An analysis: Could NHL’s other owners save the Thrashers?
While the Atlanta Spirit is looking to sell the Thrashers – with relocation a possibility – could the other NHL owners play a part in keeping the franchise in Atlanta?
It is possible.
Currently, there has not been a potential buyer – willing and/or able – that has taken more than the preliminary step to purchase the franchise with the intention of keeping the Thrashers in Atlanta. The search continues with ownership making several pleas for interested parties to step forward. True North Sports and Entertainment has the money and the arena in place to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg. The group first wanted to bring the Coyotes, a team owned by the league, back to Manitoba. When the City of Glendale voted to pay $25 million to keep the team it appeared that situation was settled. The Thrashers, very moveable, were next on the target list with an ownership group willing to sell.
However, is the Coyotes situation really settled? The NHL owners, who have already footed a large bill to keep the team in Phoenix, may not be satisfied with that outcome. Their opposition could delay – or stop – the league from giving the Atlanta Spirit permission to open official negotiations with True North for relocation.
The Coyotes reportedly lost more than $36 million last year and figure to do so again next season. The $25 million payment won’t cover all the cost. The league owners will have to pay more money to keep the team – while attempts to sell the franchise continue. There is only one current prospective buyer for the Coyotes and the deal is complicated, tenuous and faces litigation from a local watchdog group.
If the Coyotes can fetch upwards of $170 million from True North all of that money could go to repay the owners. If the Thrashers fetch that sale price only an estimated $60 million relocation fee would go to the NHL. The Thrashers would be gone and the league would still own the Coyotes and their financial burden – although substantially less.
Even if the Atlanta Spirit and True North reach an agreement, it would have to be approved by the NHL’s Board of Govenors.
In one analysis of the situation, here is what it all could mean:
1. If no league permission to negotiate is granted – or it is delayed much longer – the Thrashers could be safe in Atlanta for at least another season.
2. The Atlanta Spirit’s search for a buyer would continue.
3. Both the Thrashers and Coyotes would remain for another season with speculation on their future ongoing until owners are found.
4. Winnipeg would remain a waiting destination for another year – or longer.
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199 comments Add your comment
kiss it goodbye
May 16th, 2011
11:06 am
The problem we have is the Atlanta Spirit! They are little boys with ego’s the size of the universe. Of course there are no local buyers because they wouldn’t talk to them even if there were. Can you imagine AS selling the Thrashers and the new buyers having a huge success and winning a cup. How embarrassing? I am convince there is no way we get to keep our Thrashers because the current ownership doesn’t want to be proven to be the cheap “businessmen” they are.
Howard
May 16th, 2011
11:06 am
Atlanta should deal with the real problem – the Spirit. If they would sell the Hawks and the Thrashers maybe there would be hope. Maybe with the two franchises there would be more ownership interest. Its the Spirit that really screwed Atlanta.
Video: Is the NHL Giving ATL a Raw Deal?
May 16th, 2011
11:07 am
Agree with AtlFlamesFan – we need to work on the NHL. How can you help? Forward a link to this video to friends, family and coworkers. Share it on facebook. Tweet a link to it. Social media is powerful – you have the power to do something – take some action:
Video: Misconceptions About Thrashers Relocation and Sale:
http://www.keepthethrashers.com/videokeepthrashersreally.html
thrasherdawg
May 16th, 2011
11:12 am
Here’s an Idea:
Why doesn’t “True North” buy the team, save the 60 million dollar relocation fee, and keep the team here.
“True North” will do what it takes to be a winner. The fan base will return…the fan base is here. They (True North) would make more money here than they ever could in Winnipeg.
The question is does “True North” want a NHL hockey team or do they want an NHL hockey team in Winnipeg.
Any thoughts on this?
Disgusted 10-Year Season Ticket Holder
May 16th, 2011
11:13 am
Don’t bother, Other NHL Owners.
