Updated: Talks continue with TNSE; no announcement Tuesday
Negotiations between the Atlanta Spirit and True North Sports and Entertainment continued over the weekend as a deal to purchase and relocate the Thrashers to Winnipeg moved closer.
As of Monday, lawyers for Atlanta Spirit, True North and the NHL were still exchanging drafts and deal terms but a deal was not finalized. Monday was Queen Victoria Day in Canada, a bank holiday, which prevented the completion of some details.
The deal could be finalized later this week. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the AJC Monday, via e-mail, that “it’s safe to say there will be no announcement on Tuesday.”
Also, the last remaining hope of a buyer willing to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta appeared to have ended. The final prospective buyer, in negotiations with the Atlanta Spirit, with such an intention is no longer interested in pursuing a sale. According to a person familiar with the negotiations, the potential buyer is “probably, but not completely” out of the picture.
True North is led by Winnipeg businessman Mark Chipman and billionaire David Thomson and owns Winnipeg’s arena, the MTS Centre, and the American Hockey League team that currently plays there, the Manitoba Moose. The group turned its attention to the Thrashers after a deal, with public money, was reached to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona several weeks ago.
Key issues between the Atlanta Spirit and True North, such as price, are believed to be settled. The price is believed to be $170 million, with $110 million going to the seller and $60 million to the league as a relocation fee.
Many issues beyond price are part of such deals, such as financing and the commitments the buyer must make to the league going forward.
Even a signing of a definitive agreement would not be the final step in the process: The deal would have to be approved by the NHL Board of Governors before it could close.
Atlanta Spirit and True North opened negotiations in mid-May, shortly after the city of Glendale, Ariz., committed to cover up to $25 million in next season’s losses of the Coyotes, who otherwise would have likely moved to Winnipeg.
The Coyotes’ surprising one-year reprieve in Arizona made Winnipeg a relocation option for the Thrashers, whose owners had made it clear the franchise was in dire difficulty. The Thrashers’ owners had said they were unwilling to keep funding the team’s operating losses, pegged at around $20 million per year in court documents, and had been unable to find a qualified buyer to assume the losses in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Spirit has been looking for a buyer or investors for the Thrashers for several years, although the group has only had clear ownership since December after officially buying out partner Steve Belkin. Co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. told the AJC in February that there was a ‘sense of urgency’ to find a solution for the financially struggling franchise and that relocation was a possibility.
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.
Atlanta would lose its NHL franchise for a second time. The city lost the Flames to Calgary in 1980.
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303 comments Add your comment
George Mychkovsky
May 23rd, 2011
3:34 pm
The NHL is a business. It needs support in Atlanta, as well as other major cities. While you might lose the Thrashers, keep in mind that conditions and attitudes change over time. When the Seals left northern California, the Rockies left Denver, and the North Stars left the Twin Cities, there were dire predictions that the NHL would never return to those markets. (You can include Winnipeg in that group of cities, unfortunately for you).
In a few years, I think that Atlanta fans will sorely come to miss those evenings when they were watching the Thrashers. They will re-group, and hopefully they will be able to convince the proper monied parties in Atlanta that investing in an NHL franchise would be a good business move. Such a situation will be all the more likely if in fact the sport is booming in other nearby markets. Unfortunately, these are things that only time can bring about.
Keep in mind that the Wizzards, Warriors, and Clippers in the NBA, the Browns and Bengals in the NFL, and the Cubs in MLB have not been good for years upon years, and yet they play to audiences of over 95% capacity. If you think that a team will stay if you embrace an entitlement mentality, i.e., we will support it only if they are good or at least competitive, you are sadly mistaken. The Oilers have been miserable for the last 3 years in Edmonton, yet there hasn’t been an empty in that arena over that time. And not coincidentally, there is no talk of moving that team.
Also keep this in mind: in any given year, one-third of the teams are good, one-third are mediocre, and one-third are poor. If only good to average were supported, you would have one-third of the league in financial trouble annually.
