Bobcats Receive NBA’s OK To Become Hornets

The Bobcats have received official league approval to change their name to the Hornets, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The Board of Governors voted unanimously to grant the team permission to adopt the Hornets monicker that the New Orleans Pelicans abandoned this spring. Approval had been widely expected since the team announced its intentions in May. The change will take place for the 2014/15 season.

The franchise now known as the Pelicans originally began as the Charlotte Hornets, and sellout crowds were the norm for the first several years of the franchise. North Carolina fans soured on ownership in the late 1990s and early 2000s, prompting the move to New Orleans. 

Still, the Hornets nickname evokes fond memories for some in the Charlotte area, though Bobcats owner Michael Jordan called results from a poll of the team's fans "very mixed." The Bobcats nonetheless made the decision to change their name following the market research the club began in January. When the club made its announcement in May, Jordan indicated that fan response to the Hornets name was mostly positive, saying in part that, "Our fans spoke and we listened.”