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
Fart
May 23rd, 2011
10:09 am
Didn’t see that comin’..oh wait, I did.
Telfo
May 23rd, 2011
10:12 am
amazing that the NHL will let this happen when it is CLEAR that ASG is sabotaging any potential sale. nobody can even talk to ASG about buying all 3 properties because of the exclusivity deal with Moores and nobody is going to buy the team when they dont even know who will own the arena.
ranallo10 (in AT)
May 23rd, 2011
10:13 am
Are you able to elaborate on why the final prospective buyer is now out of the picture?
It seems a little strange that a deal is being fast-tracked with TNSE while there is a group showing any level of interest to keep the team where they are … I thought that was the top priority for the NHL (exhausting all possibilities to refrain from relocation BEFORE allowing the team to negotiate with new owners looking to relocate).
Smoothie
May 23rd, 2011
10:15 am
Thanks Chris but “probably, but not completely” may be the vaguest statement yet in all this. I know you’re only reporting what you’re allowed to, but that statement in and of itself seems very odd. Perhaps it is more BS from AS, LLC just to provide more cover for this fraudulent process to game the whole damn thing in their favor.
GaVaHokie
May 23rd, 2011
10:16 am
amazing that the NHL will let this happen when it is CLEAR that ASG is sabotaging any potential sale. nobody can even talk to ASG about buying all 3 properties because of the exclusivity deal with Moores and nobody is going to buy the team when they dont even know who will own the arena.
…This.
Thrash Fan
May 23rd, 2011
10:16 am
Chris,
Is the local buyer likely out of the picture because of the exclusive negotiations with Hawks/Phillips and Moores, or because he is not qualified?
Thanks.
The Balkan
May 23rd, 2011
10:16 am
Chris-
Please change your story to the following so the sheep around here feel better about our chances:
It appears the talks between ASG and TNSE have ended. Arthur Blank has stepped up to buy the Thrashers after the massive turnout of 50,000 at the rally on Saturday. Crosby, Ovechkin, and the Sedin twins have committed to playing here next year for free.” But the BEST news is John Kincade has agreed not to get involved.
Spud Webb
May 23rd, 2011
10:17 am
Gary Bettman is a FRAUD and a JOKE as is the ASG group. Total idiots…no class….LOSERS.
Over it all
May 23rd, 2011
10:18 am
Please, there was never a real buyer to keep team local. ASG doesn’t want a team here, period. So over the NHL and this story that I am done with the sport for a good long while.
sisu
May 23rd, 2011
10:19 am
As I mentioned in the last blog has anyone looked at the actual finances of the team or is it all hear say from ASG? Not that it matters much…
This Guy Right Here
May 23rd, 2011
10:19 am
Telfo is 100% correct. The ASG never had any intention of keeping the Thrashers in Atlanta, and it is very obvious what they’re trying to do right now. There is no incentive for anyone to buy the Thrashers at the moment.
Chris Vivlamore, thanks for never hyping up this BS “Balkan” story. What a complete joke that turned out to be.
Brett
May 23rd, 2011
10:23 am
Telfo I agree 100% with you comments! I believe this is a personal FU from the ASG to the fans who questioned their commitment to the team. I question the legitimacy of the search for a local buyer. This is an inside job by Bettman & co to protect his ego and he found a more than willing partner with ASG!
To the Thrashers players — enjoy the frozen tundra! You can thank ASG and the NHL for this failure!
G52PIM228
May 23rd, 2011
10:23 am
You Thrasher fans are the WORST in hockey. You don’t deserve an NHL team, At least we are keeping OUR team in Phoenix you LOSERS.
Coyotes Rule !
Thrash Fan
May 23rd, 2011
10:26 am
I doubt the Hawks or the Arena will actually be sold. We all know that ASG always wanted the basketball team and the arena, but never wanted the Thrashers.
ASG is sabotaging this sale! And the NHL is just standing by watching, because they get $60 million if the Thrashers are relocated.
Thrash Fan
May 23rd, 2011
10:27 am
Coyotes Rule? No, Coyotes are bankrupt.
If Arizona didn’t subscribe to socialism, our team wouldn’t be in this situation.
Canuck
May 23rd, 2011
10:32 am
We in Vancouver feel your pain, Atlanta. Michael Heisley and his gang of crooks lied to us months when the plan was always to move the NBA Grizzlies out of here (eventually to Memphis). The guy even sang the freakin’ Canadian anthem to convince us of his good intentions. Phony. It hurts.
William Satterwhite
May 23rd, 2011
10:35 am
Has there been any indication as to why all of the local buyers have fizzled out almost as quickly as they come on the scene? I know there are NDAs in play but do those still apply after a potential buyer has been ruled out?
michael k
May 23rd, 2011
10:37 am
Reminds me of that charlie sheen movie. Major league. The owner Tried to sabatoge the team so the owner could relocate them. I’m surprised asg didn’t make the thrashers ride buses to the games.
shootoutloss
May 23rd, 2011
10:40 am
@ G52PIM228
You have a playoff caliber team and you still can’t fill half the arena. Great fans, right?
winnipeg
May 23rd, 2011
10:41 am
Enter your comments here
winnipeg
May 23rd, 2011
10:43 am
NHL IS returning to the peg via Thrashers… it will NOT be called the MOOSE. I have inside info on that. It is also MAY not be the jets… TNSE leaning towards Manitoba Polar Bears…. i hope it is either the MB Jets or MB Falcons.
The Balkan
May 23rd, 2011
10:45 am
Jay Clemons……….paging Jay Clemons…….John Kincade on line 1
Bluestreak
May 23rd, 2011
10:45 am
Winnipeg,
If this does go through, please promise us long-suffering Thrahers fans one thing…you’ll make Don Waddell move to the Peg before you fire him during the first intermission of the home opener.
He has the hockey accumen of a brick. And don’t let him get with the former Jets that live in the area. Just listen to Dan Brouchard’s comments on his commitment of working with players of the former local team here.
