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
Bo-lez
May 21st, 2011
2:13 pm
Hey winnipeg=poverty
Mason did the interview from his summer home in Red Deer, Alberta genius. Very similar climate to Winnipeg but its about a tenth of the size. I’m sure he’s spending the summer there because nobody in their right mind would want to be in Atlanta for the summer. Way too hot and you can’t breathe the filthy air.
Dogham
May 21st, 2011
2:22 pm
Does Seattle miss the Sonics? Yes Has Seattle moved on? Yes Did they replace it with MLS? Yes Have they since been putting 36,000+ for each home game for the Sounders? Yes. Is youth Soccer growing in Georgia and the south in general? Yes Is Arthur Blank trying to get a new stadium for the Falcons that would also potentially host an MLS team? Yes Would all this be good for Atlanta? Yes Will Atlanta have the chance to see the World’s game again in the fastest growing and more stable league of MLS? Yes Will loosing the mismanaged Thrashers suck? Yes Will it be the end of the world? No
Tripp
May 21st, 2011
2:32 pm
Let’s all get season tickets to show ASG we want our Thrashers to stay in Atlanta. What a bunch of jerks. Take some time and find a buy who will keep them here. You are hurting the fans and many children who love hockey by selling to someone who will move the team. Stop it!
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
2:40 pm
“Both are diehard Coyotes fans and have been fighting with the Winnipeg trolls for ooooh years on their site in Glendale Arizona. You 2 are troopers man…”
THX man, but don’t forget.. Nothing official has come out yet.. Brunt induced hysteria has killed the Thrashers rally, but it has yet to actually relocate the team..
G52PlM228
May 21st, 2011
3:03 pm
a thrasher must be sacrificed so a yote can breath
Hockey is Life
May 21st, 2011
3:05 pm
Live from the Thrashers Rally – this is from the CBC in Canada:
“But most people said hockey is just not something that really touches the consciousness of people in Atlanta,” Duncombe said. “One woman said she was scared of a puck zooming on the ice and didn’t want to go to the arena because she thought it would be cold in there.”
Are you serious? I don’t think this is a hockey city. Just sayin…
G52PlM228
May 21st, 2011
3:08 pm
bag, bag, bag there it is finally i take a thrasher over a table it feels more like a strong man tight in the rear than a bird when it releases its juice
Atlanta Jets
May 21st, 2011
3:09 pm
“Bryan Little doesn’t have a twitter account”..again..the Nuck media seems to simply invent what they want to hear. In fact according to the Canadian media both the Yotes and Atlanta are currently in Winnipeg playing as the Manitoba Moose and Winnipeg Jets II and the city will not help financially but will help financially. Yep.
Atlanta Jets
May 21st, 2011
3:11 pm
Since when does Canada even have the internet to know about the rally?
Jesus Christ
May 21st, 2011
3:17 pm
Sorry folks..stuck in the airport and I really don’t like Canada. Go Thrashers.
Hockey is Life
May 21st, 2011
3:17 pm
Every watch ABC’s Sharktank? The richest guy on that show – Kevin O’Leary and another guy on that show, Robert Herjovic, they are both Canadians and they are as close to OWNING the internet as anyone could be.
Al Gore
May 21st, 2011
3:21 pm
Umm no, I own the internet. I invented it. You people have Celine Dion. “faaaaaaaaart”.
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 21st, 2011
3:23 pm
“Are you serious? I don’t think this is a hockey city. Just sayin”
They had to of made that up or just pulled some random person off the street.
G52PlM228
May 21st, 2011
3:27 pm
Jesus: the Atlanta airport is part of the sale. watch who taps your foot in the airport stall it might be me.
gcs
May 21st, 2011
3:32 pm
Gary Bettman, why hath thou forsaken us?
.
wpgJetsfan
May 21st, 2011
3:40 pm
I guess the 200 fans at the rally have no class after seeing them burn a GO JETS GO banner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puw-Vhj0Bpg&feature=player_embedded
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
3:49 pm
“burn a GO JETS GO banner.”
GO THRASHERS GO!!
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
3:52 pm
You know the Jets are a football team, right, eh..
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
3:57 pm
wpgJetsfag
Are you NOT the same IDIOT that insisted the Coyotes were moving to loserpeg.. How did that end up workin’ put for ya..
