Updated: Talks continue, fans still planning to attend Thrashers’ select-a-seat event
By Chris Vivlamore and Tim Tucker
It may be the 11th hour, but some Atlanta hockey fans are clinging to hope.
With the Atlanta Spirit ownership group deep into negotiations to sell the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which would move the franchise to Winnipeg, current and prospective season-ticket holders plan to attend a select-a-seat event here Saturday.
“Our select-a-seat event will take place as planned at Philips Arena,” Thrashers president Don Waddell said Friday.
Team officials and owners declined to comment on the negotiations with the Winnipeg group.
One person familiar with the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the fluid and sensitive situation, said no agreement had been reached as of Friday afternoon but that talks and progress continued. The person said complex issues were being hammered out and that it’s difficult to predict when a deal might be completed.
Talks also continued with a prospective buyer willing to keep the team in Atlanta, but indications were that the sale to the Winnipeg group could happen as early as next week.
The Canadian Press reported that Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz said Friday that although nothing is signed, sealed or delivered yet, there is an understanding the relocation “is going to happen” and it is just “a matter of time” before a deal is announced.
The Thrashers organization continues to operate. In fact, at least one new season ticket was sold Friday. The select-a-seat event will be run by ticket representatives with no team executives, coaches or players in attendance. The event will coincide with a gathering of Thrashers fans at the gulch area outside the arena.
For some, the seat event will be a chance to show support.
“We are going about it like business as usual in hopes there is still a season,” said Charlie Clarke. “It seems like the writing is on the wall, but you look at other situations like in Sacramento with the [NBA’s] Kings. The fan base thought it was over. and something happened to keep the team.
“There is no reason now not to go. I know it’s a bit of a tease, but I’m holding out that .001 percent chance.”
Others see it as an opportunity to walk down memory lane.
“I’ll be going to the event, but I’m treating it at it as if I’m going to a funeral,” said Brett Lang, who described himself as a season-ticket holder since Day One. “I will go sit in the seats that my friends, family, and I enjoyed for the 11 seasons, quietly reflect on the good times, and say farewell just like a funeral.”
For one Thrashers fan, the chances of losing the team were enough to make him change his plans to attend the season- ticket event. Darren Schuster had planned to attend as a show of support.
“When I think about how much I put into this team and how much I got back, it’s pathetic,” Schuster said. “You can’t blame the fans. When the team was spending money and winning, the fans showed up.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was informed of the fan gathering on his weekly call-in radio show, broadcast Thursday night on satellite radio and the Internet, by a Thrashers fan.
“It will be interesting to see how many people show up at the rally on Saturday,” Bettman said.
The caller also told Bettman that the Thrashers drew impressive crowds in their first five seasons and attributed recent attendance problems to ownership that has not put a competitive team on the ice.
“I understand that there may be dissatisfaction there, but demonstrating your dissatisfaction by not going to games is an interesting strategy,” Bettman said. “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.”
Bettman vigorously denied that a deal is done to move the Thrashers. “I can tell you that with certainty,” he said. But he did not rule out the possibility and telegraphed what likely will be the NHL’s position if relocation occurs: that no qualified buyer was willing to own and operate the team in Atlanta.
“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,’” Bettman 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.”
The Thrashers’ owners have been seeking a buyer or investors for two years, and have said since February that they face a “sense of urgency” to shed the team’s operating losses, one way or another. The owners have contended in court documents that the team has lost $130 million since 2005.
“The key to this may be, in the final analysis, whether or not somebody wants to own the team in Atlanta,” Bettman said. “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 … if we have to,” Bettman said.
Making a deal to sell, let alone relocate, a team is a complex process involving the buyer, the seller and the NHL, each represented by groups of lawyers and financial advisors.
Atlanta Spirit and True North would have to complete a purchase-and-sale agreement. True North and the NHL would have to complete an “undertaking” agreement, spelling out the buyer’s commitments to the league. The parties would have to agree on how much of the money paid by True North would go to the NHL, rather than to the Spirit, as a relocation fee.