As of today, Monday, May, 16, 2011, here are the “TOP 5 THINGS” on which I am now FINISHED wasting my already-overtaxed income:
1. The Atlanta Thrashers
2. Carlos Santana
3. The AJC
4. Events at Philips Arena
5. The City of Atlanta
ThrasherFan
May 16th, 2011
11:20 am
Chris V – I love you how pointed out that no local stations have even asked you to comment on air. Atlanta sports talk stations should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for the total lack of coverage they give the sport of hockey, especially the Thrashers. I always hear smart A comments about how nobody cares about hockey in Atlanta… it’s no wonder since it’s never mentioned! You can get people excited if you show excitement yourself. Instead we get constant coverage of the GA Bulldogs (amateur sports, meh) who play 12 weeks out of a year.
790 is the worst – 680 sometimes tries, 3:45 pm for a Thrashers update really helps, not. No radio signal for 11 years in the burbs where most fans are really helps, not.
This town is the pits. Maybe we should ship all the loser teams to Canada.
Uncle Milty
May 16th, 2011
11:20 am
“Why doesn’t “True North” buy the team, save the 60 million dollar relocation fee, and keep the team here.”
Are you serious? Because they already own an arena elsewhere. Of course they want an NHL team in Winnipeg. That is where their arena is located.
William Satterwhite
May 16th, 2011
11:21 am
thrasherdawg, True North’s only goal is to bring a team to Winnipeg, they own (or at least manage) the arena up there as well as the AHL team that plays in the arena now. They want to fill their arena, not someone else’s.
gabugman
May 16th, 2011
11:21 am
OK, so we prod Reed, Bettman, et al. Now what? We’re in the same stinking garbage can that we were last week, last year, or 2005. Please, someone tell me what this accomplishes? Granted we have campaigned for one more year of residency in the ATL but without a local “savior”, what has really been achieved?
Until we have a new owner/group, the predicament of no support and ailing management remains. All you have done is prolong the chemo…
Yuuvno Ballzerdikk
May 16th, 2011
11:34 am
I am gonna start True South Sports Entertainment and I will buy the team, No Winnipeg Canadians or Carlos Santana allowed. Why is everyone attacking C-Viv? He is reporting the story as it unfolds ..that’s his job..he’s not some evil mastermind waiting on the team to leave so he can say he told us so, I am pretty sure that’s Jeff Schultz. I personally prefer C-Viv over that microphone John Kincade, the AJC is at least professional journalism regarding the Thrasher coverage. Trust me, it could be worse..go read Kincade’s childish tweets and arguments with fans.
too many on the ICE
May 16th, 2011
11:59 am
Sounds to me the ASG needs to sue the NHL to sell the team. Just kidding…well, maybe not. I am sure Bruce “DEAL with IT” Levinson is speaking to an attorney now.
Toni
May 16th, 2011
12:02 pm
Thanks for writing something that doesn’t make me want to pull my hair out.
AtlFlamesFan
May 16th, 2011
12:05 pm
mayorreed@atlantaga.gov
Dear Mr. Mayor,
Recently you have addressed the issue of the possibility of the Atlanta Thrashers leaving our fair city. In your remarks, you mentioned that there is no possibility of Atlanta attempting to arrange for a subsidy similar to the $25M subsidy that the Glendale AZ government is providing to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale. I commend you for your stance; taxpayer money should not be used in this manner.
However, there is an issue that I believe that should concern you; that the NHL is not dealing with Atlanta fairly due to a conflict-of-interest. The NHL in recent years has gone to great lengths to protect the “Covenant with the fans” in order to keep other teams from relocation. Efforts were used to keep teams in Nashville, Tampa, Raleigh, Buffalo, and most recently Phoenix.
The effort in Phoenix is what should concern you. Last year, the NHL became the owners of the Phoenix Coyotes. They have been trying to sell them to an owner willing to keep the team in Glendale. Last year the Coyotes lost $40, of which the league covered $15. Recently, the NHL thought that they had a buyer for the team. However, the deal collapsed when a local public watchdog group, the Goldwater Institute, threatened to sue over the transactions use of public bonds. So, the league ended up being stuck with the team for another year, and will lose at least another $15M.
This is where Atlanta comes into the story. A company in Winnipeg, Manitoba named True North Sports wants to buy the Atlanta Thrashers and move them to Winnipeg. Just a few months ago, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reiterated his “Covenant with the fans” of Atlanta, stating everything would be done to prevent the team from leaving. However, last week Mr. Bettman’s attitude did not seemed to be different, making it appear that everything has been done to try to save Atlanta. Why has everything changed so quickly.