Losing a sports franchise is not a tragedy, like losing loved ones in a tornado. Keep that in mind. If you can convince others to support the team even in poor times, there is not question that the NHL will come back. Since they are a business, they would be more than willing to take your money and grant you a franchise. Criticizing the ownership will do you no good, since you can’t control the ownership. Furthermore, why would any potential owner want to subject themselves to the ridicule that you have heaped upon the ASG group, whether it is justified or not? Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle: get fans to work together to convince the monied powers that investing in an NHL franchise would be a good thing. Having 200 fans in a parking lot is hardly a testimony to how strong the support is. Keep up the faith: hockey is by far the best sport. Anything worth having is worth working hard for. Unfortunately, Atlanta, like so many other cities, will find out that often one doesn’t realize what they’ve had until it is gone. You have a job ahead of you. Take time to heal, and then roll up your sleeves, and get to work! I do believe that eventually you will succeed. But you do have to pay your dues.
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
3:48 pm
JF – LA lost both the Rams and Raiders
St Louis lost both the football Cardinals and Browns
Baltimore lost both the Colts and the Bullets
Forgetting the ABA, USFL, CFL and WHA – otherwise this list gets REALLY long!
Sage of Bluesland
May 23rd, 2011
3:49 pm
“…Also keep this in mind: in any given year, one-third of the teams are good, one-third are mediocre, and one-third are poor. If only good to average were supported, you would have one-third of the league in financial trouble annually….”
Sounds good. Oh wait, that would mean we’ve made the playoffs for a third of our existence? You WOULD think that to be the case in a league where over half of the teams even make it in to begin with….but, we are on a different paradigm, that’s for sure.
I don’t mean to take exception to your nice words–but it shows just how inept this product was from the start. Yes, expansion-teams should take longer to come to fruition…but when we’re still talking of rebuilding after ten years and the principle architect has been PROMOTED?
When Don Waddell was never getting fired, I realized the problem was much deeper: ownership indifference.
That is precisely what I will remember when thinking about the Atlanta Thrashers.
Billsen
May 23rd, 2011
3:54 pm
The location of Philips is not the problem. If you think it is, please explain to me how people have no problems packing the Dome for Falcons games? They’re in the same place.
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
3:55 pm
Such a shame that our elected City officials, and Governor Deal, are content to watch $30 million in lost income revenue waltz out of our state.
No need to worry now there’s 41 guaranteed packed house concert dates available at Phillips Arena.
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
4:02 pm
people have no problems packing the Dome for Falcons games?
Because people like football in the south!!! Hockey exists in the south mostly because of transplants from the north who mostly live outside the perimeter. The location could be a problem if the team is lousy. If the team was always good location shouldn’t be an issue for any sports franchise.
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
4:03 pm
Bailout the Thrashers????? The people of ATL are b!tching and moaning about the city helping the Falcons build a new stadium and unlike the Thrashers the Falcons actually have a large fan base.
PeteyNice
May 23rd, 2011
4:06 pm
@George Mychkovsky
I completely disagree. What the Thrashers were experiencing were not “poor times”. The team was bad by design as the ASG did nothing to support it. When you have a team that has made the playoffs once in its time here (and not won a game), being run on the cheap with no evidence that it is getting better, why would you support it? If you limited the league to cities that would still show up in such an environment you would have 10-12 teams in this league.
All of those teams, except maybe the Browns, have seen more success than the Thrashers have since they have been in Atlanta (all of them have reached the second round and/or made the playoffs multiple times since the Thrashers started).
If ownership wants people to buy their product, the product has to be compelling. The Thrashers have not been compelling for years. Can’t blame the fans at all. If the Thrashers move it is strictly a failure of ownership.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
4:09 pm
Again I see more complaining how it’s the NHL’s fault or the current ASG ownership’s fault that the team didn’t succeed in the Atlanta market. Again I ask, why did Columbus put up such good numbers with the EXACT SAME PRODUCT? Look at the comparison of league rankings this decade for NHL attendance between Columbus and Atlanta:
Yr – CBJ – Atl
’01 – 12 – 23
’02 – 08 – 28
’03 – 11 – 28
’04 – 15 – 22
’05 – NA – NA
’06 – 17 – 23
’07 – 19 – 21
’08 – 28 – 22
’09 – 25 – 29
’10 – 22 – 28
’11 – 27 – 28
Take the ‘03 (2002-2003) year. While yes, Columbus did have a hot new rookie by the name of Rick Nash. But you had a hotter one who won the Calder Trophy in Dany Heatley. You also had a 2nd year player in Ilya Kovalchuk that Columbus didn’t have. You also had Ted Turner as an owner. You also have 5.3 million people while Columbus only has about a million and a half. Yet they were on their 3rd year in a row of top 12 attendance (INCLUDING 6 CANADIAN TEAMS) and you were on your 2nd year in a row of being 3rd worst in the league.
