New Orleans, LA – The New Orleans Hornets have scheduled a press conference for Thursday afternoon, at which time it is expected to announce a name change for the franchise.
Yahoo! Sports had reported last year that the team was considering a change to Pelicans and the New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported that new owner Tom Benson has owned the rights to that nickname. Benson took control of the franchise in June 2012.
The team kept the Hornets nickname when it relocated from Charlotte for the start of the 2002-03 season. New Orleans previously hosted the Jazz from 1974-79 until the franchise left for Salt Lake City and kept the moniker.
The new nickname would likely go into effect for the start of the 2013-14 season.
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