EA
May 21st, 2011
4:01 pm
Hockey is LIfe-if there was another person next to her who said hockey was their passion, do you really think the CBC would print it? Are you that easily fooled? If you need ANOTHER reminder of Atlanta attendance before this ownership group literally gave up, re-read Jeff S. article and the comment to Blondie. Don’t you have your own message boards? I have done my fair share supporting the Thrashers with season tickets for years. I had no interest in spending the day at a rally. As a “real” hockey fan, I am home watching the playoffs. Some of us really do follow hockey.
EA
May 21st, 2011
4:08 pm
BTW, when I say “real” I mean someone as opposed to a random lady on the street, not the devoted fans at the rally.
EA
May 21st, 2011
4:21 pm
YEAH TAMPA! Coming behind from 3-0 to beat Boston. You have to love those hockey teams in NON TRADITIONAL MARKETS!!!!!!!! It is amazing the turn around when you have quality ownership.
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
4:26 pm
“hockey teams in NON TRADITIONAL MARKETS”
21,000 in attendance..
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
4:26 pm
Yes a full 6 THOUSAND seats more than MTS is even capable of holding..
Pegger8
May 21st, 2011
4:43 pm
Settle down, BrYan Little’s comments were made on the Fan 590 not Twitter, you also may want to check out his interview in the Guelph Mercury news rag. It my (or may not) change your view on what players think about coming to Winnipeg. Winnipeg never had a problem before, many players made their homes here year round, even bought cottages on many of the great freshwater lakes and beaches we have here. Its laughable to hear the “the whole team will request a trade”.. blah blah blah. Are you forgetting that many of these players grew up and developed their skills in climates very similar to Winnipeg? Whether that be Canada, Minnesota, North Dakota, Sweden, Russia, Finland? And many return home in the offseason from their “warmweather” cities they play in. It definitely comes across as, and definitely is true bitterness. Sorry Atlanta and Glendale, you just aren’t as special as you think you are.
And here we go again, Tampa sells out a conference final game and we talk about what a great hockey town in it. Again laughable. If a team has to rely on long deep playoff runs to come close to breaking even they are in trouble. There isn’t a team in the league that wouldn’t sell out a conference final home game! Well maybe Phx, but luckily for them the 6,000 or so Red wings fans saved their asses. Atlanta isn’t Monte Carlo, and Glendale, well, you’re in a desert. Short for “deserted”. Not attractive, save for a 3-4 months of the year. Get over yourselves. Yes Winnipeg (and most of Canada) gets cold for 3-4 months of the year, that’s why we play so much hockey and why its part of our culture. Probably the most passionate, giving people in the world. Winters are a breeze for us, that’s why we don’t tolerate whiners. Players will be held accountable in this town, hockey does matter. It will show.
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
4:58 pm
Every small Canadian boy dreams of playing in the NHL and LEAVING their small frozen village for the BIG CITY..
G52's mom
May 21st, 2011
5:01 pm
G52 – you have been trolling around the net for days. Time to try and find a job. No work in AZ? I hear there’s work and a strong economy in Winnipeg and they’ve got a new NHL franchise.
Pegger8
May 21st, 2011
5:02 pm
That’s nice G52, does your therapist advise that you keep telling yourself that.
Pegger8
May 21st, 2011
5:04 pm
And what is it with you and small Canadian boys anyway?
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
5:06 pm
No, the horrible teams the small market Canadian team ice tells the tale.. When you have to overpay players with even the most nominal of skills the way the Canadian small markets do, it does not make for much of a roster..
Keep developing those nice picks so some other team can benefit..
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
5:07 pm
I’m waiting for that TNSE announcement.. Anybody heard from them other than begging the province for money..
G52PIM228
May 21st, 2011
5:12 pm
“Must suck that Canadian teams can’t actually win a Stanley Cup.”
You have to be fair, only three of the teams have a real chance.. The Canadian small markets are hamstrung having to overpay to attract players..
ThrasherFan
May 21st, 2011
5:14 pm
Must suck for Canadians that 2 non traditional market teams – Carolina and Tampa – have won the Stanley Cup in recent years. Must suck that Canadian teams can’t actually win a Stanley Cup.
Glad they burned the Jets banner – I am so sick of Winnipeg fans and Canadian media acting as if they deserve someone else’s team just because they are Canadian.