Atlanta failed when it had Ted Turner as an owner and the hottest young talent in the league. Stop blaming Gary Bettman and the current ownership. It was you who didn’t come out to watch Ted’s team with Heatley and Kovalchuk as the developing core. Columbus with a far less population size showed a much greater appreciation for the sport of hockey even though BOTH of the Blue Jacket and Thrasher franchises had 1 playoff appearance in 11 years and no playoff wins.
Joe Friday
May 23rd, 2011
4:10 pm
“The location of Philips is not the problem. If you think it is, please explain to me how people have no problems packing the Dome for Falcons games? They’re in the same place.”
Well, uh, see there’s this little thing about the Falcons playing on Sundays. You know, when there’s no traffic? And the Thrashers play at 7pm on weeknights at the height of the 2nd worst rush hour traffic in the nation.
We've Been Bamboozled.....
May 23rd, 2011
4:13 pm
There’s an interesting wrinkle in this entire affair. The Thrashers could end up staying for a lame duck season in Atlanta even if True North buys the team. In order to get Board of Governors approval for the sale, 23 teams would have to vote yes; in order to relocate the team, it would only require 16 teams to vote yes. Considering the travel headaches that the Eastern Conference teams would have to endure since the team would remain where they current are conference-wise and division-wise for this season, that’s potentially 14 teams voting no on relocation. I could also see the three teams in the Western Conference rumored to be the team making the eventual move to the Eastern Conference, Detroit, Columbus, and Nashville (assuming that the eventual realignment isn’t a radical realignment) potentially voting against relocation as well.
Making a case for the sale is easy, making the case for relocation isn’t.
One thing that is getting overlooked in most articles is TNSE’s AHL team. They’re going to have to be relocated at some point and they’re currently Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, so a change in affiliation would be in order as well, regardless of where the Thrashers play next season if bought by TNSE.
If the NHL really wanted to stick it to ASG, they’d vote down the sale and force ASG to own to the team for at least another season.
I really think that the NHL ought to settle the Phoenix matter before allowing any teams to relocate. If the Thrashers are sold and relocated and the NHL takes the amount of cash they’ve been rumored to be taking from both ASG and TNSE, then the City of Glendale ought to yank their agreement to fund up to $25 million in losses for the Coyotes this upcoming season.
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
4:15 pm
Well, uh, see there’s this little thing about the Falcons playing on Sundays. You know, when there’s no traffic? And the Thrashers play at 7pm on weeknights at the height of the 2nd worst rush hour traffic in the nation.
And there are maybe 5,000 passionate Thrashers fans in Atlanta compared to the 200,000 passionate Falcon fans.
Ryan
May 23rd, 2011
4:17 pm
CViv,
This is just a facade so they can publish the fact tomorrow that the team is sold. This info is simply to feed the public with the notion that the ASG had no other options. We know they are sold and we are just waiting for the annoucement Tuesday. Remember we’ve already seen the story. As everyone has said numerous times, ASG should be ashamed of themselves for what they’ve done to this team and their fans. This is pathetic.
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
4:22 pm
OHL – why are you here?…pouring salt in the wounds fun for you?
There are two sports entities in Columbus…OSU and the Jackets. Atlanta has the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, Gladiators, UGA, Georgia Tech and Georgia State. There is only so much money to be spent on pro sports. When the owners of a team make no comittment to winning, they were held accountable. Hottest young talent???? We had Kovy, Heatley and Savvy. Great line, yes…but how many 3 man teams are winning in this, or any league?
You don’t live here. All of your info is second hand. We the fans of the team and the STH’s witness it first hand. I’d say our account of what happened here is substantially more accurate.
PeteyNice
May 23rd, 2011
4:23 pm
@OHL
Oh please that is apples and oranges. There is only one pro team in Columbus so their honeymoon phase lasted longer. Look at now, people are getting tired of losing there too. Earlier in this decade you couldn’t give away Blackhawks tickets. Back in the 80’s Joe Louis Arena was a ghost town. Does that mean people in Chicago and Detroit don’t “appreciate” hockey. Of course not. When ownership doesn’t care and the team is dreadful people stay home. It is not unique to Atlanta.
