By ROBERT L. LEE

With all of the turmoil, energy and attention being turned to New Orleans possibly, and I emphasize possibly, getting an NBA team, as a Louisiana native, I am wondering if this is really worth all the fuss.

Like any American I understand the ideology that bigger is better and more is great.

But simply put, will an NBA team survive or even prosper in New Orleans? The city is built on tourism, nothing else really, that’s why it’s six feet under sea level, so how many tourists want to attend a basketball game?

If tourism makes the most money for the city, there should be some sort of link between the local team and the city, which would ease or entice visitors for at least one game.

“The New Orleans Hornets” just doesn’t have that ring to it. Maybe if it was the “Jazz,” with some brass horns or such in the logo, oh wait, we did have that team and they left for, of all awkward places, Utah, but that’s another chapter of Louisiana history and money.

Most other cities tourists are coming from already have their own teams, so why would any of them want to pay to see another team, or specifically an opponent play.

For the city, wallets, excuse me, tourists in the stands would be beneficial. Let them get fired up over a game, buy some more five dollar beers and go down to Bourbon Street, hopefully enough of that activity would help get our roads paved evenly.

Myself, I would not mind spending a night or two every so often at a professional basketball game, right now I make the quick drive to the arena to broaden my horizons some with a hockey game, so it wouldn’t be out of the question.

But, what has been one of my biggest questions, is will the ticket prices for decent seats be in the range for most residents to afford, and on a regular enough basis to keep the team afloat?

Hockey tickets are cheap, 12 bucks and you have a seat about 10 feet from the glass. But guess how many people chose to go. The numbers filling the seats are surprisingly slim, even on the Friday and Saturday nights. Maybe by one of the odd rules of economics, a higher ticket price for a similar commodity will increase the demand and locals will want to see Hornets, even on a week night.

I suspect NBA Commissioner David Stern is wondering if the city can support another professional basketball team, or another team at all considering the past experiences the Saints have had with ticket sales.

ROBERT L. LEE is the sports editor, you may contact him at 985-652-9545.