National Basketball Association

The buzz is back: Charlotte officially changes name to Hornets

Published May. 20, 2014 12:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After a 12-year absence, the Hornets have officially returned to Charlotte.

On Tuesday, team president and chief operating officer Fred Whitfield sat at a table on stage at Time Warner Cable Arena and proudly proclaimed the NBA team -- formerly known as the Charlotte Bobcats -- will forever be called the Charlotte Hornets.

"Today is a great day for professional basketball in Charlotte and the entire Carolinas," Whitfield said with enthusiasm. "Today, we complete a task that has never been accomplished before -- bringing a name back to its original market after it left and was used elsewhere.

"Today, the Charlotte Hornets name is officially back home."

A joyous cheer from the 200 or so people in attendance echoed throughout the arena, upon the announcement.

It may be difficult for outsiders not associated with Charlotte to fully understand why the "Hornets" nickname is so important to the city.

It dates back to 1780, when during the Revolutionary War, Gen. Charles Cornwallis and his English army was thwarted by Charlotte natives in a battle he was expected to win easily, which prompted to label the city as "a hornet's nest of rebellion." The name stuck and has been a source of pride.

The nickname associated with local teams date as far back as 1892.

That's why it so deeply hurt many fans of the team and residents. They simply couldn't get over the fact the "Hornets" (now Pelicans) were playing in New Orleans.

"I get stopped almost daily by people excited about the name change," said Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford. "It's exciting for all of us. Even the players are excited. I hear them talking about it. You can just feel the excitement around the city."

Also returning with the name are all the original franchise records and statistics from 1988-2002. The stats will be coupled with all the Bobcats records from 2004-2014. New Orleans will maintain the franchise's history, starting with the team's first season in that city in 2002-03.

"We are thrilled to have access to the Charlotte basketball history of the Hornets, as we know how much it means to our fans," Whitfield said. "This strengthens our history, as well as our connection to the city and the fans. This provides us with a tremendous alumni base, and we cannot wait to continue to incorporate them into the Charlotte Hornets family.

"Charlotte's NBA history will now be completely intact."

The new Hornets are hoping the old name, as well as making the playoffs for only the second time in 10 seasons, help recapture at least a portion of the excitement and fervor that resonated throughout the Piedmont in the 1980s and 90s.

Going to a Charlotte Hornets game then was the thing to do and the place to be. The team led the NBA in attendance its first seven years of existence -- posting a sellout streak of 364 games, the equivalent of nearly nine full NBA seasons.

"I know what it felt like in the old 'Hive," said Whitfield, who actually owned season tickets to the original Hornets. "We're not afraid to say that we're trying to emulate and get Time Warner Cable Arena back to the way it was in the Hive."

While it will be very difficult to obtain that level of excitement when the original Hornets were the only professional team in town, there has been an immediate impact, and one team officials didn't see coming.

"Last offseason, we had more than 2,000 new season-ticket holders and a 90 percent renewal rate," said Pete Guelli, executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer. "Currently, we lead the NBA in new season ticket sales for next season.

"Since Hornets merchandise went on sale Jan. 18, we have set several new team store merchandise sales records. We have seen tremendous growth across all of our social media platforms, tripling our followers."

Gone are the not-so-attractive colors of orange and blue, which represented the Charlotte Bobcats. Now, the exceedingly popular colors of teal and purple have returned.

To put an exclamation point on the time-tested popularity of the former logo and colors, the old Hornets paraphernalia have led the NBA in retro sales for the last few years.

What also can't be ignored or even overstated is the team had a winning record this past season for only the second time. The "Hornets" enthusiasm may have been greatly tempered had the Bobcats finished the season with just 25 wins.

"I think it would have been very, very difficult to count on the name change to make this better," said Steve Martin, the play-by-play voice of the team and the only franchise member to be with the Charlotte Hornets back in 1988. "This year certainly helped this process even better."

KEY UPCOMING HORNETS EVENTS

June 19: Hornets team uniforms for the 2014-15 season will be revealed

June 26: Hornets new playing floor design unveiled at Time Warner Cable Arena

October 2014: The Hornets will host the inaugural Buzz Fest, a multi-day fan festival celebrating the beginning of the 2014-15 season and return of the Hornets name.

The interactive event will feature Hornets legends and current players, autograph and photo stations, basketball games, skills challenges, musical acts and more.