1:14pm: The agreement has officially been announced. You can read the details of Governor Jindal's statement via the Times-Picayune.
10:57am: Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal will announce later today that the State of Louisiana and the Hornets have reached an agreement that will keep the team in the city through 2024, with no opt-out clause, reports Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The agreement will also include a guarantee from the NBA that an All-Star Game will take place in New Orleans before 2024.
According to Smith, the state legistature will be asked to approve a capital bond issue of about $50MM, which will be put toward arena improvements. The improvements will allow the Hornets to generate additional revenue and will relieve the state from providing annual subsidies to the team.
The terms of the lease agreement must be accepted by the the new owner of the Hornets when the team is purchased. Smith says that the announcement by the State of Louisiana will indicate to NBA commissioner David Stern that the ball is in his court for consummating a purchase of the franchise.