Speculation is that the NHL is not going to give Atlanta the same opportunity to save our team as has been done for others is because the league will receive a $60M relocation fee if the Thrashers move. And with the NHL losing $15M/year operating the Coyotes, they want the relocation fee to recoup their losses in Phoenix.
Mr. Mayor, I urge you to publicly challenge Mr. Bettman to stand up for the fans in Atlanta like he has done in other cities, and demand that he not use a relocation fee of the Thrashers in order to cover the NHL’s losses in Phoenix.
I believe that Mr. Bettman’s actions are an insult to Atlanta and should not be tolerated.
Gwinnett Fred
May 16th, 2011
12:22 pm
Beins totally honest here – if the team is destined to leave, even if it’s 2012 – I, for one, have no interest in the team staying one more fruitless year given the FACT the ASG won’t spend dime-one to improve the team that extra lame duck season.
If things can happen to keep the team here ongoing – GREAT – but anything that results in just one more (playoff-less) season, then I’m not interested.
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 16th, 2011
12:26 pm
As an longtime NHL fan looking in from the outside it is very hard to believe that a city like Atlanta can’t find enough deep pockets to keep this team in a market the size of Atlanta. Winnipeg is a minor league city that shouldn’t even mentioned with Atlanta when it comes to markets the NHL needs to be in. Atlanta Spirit looks like a joke if settles for a measly $170 million from True North when maybe they need to contact Seattle, Houston, Kansas City, San Diego, Portland where I bet they could possibly get more if they work out a deal. In the meantime, they could still look for local ownership. These Canadians from True North want a team on the cheap and expect Atlanta Spirit to take what they’re offering which is based on the lack of revenues that could be generated by a Winnipeg franchise. Atlanta Spirit are looking like very poor business people to me and that’s why this team is in the shape that it is. NHL & NHLPA need Atlanta far more than Atlanta needs them and nobody needs Winnipeg.
Cornbread
May 16th, 2011
12:30 pm
Mr. 95% sings a different tune come Monday Morning. What happened to the big announcement in the “next 24-48 hours” that was thrown around on Wednesday, then moved to the weekend, to this week, and then after the Stanley Cup Finals? You C-Viv are getting played by not only ASG but even more so by the Peggers and Canadian media. Your “reporting” has been nothing but “speculative and made-up.” Even in the TSN poll with 30,000 votes – mainly Canadians I assume – most responders, 45%, feel the Thrashers won’t or there is not a good chance they will play in the Peg next season. It seems that it is the desperately delusional 20%, who like you feel it is a near certainty, that you are feeding with this nonsense and allowing it to spin further and further out of control.
Watch the video that has been posted the past couple of days. In it, there are very good questions that you should be asking the powers that be. More importantly, it makes the very good case why the Atlanta Thrashers should remain in the World Business Center, Major League, and Olympic City of Atlanta, GA instead of moving to a small market with zero growth potential. Something I have yet to see you report.
Show some pride and fight for the city, state, region, country, and team you are supposed to be covering – this is hockey after all – instead of capitulating to the shamelessly biased and jingoistic Canadian media and a very vocal minority of delusional fans.
AtlFlamesFan
May 16th, 2011
12:34 pm
I believe that the longer the NHL refuses to give ASG permission to sell the Thrashers to a relocater, the more desperate ASG will become and be more willing to cut a better deal to someone who would keep them here. Hopefully that new owner would buy the Hawks, Thrash, and Philips’ op rights.
AtlFlamesFan
May 16th, 2011
12:37 pm
… and if we do succeed in keeping the team and getting rid of ASG, the fans will come back.
AtlFlamesFan
May 16th, 2011
12:41 pm
You can use this link to contact your congressional representative.
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Ox Baker
May 16th, 2011
12:49 pm
I have seen Mayor Reed on local tv, ch.11 I think, say emphaically that he supports the idea of the Thrashers staying in Atlanta. He is budget cutting like crazy, so it is unlikely he will offer anything more than moral support at this stage.
