The Charlotte Observer
November 9, 1975

HORNETS DEBT $267,847; ASSETS LESS THAN $50,000

The defunct Charlotte Hornets football team has $49,132.70 in cash, property and other assets and woes $267,847.07 to businesses, employees and ticket holders, according to papers file in federal bankruptcy court.

The statements of assets and debt were filed Friday in connection with a Hornets petitions submitted earlier last week for court supervision of payments to the team's creditors.

The statement of assets does not list an expected loan by the North Carolina National Ban. That loan a Hornets spokesman said last week, will be used to pay the bulk of the Hornets' creditors besides ticket holders.

The team went out of business last month when the World Football league, of which it was a member, folded.

The statement filed Friday said t$ 113,870 is owed for salaries and taxes and an estimated $140,000 is due ticket holders.

Under the payment plan submitted earlier to the court by the team's owner, Hornets Associates, $10,000 has been set aside for partial reimbursement to ticket holder, including about 2,900 people who bought season tickets.

The plan also is described the expected NCNB loan. With that loan creditors owed less then $400 will be paid in full and creditors owed $400 or more will receive $400 or 30 per cent of the debt, whichever is greater. The loan will be personally guaranteed by Hornets President Upton Bell.

The list of creditors filed in the bankruptcy court included Gardner Web College, where the team trained, $933.88; Southern Bell, $3,083.42; Eastern Air Lines, $3,500; Independence Square Associates, developer of the NCNB Plaza where the Hornets rented an office, $9,8000, and NCNB, $40,822.17.