Kelly
May 23rd, 2011
10:45 am
William Satterwhite: I think it’s pretty obvious that the local ‘buyers’ petered out because they didn’t have the financial wherewithal to own the team. Tom Glavine even admitted as such. They were either pretenders like the fools at Ice Edge who thought they could own the Coyotes or they were like that Detroit guy facing so many lawsuits attacking his integrity. Any business is only ever worth a multiple of what the new owner believes he can make (that’s why they talk about price-to-earnings ratios). A business that has no track record of profitability isn’t going to be worth much, now is it? Certainly not $170 million. Winnipeg’s owners will pay that because it becomes a logical investment in a venue that is annually in the Top 10 entertainment venues in North America. And because one of Winnipeg’s owners makes that much money just getting out of bed…
CJJScout
May 23rd, 2011
10:46 am
Telfo correct? Will wonders never cease.
Matt the Brave
May 23rd, 2011
10:46 am
Saw a thing on the tube this last weekend…will Atlanta get another team from the NHL? The question to me is the way that the NHL has treated Atlanta, do we really want them here? Also love that they bailed out ‘The Great One’s’ team but is letting the Thrashers flap in the wind.
bananahead
May 23rd, 2011
10:47 am
It is apparent that the fans, families, kids, and hockey in general means nothing to ASG and the NHL. There is no reason whatsoever to let a bunch of fraudulent owners slowly, but intentionally and surely, destroy hockey in this city and the NHL is approving of it. It is a disgrace, and in no way reflects the fans of this town. To become a fan of hockey and/or a team, you have to have the sport and team presented in a way that is attractive. Actually, you just have to present it period, something the owners have never attempted to do in a positive way.
Don’t blame the fans. If you want to blame the lack of fans, blame the owners that prevented people from becoming fans.
And for any trollers out there, if you want this team, take the owners with you and then you will see the real situation.
BTW, compare attendance of the Thrashers to the attendance of the Winnepeg Jets, and then lets talk about fan support.
Matt
May 23rd, 2011
10:47 am
Who freakin’ care WHAT they call the team in Pegger-ville? I hope they keep Don Waddell as president so you folks can suffer for the same 11 years we did with this franchise. Let’s see how well your attendance does after not making the playoffs year after year after year. God, I hate the ASG.
Tim
May 23rd, 2011
10:50 am
Nobody wants to own this team in Atlanta. End OF STORY.
T
May 23rd, 2011
10:50 am
I think they should be called the Winnipeg Legs
Kelly
May 23rd, 2011
10:50 am
Oh, and make no mistake: the deal is done.
The reporter who broke the story confirmed with two independent sources. Plus he works for the new owner. David Thomson did not order The Globe and Mail, which he owns, to print a retraction. All this talk about the deal not being done is just spin to avoid Saturday’s ‘rally’ from being a total bust and to let TNSE announce the purchase on its schedule. Which will be tomorrow.
While Bettman hides, Thrashers’ slow death near complete | Jeff Schultz
May 23rd, 2011
10:51 am
[...] Chris Vivlamore has a new blog posted this morning, stating that the last potential bidder to purchase the Thrashers and keep them [...]
Tim
May 23rd, 2011
10:55 am
@Thrash Fan, that’s not 100% true. If the Coyotes went back to Winnipeg the Thrashers still have crap ownership that doesn’t care about the team. It might have just delayed the Thrashers leaving. No owner found a year from now and they are moving to Quebec, Portland or Kansas City.
Sorry Thrasher fans this appears to be all but done.
jhf
May 23rd, 2011
10:58 am
telflo – nobody will own the arena, just some part of the operating rights
Chainz
May 23rd, 2011
11:01 am
Get rid of the Thrashers and the Hawks……… hell of a way to clean out the loserville……… Turn Phillips back into what it should be….. A Concert Hall……
party it up
May 23rd, 2011
11:01 am
to generate more “support” for the thrashers, how about another one of those blowout parties by the gulch with 200 people and the atlanta hawks mascot? that should convince buyers of the town’s “interest” in hockey!
William Satterwhite
May 23rd, 2011
11:02 am
Kelly: Pretty obvious to who? There hasn’t even been any information released about who the local buyers included outside of Glavine and the only public comments that have gotten out regarding the efforts to keep the team in Atlanta were Dan Bouchard mentioning that he’s worked with the Glavine group and saying that ASG has made things too difficult to negotiate a fair deal locally. Bill Gates or Warren Buffett couldn’t negotiate to purchase an item if the seller doesn’t deal with them fairly.
Curious George
May 23rd, 2011
11:02 am
Why isn’t Tom Glavine calling David McDavid yet for a lunch date?
jw
May 23rd, 2011
11:07 am
I’m thinking the NHL is behind the scenes pushing this deal for Winnipeg. They built the new facility and the community has invested a lot of dollars into having a team return, so I suspect it is a matter of time before it goes through. I think the NHL really wanted the Phoenix deal to go down the drain – since it didn’t, they will hasten the sale to keep Winnipeg happy and to not back down on the promise of hockey in Winnipeg. They do want the team, have the money, the fan base and seemingly the one thing ATL lacks – ownership that knows what they are doing – it’s very sad that the whole atlanta spirit group is nothing more than a tax shelter for a bunch of washed up business executives that drove two franchises to the outhouse so they could have penthouses when it all went sour. Our town deserves better – the fans are here, the commitment of the ownership isn’t! Too bad – letting Nashville, Carolina and Tampa Bay beat us at something is horrible!!!!!!!
Duke
May 23rd, 2011
11:09 am
Gladiators and Nashville in 11-12 I quess….3-4 hrs away better than nothing for us purists!
loosehead
May 23rd, 2011
11:09 am
I live 2 hrs north of Toronto and have been a Leafs’ fan and hockey fan all my life.I remember the trauma,the tears, the wailing,the gnashing of teeth in 95-96 when the Jets and Nordiques were relocated. I’m hearing the same now from y ou Thrasher fans and although I feel sorry for your impending loss,it makes sense what is going on.It appears,quite obviously to me,that Atlanta cannot support an NHL team.Not even local business people want to get involved.
