So many streets remained layered with pudding-like mud. An unavoidable stench of mold and rot wafted throughout town, many parts of which had no electricity and were completely dark at night.

The New Orleans Arena _ the full-time home of the Hornets from 2002-05 _ still awaited several months of cleaning, gutting and rebuilding after flooding on the lower level invaded the courtside restaurant, locker rooms and storage areas.

But on Tuesday, New Orleans began to resemble an NBA city again as the Hornets opened training camp at home.

The team practised more than three hours in the arena, appearing there for the first time since playing three games in the city last March. They pulled up in a bus in the shadow of the neighbouring Louisiana Superdome, site of a Monday night NFL contest last week that Hornets players watched with keen interest.

``It sent chills through my body,'' guard Chris Paul said of the Saints' 23-3 victory over Atlanta during the Superdome's reopening. ``That was huge for the city. You just saw how the fans were supporting the team so much. It was bigger than the game. It was about showing New Orleans coming back. It made me wish our opening night was the next night.''

The Hornets will spend this week in New Orleans, practising mostly at the arena, where the team's home opener also will be on Nov. 5.

But they will play only six regular season games there this season in an agreement with the state of Louisiana that allowed the franchise to play 35 games plus any playoff contests this season in Oklahoma City.

Hornets coach Byron Scott, whose New Orleans home has been for sale but now may be taken off the market, said splitting time between both cities will be far less stressful this season than last.

``That uncertainty is gone from last year because last year we had no clue,'' Scott said. ``Obviously, New Orleans is on the way back, people are starting to come back. The city's getting itself back together ... and hopefully the six games we play here plus training camp will add some excitement as well.''

Owner George Shinn said he is working with a group of businessmen in New Orleans who hope to become minority partners. The commitment is there, he said, but legal details probably will not be worked out until January.

``Most of these guys I know personally,'' Shinn said.

The Hornets were very busy during the offseason, spending freely to acquire Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson through free agency and trading for Tyson Chandler. They will join David West and Paul, who was last season's rookie of the year.

There is an expectation on this team, across the coaching staff and the roster, that the Hornets will exceed last season's 38 victories and make the playoffs.

``One of the reasons we stepped up and spent money is to get star power so that people in this community would embrace them and want to see them play,'' Shinn said after arriving in New Orleans this week.

Ticket sales for the six games here have been solid but none of the games have sold out. The team began by selling six-game packages and is only now moving to single-game sales. More than 10,000 tickets have been sold for the home opener in the 18,000-seat arena. The numbers are slightly lower for the other games, Shinn said.

``When we open it up to the general public we think it's going to bump again,'' Shinn said. ``In this community, a lot of people are walk-up or last-minute ticket buyers.''

West is the only remaining member of the team from two seasons ago, when the Hornets were in New Orleans full-time.

``I know how alive this place was before,'' West said. ``There are a lot of good people down here. This is a very unique place _ no place like it in the country, in the world, really.''

West said he was encouraged by a recent random encounter with a displaced New Orleans resident who still lives in Houston, but planned to return home in three months.

``His enthusiasm about coming back and wanting to be back home _ you've not gotten a sense of desperation,'' West said. ``Their spirits are higher than anyone would have thought. Some of these people are dealing with losing homes and loved ones better than maybe I would. That's the biggest thing that's most encouraging is that people haven't lost their sense of wanting to come back.''