I certainly don’t think he should go the Glendale route…
I wonder what the Atlanta Sports Council is doing????? If this isn’t a perfect mission for them, then I don’t know what is……
too many on the ICE
May 16th, 2011
12:53 pm
Kincaid indicated “The Balkin” will make his announcement soon.
Sullys dad
May 16th, 2011
12:54 pm
Just curious,How much do tickets cost to go to a thrashers game. Cheapest to most exspensive.Also what can you buy a ticket for from a scapler just before the game starts??Thanks
Bo
May 16th, 2011
12:54 pm
I would be very surprised if the team is not in Winnipeg for the upcoming season. Atlanta Spirit does not want to continue owning the team. It is a hard sell to sell a team without arena rights. A new local owner would have to earn from ticket sales, no parking or concessions. No one will take that losing venture. True North owns their own modern arena and has a built in fan base, current AHL Moose season ticket holders, former Winnipeg Jets season ticket holders and the rest of the city that loves hockey and would pay to see the NHL. True North has already been approved to buy an NHL team. It makes sense for Atlanta Spirit, True North, the NHL and the BOG to move the Thrashers. It is sad for the fans but the team doesn’t make enough money for the Atlanta Spirit to keep the team.
AtlFlamesFan
May 16th, 2011
12:58 pm
@ gabugman
You are correct. We would still be stuck with ASG. But if we can convince the NHL not to allow ASG to sell the team to someone who would relocate them for at least a year, we buy time to try to find a new owner. If we lose the team this/next week, they are gone forever.
Brendan
May 16th, 2011
1:04 pm
Yeah, what is the Atlanta Sports Council doing? I haven’t heard a peep out of them, and they usually appear on 680TheFan.
PoweRForgeD
May 16th, 2011
1:24 pm
No offence to anyone in Atlanta but I keep hearing people say if the organizxation would put a winning team on the ice the fans would be there to support them.
How exactly do you expect any organization to put a winning team on the ice if there is no revenue/profit??
Basically what the fans of the Thrashers are telling the owners of this club is, spend money to put a cup winning team on the ice and we might come to some games to support you. It’s wierd how many people are coming out now showing the support of their team when it is on the verge of leaving.
Funny thing is if they do stay people still won’t go to the games. And new owners would be bleeding money and looking to get out in five years. This team (like many in the NHL) needs surgery, band-aids aren’t preventing the bleeding anymore.
G52PIM228
May 16th, 2011
1:29 pm
Still no word from TNSE on their alleged quest for a team..
SHOCKING..
Barry
May 16th, 2011
1:32 pm
The day the Thrashers move to Winnipeg will cause me to be seriously depressed. I love nothing more than hockey right now and I look forward to the hockey season every year. It will be devastating for this city of Atlanta to lose yet another hockey team because we have incompetent owners! Well it’s been fun guys and been quite a ride. I guess now it’s time to support the Gladiators.
Matt from MN
May 16th, 2011
1:33 pm
Have fun in Winnipeg, Mr. Bettman you gutless coward! Atlanta Scumbags Group, I will NEVER support any of your other endeavors. No Hawks and no visits to Philips Arena EVER again.
DaveDawg96
May 16th, 2011
1:35 pm
I agree with ATLFlamesFan, we need our elected folks to shine a spotlight on this situation. It’s clear that the NHL isn’t on our side, so waiting on Bettman’s help (like in Tampa, Buffalo, Phoenix, etc.) would prove futile. We’re a city 5+ million, the 8th largest TV market and have a ton of northern transplant hockey fans in town. Does one really believe that Nashville, Raleigh and Tampa have larger hockey fan bases? The potential for success under any other, non-idiot ownership group remains huge, as proven by our lone playoff season. Moving the Thrashers would be unjust to Atlanta and unwise for the league.
Guffman
May 16th, 2011
1:36 pm
“Atlanta Spirit looks like a joke if settles for a measly $170 million from True North when maybe they need to contact Seattle, Houston, Kansas City, San Diego, Portland where I bet they could possibly get more if they work out a deal. ”
Given that none of those cities are in a position to buy a team right now, how much more do you think Atlanta can get a year from now? Remember, they’ll be eating about $25M – $35M losses/year. You think Portalnd will come through with $200M next year? Give me a break.