Winter-peg will support their new team in great fashion and they will not have to give away tickets to add to the attendance numbers.Alas,the greatest hockey town in the world,Toronto,will probably have to suffer through another tough season again,albeit without a single unsold seat in the house.
Chris Vivlamore
May 23rd, 2011
11:11 am
Smoothie: Couple of quick things. Don’t assume my information comes from ASG. I’m just trying to let you know the news, that the last of the potential buyers to keep the team in Atlanta is just about out of the picture.
Thrash Fan: The final potential owner to keep the team here is just no longer interested. Sorry for that confusion.
Sisu: Any potential buyer/investor can (some have) look at preliminary financial figures. To go beyond that, they must provide proof of their financial wherewithall to look deeper.
This Guy Right Here: Thanks. It didn’t take very much reporting to figure out the guy was not able to deliver – despite what others told you and/or would have you believe. OH, and ripped me for. I continue to stand on my accurate reporting. It would have been good if someone was able to buy all three entities. It just wasn’t likely.
Toni
May 23rd, 2011
11:11 am
The exclusivity agreement on the Hawks and arena is proof that they never intended to sell the team to anyone local. You can’t negotiate for anything dealing with it until that expires. No one is gong to buy a team they don’t have an arena for, and Philips is the only NHL-caliber arena in town. So after only six months of being on the market our team will be gone.
This is just sabotage and unethical. It’s not fair that they were allowed to do this without anyone, including you Mr. Vivlamore, calling them out on it and trying to get something to change. This is disgusting.
So much for “good faith effort” in finding local buyers.
jarvis
May 23rd, 2011
11:11 am
loosehead, why would our local businesses try to save this franchise? The entire League is nothing but a money pit.
Versus….f’ing Versus. I don’t even know what channel that is.
schmeckdawg
May 23rd, 2011
11:12 am
Out of curiosity, what does John “The Mouth” Kincade have to do with anything. I mean yes, it is nauseating to listen to his know it all mouth but, does he have any say on what happens with the Thrashers?
Chris Vivlamore
May 23rd, 2011
11:13 am
Toni: I can tell you that there was plenty of time before an exclusivity agreement was signed on the Hawks and arena for someone to buy – or express credible interest – in all three. Such agreements typically only last 30 days and may well be up soon.
jw
May 23rd, 2011
11:13 am
To add to my rant – they’ll probably make the playoffs next year, more salt in the wounds of the fans that expected an ownership group that could get their act together for the good of the community. You could pick any 7 sports fans off the street and have better ownership responsibility – that’s sad!!!!!!!! Do the sporting public a favor ASG and just go away -
Fart
May 23rd, 2011
11:14 am
Coyotes will be moving to Atlanta at the end of next season.
jw
May 23rd, 2011
11:17 am
The NHL and Mr. Bettman may be dumb, not stupid, though! Our province is out of luck! Turn off the icemaker and sell the Zamboni – it’s over! LOL!
schmeckdawg
May 23rd, 2011
11:18 am
Did all of the members of the ASG go to either Lovett, Westminster or Marist? It sure feels like they did!
DD
May 23rd, 2011
11:22 am
SO WHERE IS TOM GLAVINE, MOVIE PRODUCER AND TED TURNER, I GUESS THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT ATL LIKE THE MAYOR wish we had the mayor that phoenix has who cares about the city. Hello bad economy welcome to ATLANTA…….
I cannot believe these owners do not care about ATL but only the money like the NHL
sk82goal
May 23rd, 2011
11:24 am
I know nobody from either side cares but the players don’t want to go to Winnipeg. I was part of a group conversation with a player last weeek and he said he and his teamates don’t want to play there. Once they finish their contracts they will go elsewhere. If they feel that way, it will be difficult for this group to lure top players into that market. I know money talks, but it isn’t the only reason for someone to play somewhere. They will not be able to build a winning team there anyway.
PMC
May 23rd, 2011
11:27 am
Isn’t Don Waddell in charge of finding local buyers?
Considering anything good done by his hand since 1998 has been in spite of his leadership how could anyone expect anything different?
PMC
May 23rd, 2011
11:29 am
Team probably winds up in Hamilton anyhow.
EA
May 23rd, 2011
11:29 am
Chris Mason wants to go. He can take a hike as far as I am concerned. He was horrible. That last game against the Pens, I could have stopped more shots then him. The game didn’t matter, but when I saw him mucking it up with his friends after the game, it made me mad. There are things I won’t miss-Atlanta residents in other jerseys acting obnoxious to Thrasher fans. This does not include the nice people who wore their home town jerseys to the Atlanta games.
dawgfan
May 23rd, 2011
11:29 am
Obviously not enough people care about hockey here in the south. Let them move to Canada where hockey belongs.
ExposMoose
May 23rd, 2011
11:30 am
Hockey belongs to Canada, go and cheer for Matty Ice. Leave the game to the real fans, thanks for 2 teams ATL!!
This Guy Right Here
May 23rd, 2011
11:31 am
Chris Vivlamore: If I recall correctly, this last potential buyer to keep the team local only submitted a term sheet. Did it ever proceed past that stage where actual finances were discussed, or an offer was made?
Also, do you think the ASG has no intentions of selling the Thrashers to a group interested in keeping the team local? I can’t help but think the negotiation exclusivity for Hawks/PA is preventing them from discussing any sort of revenue-sharing system with potential buyers, thus removing any incentive to purchase the team. It makes me very skeptical about a “good faith” effort to keep the team local. I understand if you don’t want to speculate though. Thanks.
EA
May 23rd, 2011
11:33 am
Didn’t Michael Gearon go to Marist? I think so.
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
11:35 am
Who care’s it’s just Hockey. The NHL should do itself a favor reduce the league to 20 teams and locate them all in the North/Northeast and Canada.
Winipeg Blows
May 23rd, 2011
11:36 am
I’ve been to Winnipeg on a couple of occasions. Eughh. What a dull, dreary, flat, old, boring city. I feel sorry for all the Thrashers who have to relocate there.