It is believed True North would pay as much as $170 million for the team, with $60 million going to the NHL and $110 million to the Spirit.
Ultimately, the NHL Board of Governors, which consists of one representative from each team, would have to vote to ratify a sale and relocation. A 75-percent vote is required to approve a new owner, and a majority vote is required to approve a relocation.
Here’s an indication of the complexities involved: When the Atlanta Spirit bought the Hawks and Thrashers in 2004, each member of the then-new ownership group had to sign his name 372 times on documents that filled six binders, each about six inches thick.
*** Thanks to all the fans who responded to my request and those I talked to but couldn’t fit into the story. I appreciate your help and your passion.
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553 comments Add your comment
Andrew51
May 20th, 2011
6:53 pm
@ glovesave29 Actually, I did address it. Teams featured regularly (which includes the playoffs) on a national basis are a more attractive investment than those that aren’t…Ownership pockets millions for each playoff game their squad appears in, win or lose.
With respect to so much to do in Atlanta, having lived there, I feel it’s….an odd sports town and Mr. Ferraro again puts it best:
“The Braves won 11 straight division titles,” he said. “The first year we were there, Andrew Brunette and I went to go to Game 1 of the playoffs. We didn’t have tickets, and we worried we couldn’t get in. We go up to the box office, and there’s 11,000 empty seats. They had been in the playoffs 11 years in a row. You looking for a college football ticket? You’re not going to get one. You want to go to NASCAR? You’re not going to get a ticket. It’s a market with different priorities. Pro sports is down the chain, for sure.”
Ferraro brings up the point of *uncertainty* when it comes to sporting events… Uncertainty and risk most investors won’t take based on the track record………..and just the documented sports enigmas of the city as a whole.
hip czech
May 20th, 2011
6:53 pm
Andrew51, I agree…my point was that all those other teams had 2 or 3 years of averaging 11-13K and once there was a change of ownership and a winning product was put on the ice then the attendance increased.
It could have happened here, if new ownership came in and with a decent GM now in place.
Sad.
David
May 20th, 2011
6:54 pm
If we had stable ownership from the start; we would be alright now regardless what type of team we put out on the ice. I believe from the start it was a mistake to let the Atlanta Spirit own the Hawks and Thrashers. As many corporate partners in this city; I cannot figure out why no one wants to step up here and buy these teams and figure out a way to make a profit from it. Do the opposite of the Atlanta Spirit which loss money due to the lack of not market these teams the right way!
ThrasherFan
May 20th, 2011
7:00 pm
Brendan,
As someone who’s been here for years – it’s been a blast. I honestly stopped caring at the end of the ‘09 season as it was the same story every season. Never in it at the end, our goalies always sucked and stayed injured and our players were always shipped off to do great things elsewhere.
Think of the players… Brunette, Kovy, Heatly, Savard, Hossa, Staois, Nurminen!
Am seriously thinking about moving from this piss poor city. If hockey fans who moved here from other cities actually jumped on board the Thrash train, this market may have survived. Unfortunately, they were never given a reason to.
Take care regulars from this blog – I will miss coming here each day as it will all be over soon. Don’t know what to tell my son who sleeps with his foam covered Thrashers stick and blanket.
Screw you ASG – may you go bankrupt and rot.
ThrasherFan
May 20th, 2011
7:04 pm
Andrew51
It’s not a weird sports town as Ray puts it. He didn’t mention that during those 14 division titles, the Braves never won much except that. They were typically bounced early and people didn’t believe in the team.
Also, their stadium is in an even WORSE place – the ghetto – of Atlanta. This is the WORST planned city in America for traffic and sports.
glovesave29
May 20th, 2011
7:05 pm
A51 – true about pocketing millions for playoff games. But our cut of the Vs / NBC contract was exactly the same as what the Red Wings get.
