Jenny Fryer of the Associated Press reports: Hornets owner George Shinn is not interested in selling the team, even if it's the only way to keep the franchise in Charlotte.
"I brought it to life. I put everything I had to make this thing happen," Shinn said Monday. "It's like my child, who is now 14 years old and I am too attached to it.
"I wouldn't sell, I couldn't sell, I won't sell. If this team goes, I go with it."
Two sources have told The Observer that team owners were open to selling the team. Those sources reconfirmed Friday that Shinn has let it be known he would listen to offers.
Shinn and co-owner Ray Wooldridge have been in discussions with several cities about moving the Hornets at the end of the season. Among the options are Louisville, Ky., and Norfolk, Va., cities actively trying to work out deals to build the team an arena.
New Orleans has an arena and has expressed interest in the team. Hornets owners have also visited St. Louis and Anaheim, Calif.
They are expected to decide on the team's future next month.
Shinn, who founded the franchise, said staying in Charlotte is still an option. Many believe the only way that could happen would be for Shinn to sell, and they point to the community's disdain for the owners as one of the main reasons fans stay away.
Wooldridge told The Observer on Thursday he's not looking to sell his 35percent of the team.
The team says it is losing more than $1million a year and the owners want a new arena with luxury boxes to halt the losses. A voter referendum on a new arena and other uptown projects was defeated in June.
"This is still a business," Shinn said. "I don't care how rich a person is, you can't sustain the losses and you have to find a way to stop the bleeding."
If that requires Shinn to move the team, he said he will.