Hope Don goes and right after he gets settled. BAM!!! You’re fired!!!!
yomama
May 23rd, 2011
11:37 am
This is the dirty south…hockey is just that….HOCKEY!! We are a football nation/state and Hockey is a canadian sport and we hate canadians in the south! So if Atlanta cannot support Hockey do you think we can support, Georgia State Football, Kennesaw Football and Now a Mercer football team in Macon?
Relocation News: All Winnipeg NHL related news Day 4 | Illegal Curve Hockey
May 23rd, 2011
11:39 am
[...] Journal Constitution: Last local buyer in Atlanta likely out. That would appear to be the end of the Thrashers in Atlanta. Only possible rescue would [...]
Bobby G
May 23rd, 2011
11:40 am
I’ll miss the Thrashers but this just proves I need to move to a real sports city that can handle all sports leagues.
GoCanes
May 23rd, 2011
11:40 am
Hey loosehead- got a suggestion for ya.
If the folks in southern Ontario want a new NHL franchise, and Winnipeg beats y’all to the punch this time around, have the NHL open another franchise in the bastion and beacon of sports markets, metro Atlanta. Given what happened with the Flames and now the birds, Canada would have another ATL-transplanted franchise in 5- 12 years.
You can bank on it.
schmeckdawg
May 23rd, 2011
11:40 am
Just think of all the rockin’ concerts that will be rolling into Phillips Arena in place of those 41 wasted Thrashers home games!!
FAIL
May 23rd, 2011
11:41 am
@Don Waddell
Hey Don,
How’s that 5 year plan working out for ya?
This Guy Right Here
May 23rd, 2011
11:44 am
Bobby G., Agreed. Indifference towards professional sports in this town, yet an unhealthy obsession with lower skill college sports is not typical in a city the size of Atlanta. When people criticize Atlanta for being a bad sports town, they are correct. Very little passion or support for our teams.
loosehead
May 23rd, 2011
11:48 am
You are right,jarvis.Money pit sums it up.If I told you what it costs to go to a Leafs’ game: tickets,parking,beer,food,you’d have a stroke!! That’s to pay for the obscene wages etc.that are needed to run a franchise in the NHL.
Garth
May 23rd, 2011
11:53 am
Funny, Columbus Georgia fills their rink every game for the Columbus Cottenmouths and Gwinnett does about the same for the Gladiators, so I’m not so sure fans don’t support hockey in the South; but when you get owners and management who are pure bufoons I guess you have to expect this. Don Waddell, and I’ve met the scum bag, has been lying to Thrasher fans for years and he continued to lie to us right up until the exit. Go to Canada and freeze your lying asses.
Thrash Fan
May 23rd, 2011
11:55 am
@jw
If you’re going to troll by acting like a local Atlantan, saying things like “Our province is out of luck”, I have a word of advice: we call them states. Not provinces.
loosehead
May 23rd, 2011
11:58 am
Good logic,GoCanes,
With hockey fever here all year long and with a population in the Greater Toronto Area of over 6 million,we could support 2 more teams.Get on that,mate,another team in Atlanta and a few years down the road,Hamilton will surely get a franchise from down there.Should be another one in Toronto as well.
Eric
May 23rd, 2011
12:02 pm
You guys are nuts, this is a business that is losing millions of dollars every year. If they ASG can sell it why wouldnt they. There is an enormous difference in this situation and the one in Phoenix. The NHL had to get involved in Phonenix because the owners filed for bankrupcy and they had to take over. There was also someone willing to buy the team and keep them in Phoenix, that is not the case here. I am with you on the fact that the ASG has been a joke and the whole Thrashers organization has been a joke, but if no one is willing to buy the team and keep them here, what do you want the NHL to do?
R. Stroz
May 23rd, 2011
12:05 pm
Gearon Jr. went to Marist and played on the basketball team. Imagine that.
the NHL wants the check
May 23rd, 2011
12:05 pm
This crap about there not being anyone who wants to own the team in Atlanta is exactly that…crap. Now, maybe they don’t want to pay the price that the ASG is asking but they DO want to own the team in Atlanta.
This is simple folks. The NHL wants that $60 million dollars they’re going to get for the move.
Bob Batchelor
May 23rd, 2011
12:06 pm
Just a complete scam by Bettman and the NHL. Enjoy the Gwinnett Gladiators hockey because that is all Atlanta will have thanks to the Thrashers inept owners!
georgianativehockeyfanatic
May 23rd, 2011
12:06 pm
Heck I’m still PO’d over the Flames leaving Atlanta…
R. Stroz
May 23rd, 2011
12:07 pm
During the time Gearon Jr. went to Marist, I had several friends that attended Marist as well. They called him an idiot…..and still do.
bologna
May 23rd, 2011
12:07 pm
Eric,
If that’s the case, why does the NHL still own the Coyotes and why didn’t they let the Winnipeg group buy them?
big time bidness
May 23rd, 2011
12:09 pm
http://www.atlantaspirit.com/
Rutherford Seydel
May 23rd, 2011
12:11 pm
If anyone has a problem with me, meet me in the Applebee’s parking lot in Kennesaw off Mall Boulevard. I’ve been eating cheese fries for the last hour and half (4 orders) and I’m ready to throw up on someone.
Ed Peskowitz
May 23rd, 2011
12:16 pm
Rutherford! You owe me $20!
Cheap bastid.
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
12:19 pm
Oh well, it’s over, time to move forward…
Time to pack out Gwinnett. Let’s get 10K per night there and make it a great place to play and to watch a game. Maybe in a few years we move up to the AHL. I’d like to see us be a feeder team for the Preds as their “rough and tumble” style of hockey will play well here. Lets go back into hockey history and call them the Flames or Knights. I am done with NHL hockey. Bettman is forsaking us to make up for the losses over in Phoenix. There has NEVER been a relocation fee…yet there is one here. Hmmm…not too tough to figure out what’s going on here…
ASG Morons
May 23rd, 2011
12:22 pm
Does ASG not realize that they will recieve more money from a buyer willing to leave team in Atlanta even if it is 50 million less that True North? Well I guess that shows that even morons can become millionares!