Joe Friday
May 23rd, 2011
4:28 pm
“And there are maybe 5,000 passionate Thrashers fans in Atlanta”
Wrong. There were 5000 passionate fans still paying to go down there every night as of April 2011. There are easily another 10000 passionate fans that will jump at the chance to buy tickets again once the Spirit is out of the way, in fact I’d bet that if the NHL threw down the gauntlet and said 15000 season tix sold and we’ll take over the club and find you a hockey owner, we’d sell that many in a week.
It’s like the Spirit intentionally tried to ruin the team, the first change I’ve asked for over the past several years is to move the weekday start time to 8pm. Some folks thought that would prevent families from going, but it wound up with the few that wanted to take their kids on a weeknight anyway wound up sitting down there in a half empty (or worse) arena. Move start time back to 7:40 puck drop or better yet 8pm and the place would sell out from people being able to drive down there after rush hour, if we had competent ownership.
Again, the message those not in town don’t get is that there are literally millions of people that moved here over the past 20 years from Original 6 and other northern cities. If the ownership was ever was good, all those folks would come back (yes, they used to come until the Spirit broke their spirit, I used to sit next to them at games and hang in the smoking area with them).
PeteyNice
May 23rd, 2011
4:29 pm
I never understood the late weekday start people. If you start a game at 8 then it won’t end until ~10:30. So you aren’t getting home until 11ish at best and then get up and go to work the next day? That sounds pretty awful to me.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
4:30 pm
glovesave29, be very careful when making the argument that “Columbus does better in Atlanta because Atlanta has the Hawks, Braves, Falcons…” All you are doing is setting up the exact same argument that it is better for Winnipeg to have the Thrashers because they, like Columbus, do not have the Hawks, Braves, Falcons, etc. I also have to doubt that the Georgia Tech and Georgia State interest combined equals that of Ohio State.
As for any other arguments about a 3 man line not winning, but why did Columbus support a 1 man line of Nash better than you supported a 3 man line of Savard, Heatley and Kovalchuk? And you had Ted Turner as an owner. Why does Columbus watch the Olympics, the Winter Classic, the Stanley Cup Finals when you can only beat Miami in tv ratings for any hockey programming?
Numbers don’t lie, so don’t say that I only have “2nd hand knowledge”. I am just sick of the whole “we got screwed” victim card you guys are playing. As well, you should be happy. I am now a firm supporter of expansion hockey in the US. It’s just that it’s not Atlanta, it’s Columbus. I am going to put up a huge argument the next time someone says Nash should be a Leaf and it will be completely factual and in favor of a US expansion team. Isn’t that good?
EMerckx69
May 23rd, 2011
4:31 pm
@Billsen – The location of Philips is not the problem. If you think it is, please explain to me how people have no problems packing the Dome for Falcons games? They’re in the same place.
________________________________________________________________________
Lets see, because it’s the NFL. Another reason that is pretty obvious the Falcons play 8 home games while the Thrashers play 41. I’m a longtime season ticketholder for the Falcons and the Thrashers. I can tell you there have been plenty of games over the years that I could not give away Falcons tickets.
There are 5 seperate ice rinks on the north side of Atlanta within 25 miles of each other. These rinks are packed for youth and adult leagues nightly. That’s why the arena needs to be in N. Fulton or Gwinnett and not downtown. Remember it is better to be thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt Billsen.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
4:34 pm
PeteyNice, there will only be 1 pro team in Winnipeg. So don’t use the argument that Columbus only has 1 team and Atlanta many and that’s why Columbus does better. You’re just saying Winnipeg will do better. Also, why did Columbus rank #10 in tv ratings for this year’s Winter Classic if they don’t support hockey better than you do? Why do they rank so high in other things like the Olympics or Stanley Cup Finals? Why do the Blue Jacket games rank in the top 10 nationally and you only beat out Miami?
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
4:34 pm
5 rinks – 8 sheets of ice. The truest numbers would be seen in the number of roller rinks. They are everywhere….
Sage of Bluesland
May 23rd, 2011
4:40 pm
“…It was you who didn’t come out to watch Ted’s team with Heatley and Kovalchuk as the developing core…..”
Ted was out of the picture early on, having sold to Time-Warner. He had absolutely nothing to do with this team after naming it and assembling the initial management structure.
Heatley and Kovalchuk together??? We had that all of 2.5 years…and the 0.5 of that was under the cloud of Heatley’s accident.
Another point of observation: Columbus’ clown of a GM was held accountable and fired when it became evident he didn’t know how to properly build a team. Ours never was. Ours continued to bluster in the media. Ours continued to be an insult to our collective intelligence. Ours continued to tell its veteran players they were overpaid as it was. Ours continued to pee in our pocket and tell us it was only raining.
