickly,'' said Pat Williams, senior vice president of the Orlando Magic. ``They have a draft in 10 months and go to training camp in 13 months. That time can vanish rather quickly and they need to get things figured out.'link (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=23240991)