Hornets make debut in New Orleans

~ Displaced by Hurricane Katrina, the team will play the first of three games in its old home.

NEW ORLEANS -- Tom Warren knows that compared to the lives and property Hurricane Katrina destroyed, a professional sports team is a small loss. Still, having the first big league game back in town tonight seems like a big deal.

"It's one more thing that's ours that we're getting back," said Warren, a 56-year-old construction worker. "We need all that stuff back, because that's normal."

The Hornets first game in New Orleans since the Aug. 29 storm is not really a return to normal. The team will play only two more games in town this year and only six next season, but it is a big step in a city that is still mostly empty and wrecked. The team has been playing its other "home" games in Oklahoma City.

The Arena, which was used as a shelter for refugees with medical needs during the hurricane, suffered some flood damage, including to the basketball floor and locker rooms.

Going into the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson had plenty of questions about the Arena and the city's future in the NBA.

"Can we go in there and play a game that feels like it's an NBA game when we actually get on the floor?" Jackson asked Monday night. "I heard that the arena they're in was quite devastated by the flood itself. Did they clean that up? Where does that stand in the whole process? The NBA's commitment to New Orleans is the other thing. How committed are they, and are we going to go back and forth to this town once again when it becomes whole in another year or so?"

Repairs to the Arena ran less than $10 million and included drying it out, biohazard remediation and removal of damaged furnishings and equipment.

A new $1.5 million center-hung scoreboard and two end zone matrix boards have been installed, and they include include four 9-by-16 foot video displays and four 8-by-12 foot video boards.

The game will be a sellout, Hornets owner George Shinn said, despite the fact that only about 189,000 of the city's approximate 465,000 pre-Katrina residents have returned. About 17,000 tickets have been sold for the Denver game and 12,000 for the Clippers later in the month.

The NBA has said the Hornets will return for the 2007-08 season, and Shinn has said that's his plan, although his resolve has been less firm than many fans have hoped for. Although he had said good ticket sales were vital for these three games, that may not be enough.