This team was unloved and unfunded properly from the start. It didn’t take long to see it–and most of us saw it…
EMerckx69
May 23rd, 2011
4:45 pm
@glovesave29 – 5 rinks – 8 sheets of ice. The truest numbers would be seen in the number of roller rinks. They are everywhere….
________________________________________________________________________
Very true. My son started playing roller hockey and moved over to ice after a few years. Now I see most of the roller hockey players moving over to ice as well.
And with the 8 sheets of ice there is still a demand for more. If the Thrashers leave I’m sure the legue fees will increase in Dulth this year. Get ready for the sticker shock at the Ice Forum if they lose that revenue from the Thrashers.
PeteyNice
May 23rd, 2011
4:46 pm
@OHL
I don’t doubt that people in WInnipeg will turn up to watch bad hockey more readily than people in Atlanta. In an arena that holds fewer than 17000 fans and little to no corporate base to draw on, they will need to depend on that or they are in trouble. With such a small arena even if they sell out every night they would be in the low 20’s in a league wide attendance ranking. While the Thrashers, if they ever put a competitive team on the ice, could easily be top 10.
No comments on the lack of attendance in Detroit and Chicago huh? Yeah I know it shows had pathetic your argument is but still to just ignore it? That is sad.
Joe Friday
May 23rd, 2011
4:47 pm
“I never understood the late weekday start people. If you start a game at 8 then it won’t end until ~10:30. So you aren’t getting home until 11ish at best and then get up and go to work the next day? That sounds pretty awful to me.”
You must be from the Central or Mountain time zones? In the EST, we’d an hour later with everything, 11pm is not that late (prime time TV here is 8pm to 11pm, the local news starts at 11pm). Moving the start time to 7pm was the first stupid decision that started driving season ticket holders away . . .
Some honor left
May 23rd, 2011
4:55 pm
Some questions:
1. Would another rally help things?
2. Is the door totally closed on the Balkan? – if so – why?
3. How many season tickets for next year have been sold. Doesn’t that force them to keep the team here? Selling what can’t be delivered is fraud.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
4:56 pm
PeteyNice, Chicago was blacking out local home games, that is the only reason they had low success in some times. Show me your sources for Detroit’s low attendance numbers. Detroit is a hockey market and watches many other things related to hockey. CCHA does very well there. They get good tv ratings. Atlanta has shown nothing to make others believe they are a hockey town. You say that “the Thrashers, if they ever put a competitive team on the ice, could easily be top 10.” What are you basing that on, the year they went to the playoffs and couldn’t break into the top 20 in NHL attendance?
Lee
May 23rd, 2011
4:58 pm
I’ve been a Thrashers fan ever since they started. Despite multiple years of missing the playoffs, my love for the team has never gone away. We all knew the news was coming, but not until now did it hit me that Atlanta would not have a hockey team. No more going to games or practices, no more hockey at Phillips Arena, and no more of hanging out with some of the most loyal hockey fans I’ve ever known. It’s a shame and it will get some getting used to, but I’m glad the team will get to be under an ownership they deserve. I’m disappointed but I’ll still follow the Winnipeg Jets. Why? Because this is still the same team I love and even though they will be all the way in Canada doesn’t change my view of them at all. So with that said…. GO THRASHERS
BELIEVE IN BLUELAND…..
Chris, do you have any idea what the jersey might look like if they move?
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
4:59 pm
Well OHL – just because YOU are tired of the argument does not make it any less true.
True GT + GSU does not equal OSU. However if you add UGA – it likely FAR exceeds it…
The point I am making is that the sports dollar is spread thinner here. No one disputes there are less options in Winnipeg, thus attendance would likely be better. When every other team here is qualifying for the playoffs, and one team is BELOW the salary floor….
Turner sold the team in it’s infacy…it was a Time / Warner property before we ever took the ice.
…and numbers DO lie. I can get 10 accountants in a room to look at the ASG’s books and you will get 10 different perspectives. Just like people argue over politics and govt spending…because you see in it what you want to.
This does not address the one issue…why are you here? You have the Free Press in Winnipeg. Talk amongst your peers. Rubbing salt in the wounds of the fans who are losing their team is just making you look like a (expletive deleted)…
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
5:06 pm
Sage of Bluesland, when Columbus had their bad GM, they were in the top 12 in attendance. You at the same time we in the bottom 3. You can’t use the bad GM argument when Columbus supported a team very well with a bad GM.
