http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1091698800274090.xml Hornets to hit road most of preseason N.O. will play 76ers, Mavericks at home Thursday, August 05, 2004 By John Reid Staff writer The Hornets will play a preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks at home on Oct. 18 and will play home games in Lafayette and Biloxi, Miss., the team announced Wednesday. The Hornets will play eight preseason games, two at New Orleans Arena. They will play the Philadelphia 76ers at home Oct. 19. In an effort to expand their fan base, the Hornets will play the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 16 at the Cajundome in Lafayette and will play the Orlando Magic on Oct. 21 in Biloxi. For the past two seasons, the Hornets have played preseason games in Baton Rouge or Biloxi. Before the 2002-03 regular season, the Hornets played the San Antonio Spurs in a preseason game at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi. The Hornets will have road games against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 23 and the Clippers on Oct. 24. The Hornets also have road games against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 15 and the Spurs on Oct. 29. The Hornets' regular-season opener is Nov. 3 against the Mavericks at the Arena. "We hope our great fans here in New Orleans will enjoy the two preseason games at the Arena," Hornets owner George Shinn said in a statement. "We're happy to bring our product to different regions during the preseason, so that our fans who have not been able to get to New Orleans for a game can get a chance to attend in person and see what they've been missing." READY TO MAKE PUSH: The Hornets will use an advertising group to help with their marketing push to increase the sale of full-season and mini-season ticket packages. Shinn said the group has worked with the Magic, who averaged 14,371 per game last season. The Hornets ranked 28th among the 29 teams in the league in attendance, and Shinn wants their 14,332 per-game average to improve. We're putting together our plan now to start on it," Shinn said Tuesday. "It (having larger crowds) helps us obviously, and in a round-about way it helps the city because it shows the community stepping up and supporting the team. It helps the players play a little bit better, because I've been in this business long enough to know there are a lot of things that motivates these guys. Obviously money is one of them, but they're also motivated by big crowds. The more wins you get, the more focus is on this community." --

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