It was reported in early December as a possibility, but now, it seems the New Orleans Hornets will, in fact, go with the name they proposed: the Pelicans.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the NBA franchise are set to announce they they will change the name of the New Orleans team from the Hornets to the Pelicans, effective for the 2013-14 season.
If you visit the team's website, NBA.com/Hornets, you are greeted with a large clock counting down to 3 pm ET on Thursday (January 24), the same time they will hold a new conference. It's likely that this will be when the team makes the name change announcement.
The Hornets have planned to name chance since New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, who also owns the rights to the Pelicans nickname, bought the team in April.
The pelican is Louisiana's state bird and appears on both the state seal and flag. A New Orleans minor league baseball team held the Pelicans nickname in all but nine seasons from 1887-1959, and again in 1977.
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