Wade
May 23rd, 2011
12:30 pm
You should be used to the fact that Tampa Bay beat the city of Atlanta at something…Tampa Bay has a Super Bowl win AND a Stanley Cup…
Atlanta Flames
May 23rd, 2011
12:31 pm
I’ve got a great idea! Why don’t the Atlanta Spirit owners move to Winnepeg and leave the Thrashers. That’s known as a “Win-Win!”
wallywoo
May 23rd, 2011
12:35 pm
I’d rather watch hockey in Gwinnett anyway…no TV timeouts. Hockey played the way it should be; non-stop action !! And affordable at that…makes you want to pack up the family and take in a game. What a novel idea!
zm
May 23rd, 2011
12:38 pm
Iam a thrasher and hawks fan, if (”when”) they move the thrashers iam boycotting the hawks,,no offense to the hawks but as long as ASG owns them Iam not going to phillips,,,and Iam pretty sure the 60 million the NHL is getting should cover the coyotes loses for a while,…go braves,sorry hawks,bye thrasers
Just saying
May 23rd, 2011
12:38 pm
Atlanta Flames, poor Rutherford could not handle the cold! Rutherford Seydel -what a pompous name- apparently visited many schools before he was able to complete his high school diploma. I guess he finally grew up since he apparently has a law degree. It does help to marry Ted Turner’s daughter.
timthebrave
May 23rd, 2011
12:39 pm
Fool me once shame on you…fool me twice….f*** you spirit group and NHL. I have stopped watching NHL hockey and will refuse to watch another game. I bet there are many people like me. Only if Thrashers stay in Atlanta will I ever watch NHL again.
Just a fan
May 23rd, 2011
12:41 pm
To the real hockey fans of Atlanta….I know are out there….you gave me my first home town team in 198o (Flames) and that I live in Winnipeg your owners are finally giving back to us what stolen in 1995. We feel your pain and have felt it for 15yrs. we are grateful and we are sorry.
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 23rd, 2011
12:43 pm
The Thrashers aren’t being bought and sold as much as they are being evicted by Atlanta Spirit Group. The NHL’s hands are tied, they can’t come into Atlanta and build a brand new arena just for their NHL franchise when it’s easier to get away from the Atlanta Spirit Group, then attempt to fight with their landlord powers over Philips Arena. For NHL hockey to survive in Atlanta a brand new hockey-only arena would need to be built.
Resigned
May 23rd, 2011
12:47 pm
We are not lousy fans….we are not fans at all. Don’t really care if they go or stay…but ready for all this death throes hoopla to be over with….Go Away Thrashers, Go Away!
EA
May 23rd, 2011
12:47 pm
If you are willing to spend money on the NHL -and right now that does not sit well with me, Predators games are really fun! It has a real down home feel. It’s not the same, but if NHL is the only hockey you like, Nashville as we know is close and fun to visit. I can’t say I will wait and see if I want to see our team in Winnipeg jerseys. A lot of that is going to depend on the support the Thrashers show their fans with their comments once the move is announced. However the Preds are not a bad second choice.
EA
May 23rd, 2011
12:49 pm
type-didn’t mean to type wait and see–
time to move on from the blog!
DaveDawg96
May 23rd, 2011
1:00 pm
How many does Gwinnett Arena seat for hockey? I would image that an NHL team would do well or better in the Atlanta suburbs.
EA
May 23rd, 2011
1:02 pm
typo-the typo was can not didn’t mean to type wait and see–oh well, I am losing it, I need lunch. Stay positive fellow Thrasher fans. The loss will hurt big time come October, but life will go on without the Thrashers. Sad.
Friend of a Referee
May 23rd, 2011
1:05 pm
I think the Winnipeg team should be called:
The Winnipeg Waddells
F Waddell and F ASG!! R.I.P Thrashers…you’ll be missed!!!!
Phillip
May 23rd, 2011
1:07 pm
Although I am not an avid hockey fan, I do like to watch the Thrashers play. That being said, I feel in this situation both the ASG, but more importantly the NHL are to blame. Noone wants to spend money, especially in a down economy, on a team that does not consistently compete at a high level (blame the ASG). Plus, the NHL is a JOKE. The commissioner claims that keeping teams in their market is the number one goal, yet he has done NOTHING to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta. If the Thrashers do leave, I will NEVER support the NHL, I will NEVER want another hockey team in Atlanta, and I will start a facebook group promoting these ideas.
JR
May 23rd, 2011
1:07 pm
“I’ll miss the Thrashers but this just proves I need to move to a real sports city that can handle all sports leagues.”
Like Los Angeles?
kj
May 23rd, 2011
1:14 pm
Winnipeg Pigs….has a ring to it. Imagine the promotions, like “Porker Night” where your date gets in free if she’s over 200 lbs. And then start the tradition of throwing sausage on the ice ala the octopus….best of luck.
Buck Fettman
May 23rd, 2011
1:18 pm
The rent here is just too damn high
KLS1
May 23rd, 2011
1:22 pm
I Have to say that I am a little embarrassed of this city…you would think that the Atlanta Sports Council, Mayor, or someone would at least try to keep the team here.
They could raise $100M doing a raffle to meet Nick Saban at the SEC Championship game.
It hurts our image and will dampen our economy…just a shame amd very short sighted.
Buy Chris V a one way ticket to Winnipeg
May 23rd, 2011
1:24 pm
Just another blog entry from Chris “Move them to Winnipeg” Vivlamore. He has no source other than what ASG tells him to say. Funny how he knows all about TNSE but can’t even tell us one person who is part of the group that will keep the team in Atlanta. I’m guessing he’s afraid of getting sued for spreading all the false rumors in his blog.
So much for responsible journalism.
thrasherdawg
May 23rd, 2011
1:25 pm
“CLASS ACTION SUIT”
It’s time for the “season ticket holders” to hire a firm to file a “Class Action Suit” against the NHL.
This is a huge “conflict of interest” see Mickey P post below:
May 23rd, 2011
11:17 am
This whole thing is a set up to cover Bettman’s A**, he is getting drilled by the owners over the expense of the Phoenix deal and he is going to make ASG pay for it. Besides the $60M transfer fee, the league is also taking an additional $20M out of ASG’s take.
