Asheville submits bid to become Hornets' D League team

Even before all the bids have been received, Asheville's odds of becoming the home of the Charlotte Hornets' D League franchise have improved.

Last month the NBA team sent out a request for proposal to seven N.C. and S.C. cities to submit bids to host a team in the NBA Development League, which would begin play in the 2016-17 season.

Raleigh and Greenville, South Carolina, decided not to make bids, leaving Asheville, Fayetteville, Greensboro and South Carolina cities Charleston and Columbia as possible candidates.

Asheville, which fielded a team in the original NBDL from 2001-05, sent a bid to the Hornets this week to meet the Monday deadline.

"We feel like we met a lot of their requests (in the RFP), and the ones we couldn't meet, we offered ways to help find them," said Chris Corl, general manager of the U.S. Cellular Center, which would bet the site of the games if Asheville is awarded the franchise.

Among the requirements from the Hornets in the RFP is 50 available dates from Nov. 15 to April 15, including a minimum of 25 Friday or Saturday nights.

Not all of those dates would be used because the Hornets, who currently do not have a D-League team, are looking to play 24 home games for their D-League team as part of a 50-game regular season.

The team is also asking for a practice facility, 100 percent of gross ticket revenue, 100 percent of advertising signage revenue in the building and percentages of gross parking revenue and concession sales.

Asheville city officials involved in the bid presentation said the Hornets would not be given all of that but those requirements were simply a starting point in negotiations. "We're looking at this as a partnership and submitting a proposal as a win-win," said Sam Powers, Asheville's director of economic development. "It is a proposal that — if accepted (by the Hornets) — would be hard for us to turn down."

Poor attendance and financial losses caused the Asheville Altitude to fold in 2005 after four seasons, but Corl said both sides are much different now.

The Altitude averaged 788 fans per game during its four-season stay, the numbers decreasing each year from 1,037 in the maiden season (2001-02) to 499 in the final year (2004-05).

The team suffered at least $100,000 in losses each of its four years here.

"I think Asheville is a lot different and so is the D League," said Corl. "Asheville is a lot bigger with a lot more tourists, and this team would be just for the Hornets.

"They are players who you can watch grow from college to Charlotte."

Ben VanCamp, the executive director of the Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission, worked with Corl on the bid.

"You never know how these things are going to turn out and what the other cities are going to offer, but we think it is a very fair bid for them, for the city and the Cellular Center," VanCamp said.

"They will have an opportunity to make money and we will have an opportunity to make money, so it would be a good situation if they choose us."

The Altitude played home games at the Asheville Civic Center (since refurbished and renamed U.S. Cellular Center) and the city earned about $450,000 in rent during those four seasons, but often lost money on concessions due to poor attendance.

"The biggest challenge is you are taking away a lot of dates where you can't bring in concerts that could make a lot in concession sales," said VanCamp. "Coming up with a plan to protect the (Cellular Center's) interest was important, and Chris did a great job of running the numbers and factoring in what the hard costs will be to make sure this is a god deal for the building."

Asheville, Fayetteville, Greenville and Charleston had teams in the original National Basketball Development League, and all folded within five years.

The Hornets have several reasons for wanting a D league team. "This would allow us to dictate how the team is run, with the same offensive and defensive sets ... and philosophies," said Charlotte general manager Rich Cho.

Hornets president Fred Whitfield said having the team close to Charlotte would facilitate player call-ups and help market the NBA team.

"A D League team would allow us to continue to expand the Hornets' brand regionally by having a presence in an additional market," he said.

The current D League includes 18 teams across the country, 17 affiliated with a specific NBA team and serving as that team's minor-league feeder system.

Last season, the 18 teams from Maine to California, almost all in the same state or neighboring state as its NBA affiliate, averaged 2,725 fans per game.

The range included 5,737 per game for the Texas Legends (based in Frisco) to 389 for the L.A. D-Fenders.

More than 35 percent (170 of 450) of current NBA players have spent time in the D League, playing for salaries of $25,000 a year or less.