Pegger8
May 21st, 2011
5:16 pm
To go where? To Phoenix? You mean like, ahhhhhhhm??? Hmmmmmm…….. Didn’t hey just sign some useless Fin yesterday? Would that be an example? Sorry buddy you haven’t lived the culture, you haven’t rode the buses. I have, and know many that do and lots that have. Sorry to say we didn’t aspire to leave our frozen villages to go play in the sand. We are quite proud of our frozen villages, we aspire to win the Stanley Cup. And yes we will be the primary supplier of talent to Phx and whatever teams are part of the NHL as long as the league exists. Thanks for the Kudos. Do you honestly think the players that play in your deserted suburb actually respect you and fans like you for the stuff you say? They play for the paycheque in places like that, not the fans. Maybe BrYan Little did say it best…. I think he is speaking for the majority, growing up in the tiny frozen village never really leaves you and is a part of your fabric. That’s what makes Canada the greatest hockey nation and nation in the world. PERIOD.!
Pegger8
May 21st, 2011
5:16 pm
Oh wait you have signed a couple of washed up, 30-somethings over the past few years. When close to retirement, why not work in a retirement community? My apologies.
phxismybitch
May 21st, 2011
5:23 pm
Yotes have no owner, that will make them Winnipeg’s bitch on Tuesday.
Anders Hedberg
May 21st, 2011
5:28 pm
Just saw the banner burning – such as it was – looked like someone used crayons to make the banner I’ve played and watched hockey all of my life – never saw a banner burning until today. You idiots really don’t understand hockey culture. We don’t burn stuff in the hockey world. If this is your attempt to save your hockey team, you do not deserve to have a team.
Atlanta Native
May 21st, 2011
5:31 pm
You guys in Canada are so through the roof with your ownership of hockey. You come across so silly. Isn’t it great that YOUR sport has excited so many others outside of your frozen villages that you are so proud of? Bryan Little is an extremely nice man. Do you expect him to say anything disrepectful to the Canadian media? He signed a 3 year deal with the ATLANTA Thrashers. He wasn’t dying to get back to his roots.
If this is a done deal, I wish the Thrasher players success. If they continue to play the way they have played here, all of the fans in Winnipeg will get as sick of it as we did. It just isn’t fun to lose. It really hurts to lose the team. However, the silver lining is this. There is always that sense of dread every season wondering whether this will be the season they turn it around. It never happens. If it happens in Winnipeg, so be it.
phxismybitch
May 21st, 2011
5:32 pm
My frozen village will be unthawed from July 22 to July 26. Atlanta Native should come for a visit. You will have to land in Flin Flon, and then dogsled your way down to Winnipeg. I will have my team of dogs waiting for you if you like.
Wienerpeg Trolls
May 21st, 2011
5:45 pm
Hopefully the Interenet will arrive in Wienerpeg one day and you idiots can troll on your own blogs.
Anders Hedberg
May 21st, 2011
5:45 pm
phx – don’t let these crackers near your dog team. These guys will set up a dog fight just to bet on it – I am not kidding. That is what they consider sport.
phxismybitch
May 21st, 2011
5:46 pm
I heard the internet is on computer now.
R. Stroz
May 21st, 2011
5:47 pm
After reading many posts from individuals from Winnipeg, Winnipeg citizens can be placed in two groups, the fine citizens of Winnipeg and Winnipricks.
I’m blessed not to have so much time on my hands that I TROLL other teams pages.
To the fine citizens of Winnipeg, I would have prefered that you procured your original team that fell victim to the same type of disinterested ownership that the Thrashers had in Atlanta.
Bettman and Stern should never have approved the sale of either the Thrashers or the Hawks to eight clowns, who collectively, could only put a ten percent down payment on both teams. This should have been a RED FLAG that they had no business in the sports franchise business.
phxismybitch
May 21st, 2011
5:50 pm
Anders, that was a hell of a 76-77 season you had. 70 goals IIRC.
Anders Hedberg
May 21st, 2011
5:52 pm
Ulf and I did it all for the fans. Those were great days.
Fart
May 21st, 2011
5:53 pm
Chris Thorburn doesn’t want to move.
G52PlM228
May 21st, 2011
5:53 pm
i’m dating my mom, who is also my therapist
G52PlM228
May 21st, 2011
5:56 pm
thanks again to asslanta for saving my coyotes
Blame Canada
May 21st, 2011
5:59 pm
I’m glad they burned the banner for all the idiots from up north that have been trolling our boards
I think I’ll make my own burning video and put it on YouTube for you goobers to get mad at.
G52PlM228
May 21st, 2011
6:00 pm
try not to set yourself on fire like a redneck