If the NHL did not take over PHO they would be in Winnipeg right now and the Thrashers would still be here.
These days you can’t sell a house in 6 months but you can sale a NHL franchise i 10 days.
The NHL took care of Phoenix, Nashville, Tampa Bay, and Buffolo until they could get their affairs in order. The NHL should put the Thrashers fans on notice, you have one year to support the team or find an owner.
Losing a team in a television market like Atlanta is a huge black-eye for the league.
An idea,season ticket holders need to put up $200 each, hire a firm, and file a class action against the NHL. We can stop this
Please respond accordingly.
Tincup9
May 23rd, 2011
1:27 pm
Pheonix has a team for two reasons, Wayne Gretzky and $50M in randsom payments from tax payers to the league
Atlanta will lose their team for $60M reasons. Bettman will net the league $100M for two bankrupt franchises. I hate him, but damn.
I would like to know how much of the Thrashers operating losses were attributed to lawsuits. I am sure those allocations weren’t heavy handed or anything.
Read somewhere that if Winnipeg sells out the arena every night, they most they could hope for is 22+/- in total attendance b/c of capacity. Great way to grow the game.
Can Don Waddell be sued? I mean, holy crap.
The league and the ASG have made it clear my attendance and money don’t count. Noted boys. Don’t exepct either. Good luck, y’all deserve each other.
Matt From Section 109
May 23rd, 2011
1:35 pm
Chris, thank you for keeping us up to date. Definitely not the news I want to hear, but I suppose it’s better than getting my hopes up. I’ll keep some glimmer of hope until a press conference happens.
Believe In Blueland
Hop Toad
May 23rd, 2011
1:36 pm
Atlanta Hockey-heads, all of 2 of them, need to get a grip, move on and stop whining. Nobody gives a crap about this stupid “sport.”
thrasherdawg
May 23rd, 2011
1:36 pm
CLASS ACTION SUIT”
It’s time for the “season ticket holders” to hire a firm to file a “Class Action Suit” against the NHL.
This is a huge “conflict of interest” see Mickey P post below:
May 23rd, 2011
11:17 am
“This whole thing is a set up to cover Bettman’s A**, he is getting drilled by the owners over the expense of the Phoenix deal and he is going to make ASG pay for it. Besides the $60M transfer fee, the league is also taking an additional $20M out of ASG’s take.” END QUOTE
If the NHL did not take over PHO they would be in Winnipeg right now and the Thrashers would still be here.
These days you can’t sell a house in 6 months but you can sale a NHL franchise i 10 days.
The NHL took care of Phoenix, Nashville, Tampa Bay, and Buffolo until they could get their affairs in order. The NHL should put the Thrashers fans on notice, you have one year to support the team or find an owner.
Losing a team in a television market like Atlanta is a huge black-eye for the league.
An idea,season ticket holders need to put up $200 each, hire a firm, and file a class action against the NHL. We can stop this
Please respond accordingly.
Old Time
May 23rd, 2011
1:37 pm
Actually, I don’t think the NHL is that interested in Winnipeg. I think the league needs to cover their losses in Phoenix and the relocation fee (as other have said hasn’t happen before) will do that. Winnipeg is desperate and TNSE is over paying for the Thrashers.
Once Quebec get their arena finished they will relocate the Coyotes there and get the 150 million+ which will turn the league a hefty profit. The NHLPA would like to see a team in southern Ontario (and I agree with them because that team would print money), but Toronto and Buffalo will have no part in that.
However, 5-to-10 years down the line we might be revisiting Winnipeg to southern Ontario (if they can get Toronto and Buffalo on board) because that team would make a lot more money. Remember, this is never about fans (that goes for all league collage or pro), it is all about the money.
War Eagle
May 23rd, 2011
1:39 pm
People, The butts in the seats that you see are mainly CORPORATE seats. The tix for the lower level are so over priced that the regular fan has to resort to the cheap seats in order to not spend $300-$400 per game for a family of 4. It’s not that the fans don’t want hockey in Atlanta, it’s the fact that they cannot afford to go all the time due to the economy and the ticket prices. Also, the bond offering was RACIST! And should be challenged. The bonds only hold the HAWKS to playing in the Arena until 2028 when the bonds are set to mature. Nothing about the Thrashers. So it was a pre meditated conspiracy. Now, before everyone starts yelling Rangers/Bruins/Wings Etc-let’s take a poll and find out how many tickets are bought by corps and how many are individuals? Also, Nothern salaries are a bit higher than those in the south/!
Atlanta-to-Winnipeg update: Last local bidder apparently out of running for Thrashers | ProHockeyTalk
May 23rd, 2011
1:46 pm
[...] reports today that the last local prospective buyer interested in keeping the team in Atlanta is apparently all but out. The last-ditch effort for a buyer willing to keep the team in Atlanta appears to have expired. [...]
LemieuxFan4ever
May 23rd, 2011
1:46 pm
So what happens if the citizens of Winnipeg don’t purchase 10,000 season tickets, or whatever that condition was that I read about? Will the team not move there? Will the NHL take over the Thrashers, like they did in Arizona?
monkeyman110
May 23rd, 2011
1:47 pm
David McDavid……please help us!
Atlanta-to-Winnipeg update: Last local bidder all but out of running for Thrashers | ProHockeyTalk
May 23rd, 2011
1:50 pm
[...] reports today that the last local prospective buyer interested in keeping the team in Atlanta is apparently all but out. The last-ditch effort for a buyer willing to keep the team in Atlanta appears to have expired. [...]
