Down to one group currently negotiating to keep Thrashers in Atlanta
There is currently just one group in active negotiations with the Atlanta Spirit interested in purchasing the Thrashers and keeping the franchise in Atlanta.
The group, not from Atlanta, is working with team president Don Waddell. A deal is not imminent, according to Waddell.
“My job is to try to find a buyer who will keep the team in Atlanta,” Waddell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “As long as they keep taking my phone calls, I’ll keep working.”
Earlier this month, Waddell was dealing with two prospective buyers, neither local, to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta.
Negotiations also continue between Atlanta Spirit officials and True North Sports and Entertainment on a deal to purchase the Thrashers and relocate to Winnipeg. Such a deal is also not imminent, however an agreement would likely need to be reached in the near future to accommodate relocation.
An exclusive negotiating agreement has not been signed allowing multiple on-going negotiations.
“As has been the case, I cannot comment on who we are talking to or the status of those discussions,” Atlanta Spirit co-owner Bruce Levenson said.
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324 comments Add your comment
Tom
May 19th, 2011
9:48 pm
G52PlM228 – Are you related to Sage of Blueland?
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:49 pm
let me check my used condom collection
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:55 pm
the thirst for thrashers blood is strong. i smell a scent and sense death. i must follow this scent to Glendale. i will eat a thrasher with toast and an orange.
kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:00 pm
Oh Canada, our home and bla, bla, bla……..Meanwhile, at Thorburn’s house….”Honey, we get to sell the house in Sugarloaf and move to Winnepeg, Manitoba!” Mrs. Thorburn: “Is that where Survivorman ate ferns and rotten elk? Have fun Chris, but I’m staying here”….In honor of Winnepeg, Manitoba getting the Thrashers, lets all listen to Loverboy and the Barenaked Ladies.
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
10:02 pm
Sorry – hated Loverboy in the 80’s and I ain’t givin’ ‘em any love today. If I am going to listen to anything Canadian, its Rush.
James
May 19th, 2011
10:04 pm
You are a sick person G52PIM228.
Andrew51
May 19th, 2011
10:05 pm
@ glovesave29
With respect, you’re underestimating a key factor in Winnipeg: Television. Canadiens watch hockey on tv until their eyeballs fall out….ESPECIALLY the losing teams. Real money. When was the last time you saw the Thrashers on NBC? Exactly.
braveslose
May 19th, 2011
10:05 pm
Just saw on VS that Thrashers are outta here. Good riddance to bad rubbish! Team never cared. Fans should shed no tears! This is one fan that will not.
OHL
May 19th, 2011
10:06 pm
“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.”
I don’t get it, you guys were not going to games on purpose?
Atlanta Flames Fan
May 19th, 2011
10:07 pm
Maybe we had it wrong all the time. Instead of “because the Coyotes stayed in Phoenix, TNSE then went after the Thrashers”, all along it was “the reason Bettman worked so hard to save Phoenix was because Atlanta was already going to Winnepeg and there was no place to put the Yotes”.
We knew all along that we were being lied to, just did not know to what extent!
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:08 pm
Report out of Toronto states deal will be done in a few days, team will be moving to Winnipeg. Where was all this support when they needed it? See ya!!!
kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:08 pm
No more Whole Foods, Kroger, or Publix for the players and their wives. Now they have to hunt and gather. Kane, Slater, Thorburn will kick some Moose ass and be eatin good. Little, Andropov, and some other pretty-boys may struggle. Bogosian won’t eat at all. He’ll just look at the Moose in a stern way as it glides right by him, untouched.
Thrashers Had Two Atlanta-Friendly Potential Buyers, Now Just One, According To Report | TREND CITY
May 19th, 2011
10:11 pm
[...] Thе Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Chris Vivlamore hаѕ posted hіѕ t&#… οn thе Atlanta Thrashers life down tο јυѕt one potential buyers group wіth аn interest іn keeping thе team іn Atlanta. According tο thе crash, team president Don Waddell wаѕ dealing wіth two non-local shoppers until recently. [...]
