Michael Jordan Officially Takes Over Bobcats
Michael Jordan has reached what he calls "the culmination of [his] post-basketball career."
He has his own NBA franchise: the Charlotte Bobcats, and by a unanimous vote of the NBA Board of Governors, it is official.
The board voted 29-0 on Jordan's $275M bid to buy the franchise from Robert Johnson, making him the second majority black owner in NBA in history (after Johnson), and the first ex-NBA player to have full ownership of a team.
The move to buy the team, along with the 'Cats current 6th-place standing in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt, is expected to generate interest and buzz around a city that has not been as receptive since the old Hornets' departure in 2002.
While Jordan has maintained a low profile since agreeing to buy the team on February 26th, he is scheduled to make his first public comments on purchasing the teams and be available to the media for the first time on Thursday night. He has been visible at four of the past five home games at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte since buying the team (the one he missed was for his son Jeff's game in the Big Ten Tournament). As of right now, MJ is the sole owner of the team, but will be looking for local investors to be part of his ownership group, MJ Basketball Holdings, LLC.
Although Jordan has the vote of confidence from the Board of Governors, and commissioner David Stern, his biggest task will be winning over the city of Charlotte. He considers himself a North Carolina native, and calls the state home, but as 'Cats fans have learned and old Hornets fans know from the past: if you're not visible in the city, the city will not support you. George Shinn fell out of favor, disappeared and moved to New Orleans; Johnson never showed up, and alienated himself as soon as he bought the team. Michael Jordan, what are you going to do?
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