Deal not done to sell and move Thrashers
While negotiations between the Atlanta Spirit and True North Sports and Entertainment continue, no deal has been reached to sell the Thrashers and relocate the team to Winnipeg.
Despite a published report Thursday night saying a deal was done and would be announced Tuesday, officials with the Thrashers, True North and the NHL said no such agreement has been reached.
Several Thrashers officials told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday that the report was unfounded. The Winnipeg Free Press reported that a high-ranking True North official denied the report.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, speaking earlier in the day on NHL Live, said no deal has been made to move the Thrashers to Winnipeg– and criticized reports of a possible move. However, he did not rule out relocation unless someone steps forward to own the team here.
“We get reports, speculation, that the team’s gone. And there’s no deal,” Bettman said. “I can tell you that with certainty that there is no deal for this team to move. Am I predicting that there will never be or that there won’t be at some point in time? No, I’m not saying there is or there isn’t.”
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly also issued a denial. “The Board has not been asked to consider nor approve any transaction involving the sale and/or possible relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers’ franchise. Any suggestion to the contrary is entirely untrue.”
The Thrashers and True North have been in active negotiations, as reported by the AJC. The team is also searching for a buyer willing to keep the team in Atlanta. However with time running out to find local ownership, a deal with True North could be reached in the near future. A move to relocate the franchise would have to be made soon in order to begin play next season.
Bettman said the NHL always wants to keep a team in its current market but must have an owner to operate it there.
“The decision as to whether or not to move a club doesn’t come out of looking at two markets and saying, ‘This market would be better than that market,’” he said. “We try to keep our clubs where they are. And if it is ultimately determined that a club has to move, generally the reason . . . is because nobody wants to own a team there anymore, nobody wants to fund the losses and [the current owner] can’t find a buyer.”
The Thrashers’ ownership group has said that it faces a “sense of urgency” to shed the team’s operating losses and that if a buyer can’t be found to keep the team in Atlanta, relocation is a possibility.
The first two callers to Bettman’s show, broadcast on satellite radio and the Internet, were Thrashers fans. The first said Atlanta will support a hockey team if ownership meets the fans halfway by putting a competitive product on the ice.
“I understand and respect that,” Bettman said, “but the key to this may be, in the final analysis, whether or not somebody wants to own the team in Atlanta. In the absence of either the current ownership group continuing to own and operate or somebody stepping forward who wants to buy the club, that becomes the situation that concerns us or any sports league.
“We’ll only leave a market - in this case Atlanta, picking up on the caller’s statements – if we have to. And hopefully the current ownership group will figure a way out of this that makes sense for everybody,” he said.
The caller told Bettman that the Thrashers drew strong crowds in their first five seasons and that a fan rally will be held Saturday to show support for the team.
Noting that the Thrashers have ranked near the bottom of the league in attendance the past two seasons, Bettman said: “I understand that there may be dissatisfaction there, but demonstrating your dissatisfaction by not going to games is an interesting strategy. It’s your absolute right. But if it becomes a turnoff for anybody who might want to buy the franchise, the long-term consequences could be severe.
“It will be interesting to see how many people show up at the rally on Saturday,” Bettman said.
He declined to put a deadline on a decision about whether the team will be moved.
“Obviously, as it relates to next season, time is getting short,” he said. “We have to do a schedule. We’re doing a schedule with our broadcast partners; we have to have it done for clubs by the end of June. And it’s not something you can do in 28 or 48 hours.”
- Staff writer Tim Tucker contributed to this report.
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381 comments Add your comment
Winnipeg Facts You Never Knew
May 20th, 2011
9:46 am
In 2004, Winnipeg had the fourth-highest overall crime rate among Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas listed, with 12,167 Criminal Code of Canada offences per 100,000 inhabitants; only Regina, Saskatoon, and Abbotsford had higher crime rates. Winnipeg had the highest rate among centres with populations greater than 500,000. The crime rate was 50% higher than that of Calgary, and more than double that of Toronto. Statistics Canada states that in 2005, Manitoba had the highest decline of overall crime in Canada at nearly 8%; however, in 2010 the province topped all others in violent crime rates.