It IS a strange sports town. College sports rule here. But that last Braves playoff team limped in with a TON of injuries. Everyone knew it’d be quickly over.
I do want to know why Canadian support of the minor leagues is so soft. The AHL Moose average 8400, Hamilton 4200, Abbotsford 3800. Just wondering…
Brendan
May 20th, 2011
7:25 pm
ThrasherFan, take care. Thank you for coming by these boards. And out to games. And, eventually, your son will get over it. We just have to explain to our children that there is a business aspect to sports, and some owners don’t know how to run their business. So, they are forced to selloff their assets, to survive. Then say, “you’ll understand when you’re older.”
To the Atlanta Spirit, LLC … I want you to know something. People were perfectly willing to spend money on tickets, if you’d supplied them with a product worth buying. Your lousy food drove the customers away from your restaurant. You blame them, instead of the chefs who prepared the food. While I’m sure that you fellas are good at your regular jobs, you sure aren’t very adept at running a hockey team. From a personal standpoint, I hope that nothing you CARE about ever gets damaged or neglected in the fashion that you did to something WE CARE about. That’s all I have to say about that.
Sage of Bluesland
May 20th, 2011
7:36 pm
To Brendan, the classiest poster on these boards. A prince of a blogger; a wealth of hockey historical knowledge.
If only the ownership shared even a small percentage of your passion and care, we wouldn’t be in this place today.
A better ambassador for the game doesn’t exist.
OHL
May 20th, 2011
7:37 pm
glovesave29, that’s actually a pretty good question that I often have to explain to people. Just my personal belief that AHL doesn’t get as much turnout is because there are dozens of junior teams that are far more interesting to watch. Individually, they only get about 1,500 to 3,000 on their best nights. But add them all up and it is impressive. Do you know how many junior teams are within driving distance of Hamilton? Now ask yourself, would you rather watch John Tavares the year before he gets drafted along with a bunch of other local kids who may make it big or the guys who may never make it at all? I would rather see Cam Newton at Auburn than watch AAA baseball or NBA development league or wherever NFL castoffs go. Maybe some of the Winnipeggers can offer a contrary opinion as it might be different in Manitoba, but I can’t get into AHL when I can watch Taylor Hall battle Tyler Seguin 2 months before they get drafted #1 and #2 overall.
Just saying
May 20th, 2011
7:41 pm
Sage, you are the complete and total opposite of Brendan.
ThrasherFan
May 20th, 2011
7:42 pm
What if the owners don’t sign off on the deal…?
glovesave29
May 20th, 2011
7:53 pm
OHL – yeah, but 4200 in Hamilton? C’mon!
G52PlM228
May 20th, 2011
8:02 pm
owners secretly signed off months ago
OHL
May 20th, 2011
8:03 pm
glovesave29, If you are a season ticket holder for your UFL team, I am wrong. If you have to think hard about the last time you went to the Atlanta AFL game, you understand my point. Who are you going to watch? Me personally, I’m going to see the juniors, not the Hamilton team. Do you want to come with me or go to the Hamilton game?
Stop the Blame and Look in the Mirror
May 20th, 2011
8:06 pm
For every Glads Fan, everyone who wore an opposing team’s jersey, cheered an opposing team goal, or everyone on the seat stealing STH plan…. SxxU you have no-one to blame except the man in the mirror.
OHL
May 20th, 2011
8:15 pm
glovesave29, only 1 arena league team got above 13,000 in 2010? What did the Falcons and Bulldogs average? I’m guessing at least 5x that at 65,000 minimum. Have you been to a Georgia Force game lately? You guys are supposed to be the hotbed for football in the SEC land yet not even 13,000 for an Arena game?
Just kidding with ya, but do you see my point now? I’ve got 3 other junior teams to see before I go to Copps.
