Rick Bonnell and Scott Dodd of the Charlotte Observer report: The NBA has picked an owner for the league's 30th franchise.

Robert Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television, has been chosen to own Charlotte's new NBA franchise.

Johnson will be introduced at an 11 a.m. news conference Wednesday at the NBA Store in midtown Manhattan. The league's expansion committee chose Johnson over a Boston-based group that included Hall of Famer Larry Bird, sources close to the situation told The Observer.

Johnson  will become the only African-American majority owner of a major-league team. He couldn't be reached Tuesday night. Steve Belkin, the managing partner of Bird's group, declined to comment.

Johnson will pay a $300 million expansion fee to the NBA to get the team. He has said he's prepared to own anywhere from 51 percent of the franchise to all of it. Wealthy Charlotteans are expected to invest about $50 million in the team.

The team will replace the Hornets, who moved to New Orleans. The NBA already has a deal with the city of Charlotte to build a new arena that would open in the fall of 2005, one year after the new team debuts at the Charlotte Coliseum.

The Charlotte franchise will begin play starting in the 2004-2005 season.

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports: Today, potential owners for the Charlotte expansion franchise will make a one-hour presentation to the league's expansion committee.

The two owners hoping to become the owner of the Charlotte franchise are Boston businessman Steve Belkin and Black Entertainment Television Founder Robert Johnson.

If Belkin were to get the Franchise, Larry Bird would run the team, if Johnson gets it, he would become the league's first African American owner.

The Expansion committee is headed by Phoenix Suns Owner Jerry Colangelo. The other members of the committee are: George Shinn of the Hornets, team President Bob Vander Weide of the Orlando Magic, Larry Tanenbaum of the Toronto Raptors, New Jersey's Lewis Katz, Denver's Stan Kroenke, Sacramento's Joe Maloof and San Antonio's Peter Holt.

Charlotte Observer sources say that the league hopes to make a decision by the end of the week.

The Expansion fee is expected to be around $300 million and the team is expected to join the league for the 2004-2005 season.