ThrasherFan
May 20th, 2011
9:46 am
I love all this Go Jets Go nonsense. As if Winnipeg will be happy to get the Thrashers, who weren’t the Jets, and rename them the Jets just so they can have their “Jets” back. I will laugh my a** off if your name becomes the Winnipeg Moose and have worse uni’s than the Coyotes did. Actually, how you you keep the name and make your marketing gimmick “Welcome to Blueland.” Oh wait…
Screw the NHL and screw Winnipeg. The people celebrating on that you tube video were too young to even remember hockey there.
I’m done with the NHL – will be sending my gear back to NHL.com – burnt.
Atlanta Native
May 20th, 2011
9:47 am
Freeways-so silly comparing an inner city of 420,000 to a metropolitan area of 5 million. Have you ever been to Buckhead to name one? Don’t make a fool of yourself.
sisu
May 20th, 2011
9:48 am
Common Sense 101 well written!
SportsFan
May 20th, 2011
9:48 am
Bitter man. Don’t inhale the smoke ThrasherFan…
canofpeas
May 20th, 2011
9:50 am
i’m obviously bitter but am taking some enjoyment out of the 100 people that showed up at the hallowed portage and main. what a hockey hotbed. NHL – you get what you deserve for leaving us high and dry. Enjoy that 70th ranked media market and dealing with relocating this team again once the newness and next recession hit. Which is probably soon. The NHL is dead to me.
Winnipeg Facts You Never Knew
May 20th, 2011
9:50 am
Coldest City in the World + Highest Violent Crime Rate in Canada = Winnipeg, Manitoba
SportsFan
May 20th, 2011
9:54 am
Thanks Winnipeg Facts! Does it change this situation? NOPE!
Brian west palm beach
May 20th, 2011
9:54 am
Kabul is a more deserving city than whinnypeg and if given a choice i would have rather seen osama bin laden buy this team than any canadian.
ThrasherFan
May 20th, 2011
9:55 am
SportsFan – you must be from Canada. I am bitter because of this piss poor ownership group and the NHL who didn’t lift one finger to help this city.
I am also bitter that Jets fans feel entitled to other cities team, especially after it happened to them once. Canada will always draw well for Hockey as it has no other sports. At least in the US we have options…
SportsFan
May 20th, 2011
9:55 am
Brian – you prove why Americans get painted as ignorant. Well done sir.
kent
May 20th, 2011
9:59 am
Players want to play in a city that has fans and ownership that is passionate sbout hockey. That’snot the case in Atlanta no matter how you try to paint it. There are a core of loyal fans but most of the city doesn’t give a damn. This ownership group never gave the team a chance and the incompetent GM didn’t help So long!
SportsFan
May 20th, 2011
9:59 am
I am from Minnesota, but with ties in Canada. Actually there are other sports aside from hockey that are “draws”. Let me know if you want me to get into that though. I would be bitter at ASG too – talk about dropping the ball, puck and anything you can think of.
John Ferguson
May 20th, 2011
10:00 am
Winnipeg is COLD, Winnipeg is SMALL, Winnipeg has crime (although WAY WAY WAY less than Atlanta) but Winnipeg is taking your team. Soon. Say whatever you want – whatever makes it hurt less. Your team is gone. Call us another name here and see if it changes anything.
Stick'em
May 20th, 2011
10:02 am
If this goes through they wont move till next year. I say that if they plan on moving the team that ALL of Atlanta refuse to attend any games. Make them sorry for treating ATL fans like crap!!!
G52PlM228
May 20th, 2011
10:02 am
Murder rates per 100,000
Winnipeg: 3.5
Atlanta: 25.0
G52PlM228
May 20th, 2011
10:03 am
You are 7 times more likely to be murdered in Atlanta than you are in Winnipeg. Even more so if you are a rapper
Puck Like A Porn Star
May 20th, 2011
10:05 am
What a classless conversation on both sides. This is one part of hockey I won’t miss.
Phoenix Coyotes: Roc’s Watchdog Report – Cool Your Jets Winnipeg! | phoenix arizona sports, news, blogs, scores, schedules, photos, The Fan AM 1060, KDUS, AZ Sports Talk, roc and manuch, kevin mccabe, phoenix suns, phoenix coyotes, arizona car
May 20th, 2011
10:05 am
[...] AJC: Deal Not Done [...]