You say that Ted Turner had nothing to do with the team. But Time Warner or someone else did. Fact is, it wasn’t your current ownership group, and you didn’t support the team that Time Warner put on the ice. How many teams in the league this season had a top line as good as Savard-Heatley-Kovalchuk? You did but you didn’t support it.
You say that “This team was unloved and unfunded properly from the start.” That’s because you didn’t buy tickets from the start. Your 2nd year in the league you were #23 and the next 2 years you were #28. Complain all you want but you didn’t buy tickets when Columbus did and they had a worse team than you did.
PeteyNice
May 23rd, 2011
5:09 pm
@OHL, they had a bad team and an owner that didn’t care? Wait! Where have I seen that before! Even with a bad owner fans still turned up when they were good. As for the Red WIngs, go back and look. The team was terrible and people were clamoring for an arena in the suburbs. Then they started winning and all of the sudden people didn’t care about going into downtown Detroit.
I say this because the Thrashers have a bigger arena which would be full if the team ever gave fans a reason to fill it. Even the year the Thrashers made the playoffs I would not say the team was good. They scored one more goal than they allowed and only got the 3 seed because they won the division. They had the 5th most points that year.
Anders Hedberg
May 23rd, 2011
5:17 pm
It appears ice hockey didn’t work out. I am guessing Atlanta might also be a tough market for cross country skiing, girls’ ringette and curling.
Rob
May 23rd, 2011
5:20 pm
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
GO JETS GO !!!
EMerckx69
May 23rd, 2011
5:29 pm
@Rob – The NFL owners have currently locked out the players. The NY Jets along with the rest of the NFL will resume in August or September.
OMGoalie
May 23rd, 2011
5:30 pm
It makes you wonder if ASG is desperate to get the Thrashers out of town because they’re afraid if someone buys them and manages them properly that they’ll succeed. Everyone wants to shift the blame to the fan base and Atlanta being a ‘hockey town’ when they should be focused on the failure of the ownership to do what was necessary to win. There’s plenty of hockey here, from the Gladiators (top 5 in attendance in the ECHL), to the youth programs, adult leagues, and college hockey. ASG made no money with the Thrashers because hockey fans were not willing to put money into the pockets of incompetent ownership, and I don’t blame them. You don’t go to the store and pick the product off the shelf that doesn’t work. We want to stand by our team, we want to be proud of Blueland, and we want to cheer harder than any other fans in the league, but how can we if ASG obviously didn’t want us to. Now the fans in Atlanta are left crushed with the entire hockey world’s snotty fingers pointed at them. About how we were never good enough, and we never ‘deserved’ hockey. It’s the other way around. The hockey here didn’t deserve us.
moriler
May 23rd, 2011
5:30 pm
Uh, guys, if it isn’t obvious by now that OHL is just making stuff up to try to get a rise, it should’ve been obvious after he signed back in as “Rob” to post noise.
Don’t know why the lazy schmucks at the AJC don’t ban both Canadian ISPs (Rogers and Qwest) and have done with it, honestly.
EMerckx69
May 23rd, 2011
5:43 pm
@moriler Uh, guys, if it isn’t obvious by now that OHL is just making stuff up to try to get a rise, it should’ve been obvious after he signed back in as “Rob” to post noise.
Don’t know why the lazy schmucks at the AJC don’t ban both Canadian ISPs (Rogers and Qwest) and have done with it, honestly.
________________________________________________________________________
If the Thrashers leave I will be dissapointed, but I want to so the group of players I’ve been cheering for all these years succed. It makes it really hard to want to do that with all theses Winnipeg fans making it worse.
Shutterpups
May 23rd, 2011
5:49 pm
PeteyNice, can you provide some supporting info that Winnipeg has no corporate base? Are the Moose suffering from lack of corporate support as well?
Baldheaded Thrasher Fan
May 23rd, 2011
5:54 pm
SOB…
‘ Ted was out of the picture early on, having sold to Time-Warner. He had absolutely nothing to do with this team after naming it and assembling the initial management structure.
Baldheaded Thrasher Fan
May 23rd, 2011
5:56 pm
My Bad Beau and SYDEll WOULD never be part of the deal without TED.