G52PIM228
May 16th, 2011
1:39 pm
The NHL made it pretty clear they are not interested in putting a team in a tiny already failed market, if the Thrashers do relocate look for the team to go to a city with a suitable venue..
Bankhead Bill
May 16th, 2011
1:47 pm
Winnipeg Arena can only hold just over 15000. I thought the league minimum for revenue sharing was 15500?
PoweRForgeD
May 16th, 2011
1:50 pm
“The NHL made it pretty clear they are not interested in putting a team in a tiny already failed market, if the Thrashers do relocate look for the team to go to a city with a suitable venue..”
So what you are saying is they would be better off leaving it in a much larger city that has already failed once and has failed on thier second attemp as well.
Winnipeg may be a very small market but I can gaurantee you it would be more succesfull then any large american market. The top money making teams in the NHL are from all of these “small market” Canadian cities.
Stick to football. basketball, and baseball. Leave the hockey to the fans up north.
GatorFan
May 16th, 2011
1:51 pm
G52,
With all due respect, I think your post about the NHL going back to a failed market is false. The NHL has returned to markets including Atlanta. Also to your post about TNSE not putting in an offer, well it came today. You honestly should be worrying about Phoenix finding an owner before you come here.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-thrashers/atlanta-spirit-true-north-947628.html
G52PIM228
May 16th, 2011
1:56 pm
The NHL went back to Atlanta because it is a market with growth potential, loserpeg has NOTHING to offer but a perpetual revenue sharing recipient with a facility that at BEST is capable of being 24th in the league..
G52PIM228
May 16th, 2011
1:59 pm
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-thrashers/atlanta-spirit-true-north-947628.html
“according to a person familiar with the NHL’s sale process.”
These are probably the SAME people that moved the Coyotes to loserpeg several hundred times..
Brett
May 16th, 2011
1:59 pm
According to C-VIV True North and ASG are in negotiations!! The writing is on the wall and the Thrashers are done! Do you honestly think that Bruce Levenson or Michael Gearon care about the Thrashers fans? Please!! We, the fan, will be blamed for the failure of hockey again and the ASG will laugh their way to the bank. ASG sux! We are the ones that will suffer once the team is sold to TNSE. And for those folks that think the NHL and GB are going to step up and help us……AIN’T gonna happen!
An analysis: Could NHL’s other owners save the Thrashers? – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) |
May 16th, 2011
2:01 pm
[...] Post By Google News Click Here For The Entire Article May 16th, 2011 | Category: [...]
phil
May 16th, 2011
2:01 pm
Please Thrashers….
please!!!
Please move!!! Just hurry up and go so that we can begin more thoroughly forgetting your already forgettable tenure in Atlanta….I’ve seen exactly zero of your games, thankfully….in spite of that level of support, here’s hoping you get gone and get gone soon!!!!
Clear enough?
Flying1bob
May 16th, 2011
2:02 pm
Folks, I think number one will happen, going forward, the Yote’s go to the Peg, realignment is a huge concern, and if Atlanta moved this season to many teams will be left in the wrong division and not corrected until next year.
So leave things as they are and fix everything next season. Just put this to bed already, and wake up sometime in Sept.
llewow
May 16th, 2011
2:03 pm
I am a hockey fan who was born and raised in NYC. I first moved to Atlanta in 1977 and became a Flames fan and went to the Omni all the time. Then, poof…off to Calgary and a Stanley Cup victory. Then, the Atlanta Knights came to town. Granted, while not NHL quality style hockey, it was exciting and fun to root for an Atlanta Pro Hockey team again and I went to the Omni all the time. Then, after one Championship season…poof…off to Quebec they flew. Now 11 years later and several trips to Philips Arena poof….off they’ll fly to Winnepeg.
I am tired for Atlanta being the Triple A developmental city for relocating Canadian hockey teams. It is embarrasing and sad to see it happen for a 3rd time.