ThrasherFan
May 20th, 2011
10:05 am
SportsFan – CFL probably draws but I haven’t heard a single news piece about the league in a decade. I know soccer is taking a good foothold, but example ONE of how an ownership group fails it’s fans is Toronto. I see a lot of empty seats for the Toronto MLS games after losing over and over and over again… Maybe they should be moved? I’m sure rasslin’ draws well too – maybe Chris Jericho will be happy.
thrasherdawg
May 20th, 2011
10:06 am
So Bettman says Atlanta can’t find an owner.
The ASG only received clear title of the Thrashers 5 months ago…you can’t sell a house in 5 months much less a very complex 110 million dollar business.
Bettman should put Atlanta fans on notice…You have 1 year to find an owner. The current logic now is like divorcing your wife because she burnt the toast. Bettman is making a knee-jerk reaction.
jd
May 20th, 2011
10:06 am
The one thing I won’t miss about this… the fighting on twitter, blogs, facebook, and message boards between Canadians and Atlantans..and the in-fighting between all hockey fans. The hatred thrown at sportswriters and fans and the cities are beyond me. It’s immature bs to say the least. The “one up” stuff trying to show who’s the better fan is so lame.
It’s a done deal.. there’s so much smoke it’s not even funny. And it’s a sad day for hockey here in Atlanta. It’s so easy for someone to say this is “not a good hockey town”… Well that’s bs as well. The number of leagues/teams for both adults and kids is/was growing daily. Yes, it’s not Canada for hockey growth.. neither is Pittsburgh or San Jose. But with 5 rinks that have strong travel hockey programs, the 2nd largest adult hockey league in the country, and a ton of former NHL players living and coaching here; it’s a pretty good market. And anyone who really knows the situation realizes it’s the ownership and management that failed this city.
G52PlM228
May 20th, 2011
10:07 am
Crime in Atlanta, Georgia is well above the national median and has been a major problem for the city since the middle 20th century. Despite this, crime in the city has been declining since the late 1990s. As of 2008, Atlanta had a population of 537,958, the highest in its history.[1] During the 1970s, like with many large cities within the United States, Atlanta’s population began to decline. By 1990, the population was 394,017, down almost 20% from its population in 1970, which was 496,973.[2] In addition, the city center and surrounding areas began to go through an urban decay, and crime spiked significantly throughout the 1980s. Along with many other major cities in the United States, Atlanta was hard hit by the crack epidemic of most of the 1980s to early 1990s. In 1994, Atlanta was ranked the most dangerous city in the country by the Morgan Quitno Press
who wants to move to the desert?
May 20th, 2011
10:07 am
You are 10 times more likely to die of dehydration and heatstroke in Arizona than in Atlanta….Oh, did I mention BOREDOM too?
ThrasherFan
May 20th, 2011
10:07 am
Dawg, if rumors are true, this deal was done months ago… they never intended to find an owner here.
Who cares
May 20th, 2011
10:07 am
I do not see what the big deal is hockey is not a sport it is a game like golf or baseball. I could see getting upset if a real sport like falcons or dawgs football was leaving but come on people its just hockey or ice dancing whatever you want to call it let the nucks have their sissy sport back so we can cover real sports here.
BLUELANDbeliever
May 20th, 2011
10:08 am
Piss off canadian trolls. you people disgust me. Yall complained and cried abt losing the jets ter u want to $hi@ on us about this? Goes to show what kind of morals you canadians were raised with
Yep
May 20th, 2011
10:09 am
I call for a mass Atlanta Thrasher Fan lock out!!! Stick’em is right!!! If the owners want to F*** us lets do it right back.
Kovy's Agent
May 20th, 2011
10:09 am
Guys, guys, guys! It’s not over yet! Don Waddell’s on the case……….oh, wait, ok, it’s over. I wonder what Donny Boy is going to be doing with all this free time on his hands? Maybe he can get his good buddy Phil Esposito to hire him as his Boy Friday while handling his XM Radio duties. Never heard Phil ever once say a disparaging comment about Don over all these years of epic failure. And I’ll always remember the draft (was it 2004?) when we traded down from 8th and didn’t pick Anzi Kopitar and instead picked Alex Burrett instead. I recall him uttering something to the affect that “we traded down, picked-up extra picks and still got our man.” What a massive tool!