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
10:14 pm
A51 – you wan watch all the games on TV you want – it doesn’t change anything about what I said. If you miss the playoffs 15 out of 17 seasons, and your money is worth on 75% of ours – it will fail. I am not wishing that on you at all, just a statement of the facts. It matters not if the Thrashers are on Vs. or NBC once a year or 20 times a year – we share in the TV money equally. Local TV is a different story – but again, Manitoba is a limited market. To the east Ontario is ML country – and I don’t know the allegiances in Saskatchewan….Flames and Oilers, i’d guess.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:17 pm
An agreement to sell the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Thrashers to a Winnipeg group which plans to relocate the franchise to the Manitoba capital is done.
Sources confirmed tonight that preparations are being made for an announcement Tuesday, confirming the sale and transfer of the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and the MTS Centre arena, which would become the NHL team’s new home.
Bettmman will travel to Winnipeg Tuesday to make it official.
Now it really is “Blueland”!
G52PimmsGayDrinkerFeb28
May 19th, 2011
10:18 pm
Sources confirmed tonight that preparations are being made for an announcement Tuesday, confirming the sale and transfer of the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and the MTS Centre arena, which would become the NHL team’s new home.
The report also states NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to be in Winnipeg to make the news official.
The story was written by Globe and Mail columnist Stephen Brunt, one of the country’s most respected sports writers.
Tommy Glavine
May 19th, 2011
10:18 pm
Is there an airport in Winnipeg or do you have to take a train there?
Moose
May 19th, 2011
10:21 pm
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!!!!
@Tommy Glavine
May 19th, 2011
10:22 pm
There is speculation that if Winnipeg receives Federal matching funds, there could be an airport there by 2019
Tommy Glavine
May 19th, 2011
10:22 pm
Don Waddell is such a liar. From the beginning to the very end. WOW…some people have no soul.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:22 pm
planning on travelling to see your old team Tommy ?
OHL
May 19th, 2011
10:23 pm
glovesave29, I would hardly call Manitoba a limited market for local tv. 50% of Manitobans who tune in is far better than the .23 Nielsen rating you guys got this year.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:24 pm
I heard Winnipeg bought Atlanta’s airport as part of the deal
PMC
May 19th, 2011
10:24 pm
Enjoy them Winnepeg. You’ll love Evander Kane.
OHL
May 19th, 2011
10:30 pm
Classy of you PMC but I get sick to my stomach everytime I see Seguin score a goal this week.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:31 pm
While you Trasher fans are sitting here whining over a team u didn’t support, y Bruins are getting ready to go up 2 games to 1 over TB…Go cash in those frequent flyer miles for a trip to the Great White North or get NHL Center Ice tO watch Winnipeg!!! bwahahahahaha
Seguin got another goal btw!!!
Andrew51
May 19th, 2011
10:34 pm
@ glovesave29
But you DON’T share in the Tv $ equally….that’s not how it works. An investor group can SEE the team as a poor draw on television….or…having never appeared on a national network and see what a disaster an investment keeping the team in that market would be because television revenue is where the REAL money in the NHL is made. It’s going to work in Winnipeg, as it has to thunderous applause in Minnesota a 2nd time round where capacity is 99.7% in the largest economic downturn in 80 years. Its ok…You’ll see….
@Ggay2
May 19th, 2011
10:37 pm
Done deal. A friend of mine knows True North deal and at this point its a rubber stamp from Buttman thats required. Cya Thrashers, you don’t come to Winnipeg, we promise not to come to Craplanta. Go Hawks. Go Falcons. Go to hell.
Old Time
May 19th, 2011
10:37 pm
The AJC should be looking at the Spirit Group and the ground they stand on. If the Thrashers move that means Phillips loses 41 dates. If an NBA lockout kills next season (and it looks like it will happen) and loses another 41 dates. Then Phillips is pulling their naming rights so the “Atlanta Arena” will be a building with no tenants or naming money. I think the Spirit guys are trying to sell the Thrashers for the cash before they go belly up. True North is desperate and will pay more for the Thrashers than they would have the Coyotes with the NHL as the seller. I see the Thrashers getting sold, the Spirit group going bankrupt (and walking away with the cash), the NBA taking ownership of the Hawks and the city Phillips. The NHL and NBA should have never let the crooks into either league.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:37 pm
@Andrew51…buddy, don’t waste your time trying to explain revenue sharing and marketing to this crew, I’ve tried. You’re talking to a load of dolts.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:38 pm
can’t be any fatter than atlanta chicks
kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:39 pm
Can’t wait to see the “girls” that those hefty Canadians put on the rink as ice girls. If you get to be the “Moose”, look at all the Canadian Quarters you’ll save not having to buy a Moose outfit for your mascot. Just throw your sister and your girlfriend out there on the ice, eh?
