New Orleans Hornets part ways with team president
Hugh Weber; Saint’s executives to take over – NBA News
New Orleans Hornets team President Hugh Weber will no longer serve as the team president. The new owner of the Hornets Tom Benson announced that New Orleans Saints executives Dennis Lauscha and Mickey Loomis will be looking after
the operations of the Hornets basketball club from now on.
Benson purchased the Hornets from the NBA for $338 million in a deal which was confirmed last Friday. He is also the owner of the New Orleans Saints.
Dennis Lauscha will take over the business operations from Weber while Loomis will look after basketball operations and also oversee Hornets General Manager Dell Demps.
Weber joined the Hornets basketball franchise when Hurricane Katrina forced the Hornets to switch to Oklahoma City from 2005 to 2007. After the NBA bought the Hornets from George Shinn in 2010, they decided to keep Weber and he
played a vital role in increasing ticket sales in an attempt to make the basketball club more attractive to potential buyers.
Weber’s efforts proved fruitful as Tom Benson agreed to buy the Hornets in April this year. Benson admitted Weber’s efforts in that regard;
"We did make a change with Hugh and it is important to note that if it were not for his leadership and running the Hornets during a very difficult time, this sale would have not happened. He made the transition very smooth and
he should be commended,” said Benson in a statement.
Dennis Lauscha, the new President joined the New Orleans Saints in 1998 as their chief financial officer. He was promoted to Vice President in 2003 and helped sign a 15 year lease with the Louisiana Superdome for the Saints. The
deal also gave Benson the right to sell the naming rights of the Superdome, which were later purchased by Mercedes Benz.
Loomis joined the Saints in 2000 and became the General Manager of the football franchise in 2002. He led the Saints to their first super bowl in the 2009-2010 season.
Loomis has been suspended for 8 games by the NFL in connection with the bounty investigation currently taking place. No comments have been made so far by the NFL regarding his new position with the Hornets while he serves his suspension
from the NFL.
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