[Drake]

NEW YORK -- Tom Benson brought stability to the Saints nearly three decades ago and now plans to do the same for the Hornets in small-market New Orleans.

A person familiar with the deal says the purchase price is $338 million. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the financial terms have not been announced.

The sale of the team to Benson has to be approved by the NBA's Board of Governors, which was meeting in New York on Friday.

The framework of ownership negotiations were handled in a way that a new Hornets owner would have to accept the lease worked out between the NBA and Gov. Bobby Jindal. The lease agreement also called for $50 million in improvements to the basketball stadium, which sits right across the street from the Superdome.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/78...rleans-hornets

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/78...rleans-hornets