Gotta believe the news that Charlotte Bobcat ticket sales are not exactly setting the world on fire will set a few bellies to burning around Uptown today. Season ticket sales for the upcoming season trail last year’s total, which itself was one of the worst in the NBA. (Recall that we were told the new arena, the linchpin of a new Uptown, would fix the ticket woes.)

Then there is the matter of what exactly the Bobcats are selling, which to hear Bobcats President Ed Tapscott tell it is a great new sound and video system with some basketball on the side. Don’t think that is working out too well for movie theaters either, Ed — not with everyone and his brother enjoying hi-def surround sound in their own homes, playing music of their choosing, all without the $100-200 per person surcharge the Bobcats evidently expect fans to routinely spend for a night out.

And it is downright shocking that adding former Tar Heels Raymond Felton and Sean May from a beloved national championship UNC team has not kept ticket sales at least at last year’s pace. I figured that was a great move by the Bobcats that both added the best players available at the time and was a marketing dream. But it seems that the Bobcats steep pricing structure has thus far kept fans away no matter who is on the team. The underlying economics of the venture remain iffy as a result.

Of course this big picture is not exactly surprising, some of us have been wondering about the Bobcats’ long-term prospects in Charlotte for a some time. “Will that franchise be able to justify the massive public investment in the team’s new downtown arena? Recent history suggests it could be difficult,” was the take back in January of 2004.

Next up, lotto numbers!

PS — There willl be something penned by the Bobcats disputing they are off-target in 3, 2, 1……………….