John Ferguson
May 20th, 2011
10:10 am
Hey Puck,
You have helped to elevate the class of this board with your screen name.
Erf
May 20th, 2011
10:11 am
I think that at the rally, we need to go old school and straight up burn an effigy of the ASG
Eileen
May 20th, 2011
10:12 am
We can all sit here and compare the two places. What good does it do? I can’t imagine living in Winnipeg, but I am sure many of the them feel the same way about Atlanta. What is sad is those that have to move there for job that do not want to do so. We can stay in our beloved cities with or without a hockey team. The Thrashers have had little success here as far as hockey goes. Just for the players and their families, I hope they find it even if it is Winnipeg. I could care less about the jerk fans that have come on our boards. However, I am sure there are many quality people in Winnipeg, some of them whom have represented themselves so diplomatically on our message boards.
thrasherdawg
May 20th, 2011
10:13 am
Idea:
Since the NHL has a rule that there can be no “public ownership” I have an idea.
Establish a private fund….7000 season ticket holders invest $15,000 each to purchase the team ($105,000,000) these ticket holders purchase tickets for 80% of the games ( average ticket(s) per investor(s)thus equalling 3). This will insure 14,000 per game with only 4000 tickets plus to the public. Every game would be a sell-out.
Under this business model, if you do the math, the ROI (return on investment) is approx. 4 years.
This model is a NO BRAINER. It will work…the NHL needs to give us a year t make it happen.
How do we get the word out?
Puck Like A Porn Star
May 20th, 2011
10:14 am
My screen name doesn’t insult anyone’s hometown or country. Classless fans do.
John Ferguson
May 20th, 2011
10:15 am
Eileen.
Thanks for comments like “even if it is Winnipeg”. You are quite a diplomat yourself. Don’t you have another tattoo to get or a dogfight to bet on? Any NASCAR this coming weekend?
radeksmom
May 20th, 2011
10:16 am
@ Puck Like A Porn Star ..Yea your name is pretty classy their buddy.
Atlanta Native
May 20th, 2011
10:17 am
GP52, Geez. Get a life. We don’t care about inner city crime rates or to not put it so politely put it Black on Black crime. As I sit in my kitchen in a beautiful northern suburb of Atlanta, I actually feel sorry for you. You should feel lucky you don’t have to live like some people in this world do. The stats you have found most likely reflect those people.
Puck Like A Porn Star
May 20th, 2011
10:18 am
So is your grammar, genius.
Bettman wants to make Thrashers' sale hurt for Spirit | Jeff Schultz
May 20th, 2011
10:18 am
[...] to Winnipeg remains a long shot. (The Toronto Globe and Mail has reported it’s a done deal, although all parties are denying it.) But it’s worth noting that all franchise purchases — and certainly relocations — [...]
Guffman
May 20th, 2011
10:18 am
“Guffman, you are getting the same team we had. They aren’t winners. Yet. Because they are such great guys, I wish them nothing but the best whatever happens. We do know however that there are ones who absolutely love our city and will be very sad to leave.”
Players don’t like to be uprooted. When players sign new contracts with their current team, they will often take a discount because they don’t want to start over with a new team.
From what I gather, the Thrashers do have a lot of decent young players. Hopefully, Winnipeg will generate sufficient revenue to encourage the owners to spend more to the cap to create a winning team for the years to come.
There is nothing more exciting than watching a playoff game in Winnipeg. The fans would yell/holler/cheer for the entire game. It was a madhouse. Assuming there is a team for the upcoming year, it will be very exciting. There will be a huge buzz in the arena, and I’m sure some of it will spin off on the players.
Will Atlanta be given another shot? Who knows? But if I was a fan of Atlanta, I would be out at that rally and doing the select-a-seat thing. Show your support for hockey in Atlanta tomorrow. If you go out quietly, that will send a horrible message for your future prospects.