P. Bull Terrier
May 20th, 2011
8:19 pm
Gary Bettman and the NHL have discovered a creative new marketing plan:
Insult your customers for not buying your product and remove your product from the market, then sit back and wait for the customers to come crawling back to you, throwing their money at your feet.
Let us know how that works out for you, Gary.
Big Wally
May 20th, 2011
8:20 pm
Time to pull out all the stops. Arthur Blank, buy this team, or I’ll never go to another Falcon game. That is if they ever decide to play another football game.
Sage of Bluesland FAN
May 20th, 2011
8:23 pm
Where have you been Sage? I’ve listened to you on these message boards for years and took your advice. I stood up to the powers that be and never took my kids to any of the Thrashers games even though they begged me at times to go. Now everyone is saying the Thrashers are leaving and it’s because we fans didn’t go to enough games and support the team.
Is this what you expected to happen Sage? Why did we do this to our own team?
Paddy
May 20th, 2011
8:29 pm
Buying season tickets for the Thrashers is like believing that rearrainging the deck chairs on the Titanic was still a good idea!!!! WOW
Dave
May 20th, 2011
8:30 pm
“Hockey is not a Southern sport and Atlanta does not need the team. Let them go somewhere else and take the Yankees and Canucks with them!”
Hey, “Mark” who made that comment. You’re an idiot.
This really, really sucks.
Slayer
May 20th, 2011
8:37 pm
Could they take the Hawks and the lame NBA too?
ex-ex-STH
May 20th, 2011
8:39 pm
Brendan, you are like the professor of this blog. RW, you are the best story writer in all of sports. It’s been a great read for a long time. I live about 25 minutes from the Gladiators but just can’t see myself or 14 year old son (who started playing hockey because of the Thrasher games we went to with Braveheart sitting in our section) going to ECHL hockey. I hope that everyone in Atlanta boycotts ANY AND ALL events at Philips Arena. I only went to non-hockey events at the bulb because of discounts of being a STH. This is looking more and more like there is not a thing we can do to stop this. Atlanta could have supported a hockey team with a decent ownership. Its been truly a treat to check out this blog usually on a daily basis. Thanks to all the regulars.
colga87
May 20th, 2011
8:55 pm
ex won’t go see the Glads even though he lives a short distance away? Has a 14 year old son who loves hockey! Won’t support a local team? You are not a true hockey fan. You are a true hockey snob. Don’t feel bad though, you’re far from being alone.
OHL
May 20th, 2011
8:56 pm
Atlanta hockey fans, let me give you an idea of why you have a bad perception around the league. Imagine you are from Canada or a traditional hockey market in the north US. West coast game doesn’t start for a few more minutes and you’ve been surfing the sites. You go to the Thrashers local coverage (really, go to your Thrashers homepage for this paper now). Look at that photo. Looks like a game between you and the Hurricanes. But look at all those empty seats! This is your own newspaper. Either they are sending it in for you or they couldn’t find a better photo. Either way, what would you think when you see that photo with all those empty seats? Can’t your local paper at least put up a decent photo from a well attended game when people like me who normally don’t come to this site are visiting this site this week?
letsnotgetexcited71
May 20th, 2011
8:58 pm
I am from Winnipeg and I would like to say that while I am extremely happy in what may transpire next week, I cannot help but feel deep sadness for Thrasher fans. I was 25 years old when the jets left, my oldest son was 1 year old and I was crushed when they left, not just for me but for my son who would grow up not being able to watch live NHL action. BELIEVE ME when I write this, 95% of Winnipeg does feel for you, do not listen to the loud mouth minority hoseheads that come on blogs and spout crap! Be hockey fans and do not give up on the game becuase it truly is the greatest game in the world with the nicest people playing in sport.
colga87
May 20th, 2011
9:05 pm
Problem with that picture is that it’s probabley from early in the first period of any home game. With the 1900 start time the majority of the fans arrived after the start.