Fart
May 23rd, 2011
1:58 pm
I will still cheer for some of our players, especially Boulton and Thor wherever they end up..but as far as spending my money on the NHL or anything related to the ASG / Philip’s Arena, you can forget about it, we got screwed and I refuse to line any of these frauds pockets with my money. I feel that both sides are at fault and we lose, the actual fans lose. I know the trolls don’t represent Canada or Winnipeg for that matter but the people on this forum under that guise have been atrocious and I am convinced that some of you went without oxygen for long periods of time in your life when you weren’t trying to eat your entire head. Good job, you get no southern hospitality, I don’t welcome any of you here and you won’t see me shedding a tear if/ when Canada gets bombed for not being a good enough hat for the United States. You don’t own the game of hockey and it’s not “life”. If it is your life, you probably need one. Start with going outside and maybe even finding a girlfriend that isn’t digital.
As for players like Mason who are just as indifferent as this paper is, he can’t hide from a real media. He hid here because the media didn’t care and was a puppet to the ASG, never any tough questions, players were never accountable at all, hopefully Mason stinks there as well, someone in that frozen manure pile will at least call him out on it, enjoy Pavelec..if a coach can get him to show up in shape..he can take a team to the playoffs with some sort of effort in front of him.. I’ll miss this team..but I’ve been wanting it ran properly since Hartley got the boot, because it has been awful for the most part. So alas..I wonder if The fearless whispering Ramsay might even get fired if he has a 3 month losing streak like he did here. I liked him, so I hope he doesn’t freeze there.
I am soured on NHL hockey, this whole thing has really shown a side of the NHL and evil ownership, it will be hard to be anything more than a casual fan..like I said..I’ll marginally peek in just to see if Thorburn and Boulton are doing well with their new team(s). I hope the entire league folds, I hope it loses money and it folds. Another strike that kills places like Winnipeg.
Richard Bagge
May 23rd, 2011
2:04 pm
Seriously, you yahoos moaning that nobody in the south cares about hockey… did you miss the fact that Florida has two NHL teams, and Tennessee and North Carolina one each? Did you miss the fact that the minor league SPHL has been around for a decade, and that Knoxville and Columbus routinely play to packed arenas? Clearly there is a potential audience and fan base here, just not for the awful way that the Thrashers’ owners have mishandled salaries and absurdly high ticket prices.
I’ll miss the Thrashers, but I’ll just wear my jersey to Gladiators games. Honestly, the play has been better in Gwinnett for at least three seasons anyway. More fun fights, too.
alex
May 23rd, 2011
2:05 pm
poor supply-less demand–that’s ok we’ll sell to another sucker;Phoenix is so in debt, Glad atlanta politicians won’t put up with this BS
Chauncey DeBrickashaw
May 23rd, 2011
2:06 pm
You can tell that the people of Atlanta do not care about the Thrashers because the news of a potential move to Winnipeg is not even on the front page of the AJC’s web site! The news is not even on the front page of sports section, I had to click the Thrashers link to find this article! If this was happening to Philadelphia, Chicago, or Detroit, then it would be all over the paper! Let’s face it, hockey as no place in Atlanta!
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
2:09 pm
R.I.P Thrashers…you’ll be missed!!!!
By all 5,000 fans!!!!
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
2:10 pm
Someone said it earlier but I do believe it’s true. The Atlanta Thrashers would’ve done better by being the Gwinnett Thrashers and playing in the Gwinnett Arena. (13,000 is the Hockey capacity)
M Tuck
May 23rd, 2011
2:12 pm
No one will buy them locally without Philip’s arena included because they need the profits from merchandise and concessions. The AS knows this but continue to put on this PR charade making it look like they are making a effort to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta. If they wanted that they would sell them together. They know if they sell to Winnipeg then they will turn a bigger profit. FYI attendance since 2000: Hawks 14,808 Thrashers 14,690. If the NHL lockout hadn’t happened Thrashers would have averaged more. T
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
2:12 pm
13,000 is the Hockey capacity
(With the ability to expand)
Erf
May 23rd, 2011
2:15 pm
Anyone who’s saying “nobody cares about hockey” will you please, kindly, STFU. Obviously people do otherwise there wouldn’t be this comments section…
BTW, it’s people like you who spread their unfounded hate about the sport of hockey (really, anything that isn’t SEC Football) are a big reason this town is losing a team. So, you don’t like hockey? Good for you. We do. Last time I checked, the Bulldogs never played football at Phillips Arena, were aired on SportsSouth or on VS and were in no way interrupted by NHL hockey. Are you folks so pathetic and narrow that if you don’t like something, then you feel it shouldn’t exist?
Relocationist
May 23rd, 2011
2:17 pm
The death of the Thrasher franchise is becomming as long and painful as their life was.
Joe Friday
May 23rd, 2011
2:20 pm
“The death of the Thrasher franchise is becomming as long and painful as their life was.”
Not quite yet, bure it sure seems like it, eh?
What about the news of the exclusivity agreement expiring on the Hawks and Arena? That helps our cause, only way the Thrashers stay is the new owner buying all three, can’t run the hockey team profitably without the arena rights.
done with hockey
May 23rd, 2011
2:20 pm
Well, at least I can stop following hockey. One less thing to follow. Frees up my schedule a little bit.
Fart
May 23rd, 2011
2:24 pm
@You can tell that the people of Atlanta do not care about the Thrashers because the news of a potential move to Winnipeg is not even on the front page of the AJC’s web site!
The people don’t control the media. The AJC also reports on such things as high school football, again..it’d be nice if people who tried to troll knew half of what they are trying to talk about. Whoever gave you the impression that the AJC is the TSN of the South made a joke of your intelligence like I am.
The “front page” of most newspapers would not put sports on there unless it’s a world series or championship of some kind. Again..a lot more things happen in day to day life in Atlanta as opposed to Winnipeg where you people apparently have absolutely nothing to do but try to stay warm and dream of Teemu Selanne.
who gives a crap?
May 23rd, 2011
2:24 pm
Hockey does not belong in Georgia anymore than Noodling belongs in Vermont
John Daly
May 23rd, 2011
2:25 pm
Meh.
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
2:26 pm
Anyone who’s saying “nobody cares about hockey” will you please, kindly, STFU. Obviously people do otherwise there wouldn’t be this comments section
Obviously there are people in Atlanta that care about Hockey just not enough to keep a NHL team here (twice). I hate that were losing a major sports franchise it really does make this town look bad. You would think they could’ve figured that out the 1st time.
thrasherdawg
May 23rd, 2011
2:31 pm
Move the Thrashers to Gwinett
New owner should make a deal with Gwinett…plan to expand the building in the off season ( I understand this is doable) to heck with Atlanta.
