Hornets make moving plans official with league

NEW ORLEANS -- The Charlotte Hornets filed an application with the NBA on Thursday to move to New Orleans, and Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster said he was certain league owners will approve the move.

"The whole deal is complete. We've worked out all the details. We have no reason to believe that the last stage of this, which is approval of the league, won't be in place," Foster said on his weekly radio show.

The relocation must be approved by a majority of the 29 NBA owners, who have 10 days to appoint a committee to examine the proposed move. The committee then would have up to 120 days to issue a recommendation, and the league's ruling board would have 30 days to vote.

"Our preference would be for the team to stay in Charlotte in a beautiful new arena, but the reality is that may not be possible," NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said. The vote could take place by late April.

Local political figures joined Hornets officials for a news conference at the 2 1/2-year-old New Orleans Arena, which would be the team's new home if the deal goes through.

Charlotte voters have turned down referendums for a new publicly funded arena, and Hornets owners Ray Wooldridge and George Shinn believe their team can prosper in a smallermarket than Charlotte.