A group named Bee Keeper, which worked to keep the Hornets from leaving North Carolina, existed in Charlotte during the 2001-02 season when a move to New Orleans was looming.

John DeLong, former Charlotte Hornets beat writer for the Winston-Salem Journal, said the climate toward owner George Shinn and minority partner Ray Wooldridge was hostile in Charlotte, N.C.

When Shinn made a move for a new arena (at the end of his lease with the Charlotte Coliseum), the public halted him in his tracks when the issue came to vote. Because the chances that the NBA would grant Charlotte an expansion franchise or a relocated one were uncertain, some fans grew restless.

According to DeLong, “The Bee Keepers were basically grassroots Hornets fans who wanted to ‘save the team.’ Actually, the hope on everyone’s part, was that George [Shinn] would realize he couldn’t continue to exist in Charlotte and would be a jerk to move the Hornets, and that he would do the right thing and sell the team.”

The Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002, and Charlotte was compensated with the expansion Bobcats franchise two years later. “The Bee Keepers were businessmen,” DeLong said. “To be sure, they weren’t all just of the run-of-the-mill fans per se, although some were.

“The politicians, movers and shakers and general public were fine with building a new arena in Charlotte. They just weren’t going to build it for George Shinn,” DeLong added.

The Charlotte Bobcats Arena opened its doors in 2005.

Shinn acknowledged the Bee Keeper movement in a Nov. 23, 2001 press release on Hornets.com, expressing his “gratitude for their efforts. They are not going unnoticed.”

– Compiled by Ramon Vargas and Andy Lopez.