If the NHL can’t see the value in having a successful franchise in the 7th largest market in the USA, then they deserve to loose the profit potential of that market. If ASG can’t field a close to winning team in the years they have owned the team, then they deserve to lose it. But the hockey fans of Atlanta deserve better from their team, the ownership group and the NHL.
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 16th, 2011
2:03 pm
@ Guffman Have you ever heard the name Paul Allen and Portland mentioned together? How about AEG and their arena in Kansas City?? How about the politicians in San Diego and Seattle getting the idea that if Atlanta can’t keep their NHL team, how about we acquire it and we sell to the public the need for a new multi-purpose arena to house this team? ( which by the way both cities need badly) As far as Houston goes there’s plenty of deep pockets there that could take the Thrashers of Atlanta Spirit’s hands for say $200 million. Winnipeg & True North is scraping the bottom of the barrel for Atlanta Spirit and they really are showing themselves to be incompetent when it comes to making good business deals.
GatorFan
May 16th, 2011
2:04 pm
G52,
There’s lot of speculation all the time. In Glendale, the fans were lucky the city propped up 25 million to keep them there for another year. They have to, they own the arena. In Atlanta, unfortunately, ASG owns everything. They are done with their 7 year out clause, meaning they can move the team. Also, the Mayor has publicly said he will no do the same thing as Glendale. Unless a local owner shows up with a truckload of cash or the BOG say no, this doesn’t look good for Atlanta. Sad Sad day.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/05/16/door-isnt-closed-but-thrashers-picture-still-gloomy/
Peter
May 16th, 2011
2:05 pm
Ask them to please sell the Hawks as well !
Michael
May 16th, 2011
2:05 pm
re: G52
Quit singing that song G52. All conservative estimates have Winnipeg at 15th-20th in league revenue. Which is far better than Craplanta which is last with no hope of ever getting any better.
You could have a 100,000 seat arena, doesn’t mean squat. Its what the tickets and concessions sell for. When you give free parking and free hot dogs and sometimes another free ticket when you buy a ticket, attendance means squat. Not to mention the 1000s of comp tickets given out by owners to people who don’t even show up and scalpers are forced to grovel to people to pay them $5 a ticket.
Come up with a new stat G52, all your old ones are meaningless.
G52PIM228
May 16th, 2011
2:06 pm
“The top money making teams in the NHL are from all of these “small market” Canadian cities.”
That is really really stupid to say, you do realize all three Canadian small markets LOSE MONEY, right.. Katz says without a public subsidy the oilers will move because as he put it,”The losses are unsustainable”..
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 16th, 2011
2:25 pm
@ Michael Don’t you understand that tiny Winnipeg doesn’t sell tickets in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and it doesn’t sell the NHL on major pro sports league sponsors in the U.S. like car companies and beer companies etc… Winnipeg is a nightmare for the NHL business as a whole and what True North can make in profits in tiny Winnipeg is not important to the NHL as keeping a city like Atlanta is.
Michael
May 16th, 2011
2:29 pm
Hey douche, you’ve lost money last 7 years and you’re trying to convince me that its important to keep the NHL in Atlanta? lol! For how long? 50 years? After 50 years of development there is a small chance you may have a fanbase to support the team.
I’m sure a lot of people turn up at MSG for that ‘heated Thrashers/Rangers rivalry’.
Hitting the delete button and not moving the team anywhere, just dissolving it would be better than keeping in Atlanta. Beer companies ain’t interested in advertising any sport that people don’t watch. That’s why you see liquor store ads and bail bondsman with advertising on Thrashers broadcasts.
Stick to dog fighting, you’re good at it.
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 16th, 2011
2:39 pm
@ Michael Winnipeg was a financial joke from 1979-1996 in the NHL and will be again if any team moves there. Winnipeg doesn’t sell on any level in the U.S.A. and they need to kept out of the NHL at all costs. I’m sure both NBC & and all the sports channels in the U.S. that carry NHL games are watching this very closely and hope that Gary Bettman and Bill Daly & NHL Board of Governors come to their senses and reject True North and Winnipeg just like Bill Hunter and Saskatoon were rejected when they attempted to move the St Louis Blues in 1983. No to Winnipeg in the NHL!!!