Hornets' owner George Shinn said Wednesday he is optimistic his club can meet the attendance goal to continue its relationship with New Orleans long term.

The Hornets and state of Louisiana agreed to extend the team's lease until 2014 if the club can attract 14,735 fans per game for the final four months of this season and all of the 2008-09 season. The Hornets are 29th in the league in attendance, averaging 12,341.

If the Hornets don't meet the attendance goal, they can opt out of their lease in 2009 for a penalty that could reach $100 million. Shinn, who spoke before Wednesday's Hornets-Sonics' game, doesn't believe it will reach that point.

"The numbers aren't that high," he said. "The threshold is just 14,735 and that's not a real high number, that's right at the bottom of the NBA, so we didn't put a number in there that's ridiculous."

"We started from scratch. We're still close to the bottom for the simple reason that we didn't have a (fan) base. Everybody else had their base from the year before to draw from. Next year we'll have a base. It's going to be hard, very, very difficult for us not to pass that number. I think it's going to happen."