For example, imagine 12,000 Atlanta fans ponying up for season tickets, and only 8,000 in Winnipeg committing next week? Back up your support with your money. Chances are, it will be refunded very shortly, but it worth the message that you will be sending.
Eileen
May 20th, 2011
10:21 am
John F. sorry to disappoint you. No tatoo and no Nascar for me. Even if it is in Winnipeg, means not in Atlanta. Just wishing the guys and their families success despite the fact that I wish it were here in Atlanta. Are you a little sensitive? There was no slight to your area. I have never been there so I would not feel right forming any kind of opinion. Maybe some of your fellow country folks should reserve their judgment as well. This whole thing is getting silly.
is it cold in Canada? Should I wear a jacket?
May 20th, 2011
10:21 am
Why on Earth would YOU want to buy a failure of a franchise like the Thrashers? Are you tripping? It’s a case study in how to NOT run a professional sports franchise, but how to alienate the supporting fan base.
The only fool even interested in buying this fraud franchise is an idiot from Canada that has more money than brains.
Even Bettman, who bought the Phoenix franchise and extorted annual payoffs from the Glendale City Council, wouldn’t even think of buying the Thrashers. It’s a RUINED ENTERPRISE.
Let it go off and die a slow and cold death in the land of moose and squirrel……We deserve better!
Yep
May 20th, 2011
10:22 am
Guffman,
The Thrashers cannot move till next season as their request to move was not put in Jan1st. If they strike a deal you can expect the fans of ATL to mass lock out and attempt of supporting a team that will move.
radeksmom
May 20th, 2011
10:22 am
You got the point.
is it cold in Canada? Should I wear a jacket?
May 20th, 2011
10:26 am
So you’re wanting to watch PLAYOFF hockey games in Winnipeg? Well, someone should tell you that you’re buying the WRONG TEAM, you know?
Freeways
May 20th, 2011
10:26 am
Atlanta Native – Have I been to Buckhead? yes. What does that have to do with anything?
I was there in 2002 – apparently crime was through the roof and measure were being put in place. I was even told by the concierge at the hotel, not to be out past 11pm.
How am I making a fool of myself?
Facts are facts – Atlanta at a pop’n of 5million can’t support an NHL team – even with all your corporate headquarters (Coke, Delta, etc) you have no support.
Yet, little old Winnipeg (pop’n of 0.8 mill – metro) is getting a team.
JC
May 20th, 2011
10:26 am
FACE IT, CHRIS..IT’S A DONE DEAL. THE THRASHERS WILL BE MOVING TO WINNEPEG AND ATLANTA WILL BECOME THE FIRST CITY EVER TO LOSE 2 DIFFERENT NHL FRANCHISES..PATHETIC! AND HEY WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, WHY NOT TAKE THE BRAVES, HAWKS AND FALCONS, WILL YA??! 3 MORE TEAMS WHO HAVE ZERO SHOT AT WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP!!! ATLANTA, GA= WORST SPORTS CITY EVER!!!!!!
is it cold in Canada? Should I wear a jacket?
May 20th, 2011
10:27 am
And how do you KNOW the Thrashers didn’t put in a request to move before Jan 1st? The deal was “done” months ago and Bettman was intimately involved in it.
It doesn’t even matter. Bettman is a corrupt individual with selective morals. One stroke of his pen and an “exception” is made…..Team moved for $60 Million payoff. That’s how it works…..
Guffman
May 20th, 2011
10:27 am
“The Thrashers cannot move till next season as their request to move was not put in Jan1st. If they strike a deal you can expect the fans of ATL to mass lock out and attempt of supporting a team that will move.”
If they don’t put in the request by January 1, then they will need unanimous consent from the NHL Board of Governers. From the G&M article, they were given unofficial consent by the BoG a few months ago.
TNSE would not be in these negotiations with ASG at this point in time if there was any uncertainty that the board of governers wouldn’t approve the sale.
Eileen
May 20th, 2011
10:27 am
Oh and John, I did not mean country in terms of rural, I meant your fellow citizens. Also, no dog fighting for me this weekend either. I am just a suburban Mom who loves going to hockey games with my kids.