OHL
May 20th, 2011
9:11 pm
colga87, can’t your newspaper put up a photo from the 2nd or 3rd period then? Can you see why you have this perception then when you see that photo and the attendance numbers where you are in the bottom 3 in the league?
KLS1
May 20th, 2011
9:42 pm
Is it over, just say it is over?
Its been fun chatting with all of you over the last several years…my wife has often asked me why I was laughing or smirking…I told her I was reading everyones comments on this blog. I am a man of many interests but sadly this team was #1…which even surprised me sometimes since they have been so bad.
I will be watching this group, in whatever uniforn wear, until they are eventually broken apart…and yes I still blame Bogosian for missing the playoffs this year.
Good Luck boys, wherever you go, may the road rise up to greet you.
You're Kidding Right???
May 20th, 2011
9:48 pm
Do any of you people work??
G52PlM228
May 20th, 2011
9:58 pm
the unemployment rate here in arizona is 97%
glovesave29
May 20th, 2011
10:13 pm
OHL – to be honest, don’t really care what perception is around the league. We know what the truth is, as do most members of the hockey media. If we all think Winnipeg is some godfosaken cow town on the edge of an endless prairie (just making a point – dont really think that) – do you really care? What perception and truth is are rarely one and the same – and it’s not really worth the time to explain yourself ’cause itll likely fall on deaf ears.
G52PlM228
May 20th, 2011
10:14 pm
face it ATL is a poor sports market
even the Braves cannot sellout playoff games
Bill
May 20th, 2011
10:15 pm
It’s over, no sense to continue thrashing about with this, so to speak….Atlanta will never support a losing team in anything and owners better get used to this…who wants to watch star players leave every year and a team never have a clue that you have to have a defense in order to win? Nobody in this town! The city was better off with the Flames…at least they made an attempt at winning
Sage of Bluesland
May 20th, 2011
10:32 pm
“… it’s because we fans didn’t go to enough games and support the team….”
That’s NOT the cause of the problem; it’s only a symptom of the real cause.
Grow up, sheep-in-imposter’s-clothing.
This isn’t the fans’ fault. If you believe that drivel, you must be getting your opinions from the likes of Kincade….
OHL
May 20th, 2011
10:48 pm
glovesave29, I’ve never been to Winnipeg so no, I wouldn’t care. It does say something about yourself if you posted that, but some haven’t figured that out. That goes for both sides. I actually think I might miss all this once it’s done on Tues. In some ways there are massive facepalms when I read things, but in some ways I think there’s some of you that I wish experienced some of the other things in the sport of hockey because I think you’d love it.
glovesave29
May 20th, 2011
11:06 pm
OHL – i’ve played the net for 35 years. Travelled all over the USA and Canada on travel teams. Played in college and today in a beer league. Played net for the IHL Knights in a practice when Derek Wilkinson went down with an injury and they only had one goalie. Roman Hamrlik broke my blocker side pinkie that day. Not much I have not experienced in this sport…
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 20th, 2011
11:15 pm
Just wondering but if they’re still talking to the group that will keep the Thrash here could be that be a good thing and will put off any announcement about the Thrashers leaving? The team and the fans were not given a fair shake and it will be a shame to see this team leave without knowing what could have been.
Kovyoverrated
May 20th, 2011
11:19 pm
Enter your comments here
Kovyoverrated
May 20th, 2011
11:26 pm
The fat lady from Manitoba has sung. It is all over.
Extremely sad .
OHL
May 20th, 2011
11:42 pm
glovesave29, I don’t want to turn this into a pissing match, there’s too much of that going on. But there’s a ton of things I could name that go beyond just playing on pickup teams. I gotta ask, how many of your fellow posters have done even what you’ve done? You guys should get an outdoor team for those once a year tournaments, That would be a blast to see a team from Atlanta.
