Bird Bullish on Fan Support

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The Indiana Pacers will open their season tonight and President Larry Bird says fans will get the feeling “that they want to be here.” Bird believes consecutive years of winning in the playoffs can help boost attendance. The Pacers drew around 625,000 fans last season, which was among the lowest in the National Basketball Association. During a recent interview on Inside INdiana Business Television, Bird says he has a different perspective on how to run the organization after stepping away last season. The Pacers added veterans C.J. Watson, Chris Copeland and Luis Scola during the offseason, resigned David West and extended Paul George's contract.

The team also drafted Solomon Hill from the University of Arizona in the first round.

He would not put a timetable on how long he expects to continue with the team's front office.

Bird took the Pacers to the NBA Finals as a coach in 2000 and says, in his current position as president, he plays a “very small” in the quest to return.

Source: Inside INdiana Business