OMGoalie
May 23rd, 2011
5:58 pm
@Shutterpups The fact that TNSE went to the local government asking for tax payer assistance to help fund the operation is a pretty good sign that they’re a bit short on funds and aren’t having a super easy time finding corporate sponsors to step up. I mean…that’s pretty obvious.
Not the Fans Fault
May 23rd, 2011
5:59 pm
11 years one playoff appearance lose. Traded away an allstar team, never could get it right. The DonWadell Curse. Poor marketing. Had to go thru tickmaster, can’t get the seats you want and then get ripped even more. We love hockey (still mad about the Flames), just had to put up with a joke of an organization. Sad!!! We deserve better.
Buzzeng
May 23rd, 2011
6:02 pm
Maybe we fans should talk to the ASG in the only language they will understand – a class action lawsuit.
PeteyNice
May 23rd, 2011
6:02 pm
@Shutterpups
An AHL team does not need to support a $40M+ payroll. Having corporations buy the luxury suites and club seats is less vital to success.
The largest employers in Winnipeg are public sector. It is not an economic center in the same way major Canadian cities (or Atlanta) are.
2mins
May 23rd, 2011
6:07 pm
Shutterpups
PeteyNice, can you provide some supporting info that Winnipeg has no corporate base? Are the Moose suffering from lack of corporate support as well?
OMGoalie
@Shutterpups The fact that TNSE went to the local government asking for tax payer assistance to help fund the operation is a pretty good sign that they’re a bit short on funds and aren’t having a super easy time finding corporate sponsors to step up. I mean…that’s pretty obvious.
Every private box in the MTS Centre for the Moose is sold out and there is a waiting list to buy. The current box holders were asked if they would be willing to pay 3 times what they pay now if the NHL comes. They all said Yes.
The money that the Province Of Manitoba ( not a local gov’t ) has pledged will go to upgrades and helping on the loan for the arena. The gov’t has said not one dime will go to team operations.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
6:10 pm
moriler,
You say that it’s “obvious by now that OHL is just making stuff up to try to get a rise”
I posted the rankings of NHL attendance for the Thrashers and the Blue Jackets. Here is my source – http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance/_/year/2002
What stuff am I making up?
Qwerty
May 23rd, 2011
6:10 pm
The heartbreak that Atlanta is feeling (and Winnipeg, Hartford, Quebec in the past) is a result of the static nature of leagues in North America. Imagine for a minute that, instead of being relocated to Winnipeg, the Thrashers would be demoted to the AHL for finishing near the bottom of the league. Imagine also that the top two teams in th AHL each year would be promoted to the NHL. In this case, franchises would be punished or rewards annually based on the quality of the product this put on the ice. Does that sound like a crazy idea? Well, it shouldn’t.
All international soccer leagues work just like that. Barcelona, Manchester, and Milan never leave the top division, but every year there are two new competitors to deal with (and sometimes they stick around for a decade). And it’s just not two level (they call then divisions). Some leagues go six divisions deep.
So it’s possible to start your own little village team, and if you keep succeeding, you keep getting promoted. And the best part: No team EVER relocates. There is disappointment when your team drops a division, but your heart is not torn out, like Atlanta fans are feeling now. Like mine was in Winnipeg 15 years ago.
I don’t feel what you feel, but I understand it.
Steve-o
May 23rd, 2011
6:13 pm
Don’t know why the lazy schmucks at the AJC don’t ban both Canadian ISPs (Rogers and Qwest) and have done with it, honestly.
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No, I don’t think AJC needs to block Canadian posters just because some overzealous Winnipeg fans are being a bit obnoxious. Outside views can be informative.
Anyway, what’s really offensive to me are the comments from local haters who gloat over the demise of the Thrashers just because they don’t like hockey.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
6:15 pm
moriler,
You say that it’s “obvious by now that OHL is just making stuff up to try to get a rise”
I posted that Columbus was the #10 market for the 2011 Winter Classic. Here is my source – http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/01/03/most-watched-nhl-winter-classic-ever-averages-4-5-million-viewers/77031/
What stuff am I making up?
Jake
May 23rd, 2011
6:22 pm
Despite claims to the contrary, I’m guessing there would be support here for NHL if properly presented. The ASG was in over its head from the start — a bunch of suits with overcharged egos. (Q: How many lawyers does it take to screw up a hockey franchise?) They ran the Thrashers like a rotisserie team, although that’s probably unfair to rotisserie guys who know what they’re doing. Bettman would probably let this team go to Patagonia if that’s what it took to shed those clowns.