P. Bull Terrier
May 21st, 2011
12:06 am
Why do so many hockey fans treat pro hockey like it’s some kind of exclusive club, intended only for the select few, then wonder why the NHL is having so much financial trouble? It seems like more than half of the people commenting on the Thrashers lately only want to trash the fans in Atlanta for not being “real” hockey fans. Maybe Atlanta isn’t the world’s best hockey town, but there are plenty of people here who have enjoyed watching the Thrashers play – at least until it became obvious that the owners weren’t ever going to do anything to make the team into a real contender. With just a little bit of effort, the ASG and the NHL could have turned sports fans like me into die-hard Thrashers fans. Instead, it seems like the NHL and the “real” hockey fans would rather contract the fan base into an exclusive little club of the select few than expand the fan base to include non-traditional hockey markets. It doesn’t make sense to me, but then I guess I’m not a “real” hockey fan.
On a side note: I thought it was interesting reading OHL’s comments about the picture that the AJC used in covering the Thrashers. Here in Atlanta, we are so used to most of the local news coverage about our teams taking a negative angle that we wouldn’t even notice that the newspaper missed an opportunity to put a positive spin on the local franchise.
Guy Lafleur
May 21st, 2011
12:19 am
The team moving from ATL to WPG is the lead story on tonight’s CBC national newscast. This tells you a couple of things. First it tells you this IS DONE. Second, this shows you the difference between Canada and US when it comes to hockey. This is the #1 news story tonight in all of Canada. This is not even the lead story in Atlanta and it is definitely not a leading news story on MSNBC. Hockey is EVERYTHING in Canada but only a fringe sport for most of America.
Kaat
May 21st, 2011
12:23 am
Hear, hear, P. Bull Terrier.
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 21st, 2011
12:27 am
“Instead, it seems like the NHL and the “real” hockey fans would rather contract the fan base into an exclusive little club of the select few than expand the fan base to include non-traditional hockey markets. It doesn’t make sense to me, but then I guess I’m not a “real” hockey fan.”
I agree 100% on that. It makes a person feel small when someone else tells them that they don’t deserve a hockey team, I mean who are they to determine that? I’ve been attending hockey games since I was about 6 or 7 and somehow i’m not a “real” fan of the game?
Guy Lafleur
May 21st, 2011
12:39 am
It’s not that you are not real hockey fans – I would have no reason to doubt it. If you say you love the game, who am I to question that? Respectfully, though, you are in the substantial minority in the Southern US. I am Canadian and I grew up in a prairie town. One kid in my whole class of about 100 boys didn’t play hockey and the rest of us thought he was weird – just because he didn’t play. I am not suggesting we were right – we were young and that was our immature way of looking at the world. It does suggest though that this game is a vital part of the fabric of Canadian society – especially rural Canada. It really is like religion here.
I hope Atlanta can regain a team so you fans of the game can continue to enjoy this great game.
Hockey in ATL
May 21st, 2011
12:41 am
I will be tickled to death when most, or maybe none, of the current Thrashers players want to relocate to Winnipeg assuming the sale and move of the team goes through. Then what ?
Hockey in ATL
May 21st, 2011
12:45 am
Tweets by AJC hockey writer Chris Vivlamore:
Sorry folks, talks between #Thrashers and TSNE continue but no deal is complete. 10 hours ago
AJC is told talks continue on sale of #Thrashers, but no deal is complete. 10 hours ago
Fans still planning to attend Thrashers’ select-a-seat eventhttp://bit.ly/jWnUhZ 10 hours ago
New #Thrashers blog posted. Fans still plan to attend select-a-seat event.http://bit.ly/kp8WD6 10 hours ago
I’ve been told the #Thrashers are still selling season tickets – with at least one being sold Friday.
Guy Lafleur
May 21st, 2011
12:49 am
Hockey in ATL
Don’t prepare for a death by tickling – they’ll just just move – watch.
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 21st, 2011
1:08 am
Just a question but if this whole thing was agreed to months ago can the ASG be sued for not acting in good faith? Can litigation which the ASG seems to like end up being their demise and keeps the team in Atlanta?