@Old Time
May 19th, 2011
10:41 pm
Hey ‘tard, Spirit owns the arena, why have 41 games that lose money when you could have minimum 20 concert dates in place of those 41 games that make TONS of money. And 20 is a minimum, likely will be 30+. How could they possibly miss the Thrashers? They LOSE money. The original owners brought the team there in some delusional hope that they could cash in on a monster TV deal. DIDN’T HAPPEN. THRASHERS GONE!!!!!!!
OHL
May 19th, 2011
10:43 pm
I think this was a bad omen for you guys – http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/amateur/canadas-mightiest-midgets-120588684.html
@kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:45 pm
Listen, and you can attest to this, southern girls are so freaking fat the earth shakes when they walk. i’m not exaggerating, I went to an amusement park in Georgia and the girls walking around there looked like planets. But thats not just Georgia, its the United States. If you live on the Cdn/US border and you go just two miles over the border the size of people triples, and the further south you go the bigger it gets. Say all you want about Canada but the US reliance on McDonalds / Wendys / Subway etc bloats the entire country.
kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:51 pm
Freddy Mercury wrote “Fat Bottom Girls” in Canada. He was straight until Queen did a Canadian tour.
@kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:53 pm
Really? You honestly think that Freddy Mercury was ever straight? Lol. He may have wrote it in Canada but it was inspired by seeing your girlfriend eating buckets of KFC
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:55 pm
good for him
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:56 pm
i live in a desert, dunce
@G52
May 19th, 2011
10:57 pm
hey G52, were you one of the tools smashing windows at the G20? Could you list the G52 countries? Or are you one of those Patriots that can only name the United States and Mexico as countries?
KaiATL
May 19th, 2011
10:59 pm
Winnipeg wins
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:59 pm
coyotes win too
KaiATL
May 19th, 2011
11:04 pm
Just hope no stupid American politician throws money at this dump of an organization. Go jets go
braveslose
May 19th, 2011
11:15 pm
To all the hardcore Thrasher fans who defended the uncaring players through all their mail in unefforts over the years I have only one thing to say. Which I say from the bottom of my heart. Please. Please! Relocate with these prima donnas. Just take insulated undies. Hear it gets awfully cold where these bums are going!
@KaiATL
May 19th, 2011
11:16 pm
Mayor Sruggs did
We've Been Bamboozled.....
May 19th, 2011
11:21 pm
I would not be surprised if all of this was already in place months ago, and all of the parties involved have been bamboozling the fans in Atlanta the whole time.
You know, if we would have had ownership that didn’t spend so much time in courtrooms and meeting with lawyers, we might have had something here.
If this is true, at least we’ll get rid of all of those trolls from Manitoba out of here…..
We've Been Bamboozled.....
May 19th, 2011
11:21 pm
@braveslose STFU troll.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
11:23 pm
Save the Thrashers! New team name Winnipeg Nochance!
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
11:25 pm
save the yotes.. screw the thrashers
Kevin M
May 19th, 2011
11:26 pm
Apparently, some Globe and mail hack has stolen my name on here….to bad AJC, TSN, and Winnipeg deny Stephen Brunt’s habitual lying, fan sturring
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:17 pm
An agreement to sell the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Thrashers to a Winnipeg group which plans to relocate the franchise to the Manitoba capital is done.
Sources confirmed tonight that preparations are being made for an announcement Tuesday, confirming the sale and transfer of the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and the MTS Centre arena, which would become the NHL team’s new home.
Bettmman will travel to Winnipeg Tuesday to make it official.
Now it really is “Blueland”!