NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Hornets’ attendance and overall revenues have been strong enough to eliminate the need for financial inducements from the State of Louisiana this year.Hornets president Hugh Weber said Thursday that the New Orleans Arena has been filling to about 99 percent capacity so far this season in terms of tickets sold or complimentary tickets used.In what Weber referred to as a partnership with the state, the team agreed to open its financial books to state government if the state would in turn pledge to pay subsidies when attendance and revenues failed to meet certain benchmarks.”The partnership was designed so we could get the fans engaged and if they did not, we would have a fallback with the state,” Weber said. “The good news is that we’re not going to be put in that position this year. So it speaks to the fans, but also it speaks to the partnership and how it was thought through.”While the NBA has taken out a line of credit to help struggling teams’ cash flow, with 12 teams electing to borrow a combined $200 million, Weber said the Hornets have not sought any such help yet.”I think we’re running counter to many of the stories that are happening in professional sports right now,” Weber said.The Hornets’ season-ticket base is just short of 11,000, a new franchise high in since moving to New Orleans from Charlotte in 2002. The club has sold out 14 games, one more than all of the previous regular season. The team still has nine home games remaining and is on track to make the playoffs for a second-straight season.During last season, the Hornets negotiated changes to their arena lease with the state to include the potential for new “performance-based” subsidies as well as an escape clause that allowed the Hornets to leave New Orleans if average attendance fell below 14,735 during a two-season period. That benchmark will be easily eclipsed, Weber said.—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]