The New Orleans Hornets, displaced by Hurricane Katrina, could receive as much as $10 million from Oklahoma City, the state of Oklahoma and a group of businessmen as a fail-safe in case the team's temporary move to the state is not successful, according to an agreement pending approval by the Oklahoma City Council.

The agreement, which will come to a vote by the council Wednesday morning, calls for Oklahoma City to pay for the Hornets' use of the 19,675-seat Ford Center, a practice facility, downtown office space and housing for the upcoming season. If the team does not earn 5 percent more in local revenue than it made in New Orleans last season, Oklahoma City would be required to pay up to $10 million to the Hornets.

The state and a group of businessmen who have not yet been named have agreed to split those expenses if the Hornets do not meet the revenue benchmark of approximately $40 million, which would be adjusted downward if some games are scheduled outside of Oklahoma City.

However, if the team exceeds last season's revenues by more than 5 percent, Oklahoma City would receive 80 percent of the proceeds to cover its expenses. If all the city's costs are covered, the team and the city would split the remaining profits in half.

"The city will share a little bit of the risk, but the NBA is taking the vast majority of the risk in this deal," Mayor Mick Cornett said. "This is an untapped market, an unproven market for them. We're very appreciative that they're showing the confidence in us that they are."

Cornett said he expected the city council to give the deal unanimous approval.

"The intangibles are huge. To be able to illustrate your city on a worldwide global stage like the NBA is an opportunity not offered to very many mayors in very many cities," Cornett said. "It puts us in a level of equality with a lot of cities that we've never had that level of equality with before."