Now the area is not the issue and the location for most people is much better.
Gwinnett Fred
May 23rd, 2011
2:33 pm
I honestly can’t believe any ASG member can live in Atlanta any longer. The only reason I would go to a Hawks game now would be to hope to find one of them there and accidentally spill my beer on them.
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
2:42 pm
“I’ll miss the Thrashers but this just proves I need to move to a real sports city that can handle all sports leagues.”
Name the City’s in the SOUTH that can handle the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and 2 major conference NCAA football and basketball teams?
PureEvil
May 23rd, 2011
2:44 pm
thrasherdawg
I honestly don’t follow Hockey but, I do go to Gladiator games all the time and have fun every time I do think the Thrashers would’ve done better there.
Obviosity
May 23rd, 2011
3:01 pm
This is the result of ownership that doesn’t know a hockey puck from a cow chip…
schmeckdawg
May 23rd, 2011
3:02 pm
I like the one guy’s potential nickname for when they move. The Winnipeg Polar Bears. A minor league name for a minor league outfit! Thanks for 11 years of nothing. I feel like a real dumb a$$ for all of the money I wasted watching you slackers!!!!!!!!!!
Soccer Hockey
May 23rd, 2011
3:03 pm
Please, take this hockey crap, package it with the soccer crap, and remove them both from Atlanta. No one gives a daamn about soccer; no one give a daamn about hockey. Good riddance.
Richmond BC Gord
May 23rd, 2011
3:04 pm
A month or two ago, I’ll wager most native Atlantans never even heard of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Then again, it seems most native Atlantans never heard of the NHL nor the Thrashers !!
AngryRedMarsWoman
May 23rd, 2011
3:05 pm
I have been a hockey fan since 1970 – when I was born and so were the Sabres. I relocated to Altanta and was a Thrashers STH until 3 years ago when I got sick of taking crap from ASG; although I continued to attend a number of games each season. I have traveled to a number of other arenas to spend my money on hockey. I am now DONE with the NHL. Getting rid of my Center Ice package. They can burn my subscription to The Hockey News. Packing it in, folks. Might hit some Gladiator games – might just stay busy watching my son play middle school hockey. Eff the NHL.
thrasherdawg
May 23rd, 2011
3:06 pm
sorry…spelling error.
Move the Thrashers to Gwinett
New owner should make a deal with Gwinett…plan to expand the building in the off season ( I understand this is do-able) to heck with Atlanta.
Now the arena is not the issue, and the location for most people is much better.
Mountie
May 23rd, 2011
3:14 pm
OK Thrasher fans please accept my sincerest thoughts to all you good folks. I want to say we’ll take good care of the Thrashers (or whatever the new names will be) and beat the crap out of Phoenix for you.
That said, here’s the pitch…Get a new owner and buy the Coyotes. You’ll get them for a song and they’ll be playing out of Georgia next season! They should have folded up tents but a really screwed up city is funding all the losses…??
Best of success! Go Falcons!
The ‘Mountie from Manitoba’
farleybear
May 23rd, 2011
3:17 pm
Wow G52 is commenting on here too? Pay no mind to him Atlanta. He is not classy like you folks. He is just an angry, unintelligent little boy hanging on to the scraps of a dream that will end after the 2011/2012 season. He hates ‘trolls’ coming onto the Phoenix sites yet here he is. He’s the biggest loser that has ever had internet access and a keyboard.
farleybear
May 23rd, 2011
3:21 pm
@Bluestreak…it’s a DEAL!!
farleybear
May 23rd, 2011
3:25 pm
One more thing; Chris Vivlamore has been FANTASTIC through all this. His stories are non-sensationalistic and never riddled with a bunch of half-truths and insults. Started reading his stuff because of the whole Atlanta to Winnipeg thing, but will remain a follower after it is done. Great reporter. COME TO WINNIPEG CHRIS!!
Brendan
May 23rd, 2011
3:26 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. At least, we can’t call it “outsourcing.” Sorry to hear the lease the Thrashers had on Philips Arena, until 2019, was severed so easily and inconsequentially. Sorry to hear that the owners renegotiated the price of “naming rights” for Philips Arena so easily, to prepare for this JETTISONING.
And, most of all, sorry to hear that this move (1) pleases the NHL, which will get $60 to $90 million in the sale, (2) pleases the Spirit, who never wanted this team, (3) pleases the Philips Corporation, (will pay less for the naming rights) and (4) pleases the Mayor of Atlanta, and Governor of Georgia (who apparently don’t like hockey, nor fear any sort of backlash at the polls). With all these “pleased” entities, I’m surprised there isn’t some article about what a RAGING SUCCESS this endeavor has truly been.
Meanwhile, am I the only one thinking that, today, we are LESS of a major city, having lost a professional franchise, and the concession sales, parking revenues, and millions and millions of dollars of State income tax?
Nile Uno
May 23rd, 2011
3:26 pm
I am starting to think that this move was stage, and now with Atlanta Spirit ends exclusivity period on sale of Hawks, Philips Arena rights. That means they did that, so nobody could try to buy all three rights.
To the ASG, you guys are scumbags and just get of the sport ownership period.
Joe Friday
May 23rd, 2011
3:33 pm
Brendan, you forgot to include thanking the Metro Chamber of Commerce and Atlanta Sports Council who are apparently pleased to see all of the lost income and revenue.
Yes, we’re LESS of a major city if this comes to fruition. Although now we can claim fame to being the ONLY American city to have ever lost 2 NHL clubs. Has any other city lost 2 teams? The Rams left LA, Baltimore lost the Colts, has anyone lost two franchises though, even if in different sports?
Paddy
May 23rd, 2011
3:33 pm
I was out of town. Will the ASG have another “Pick your Thrashers seats day”?
Bailout!
May 23rd, 2011
3:34 pm
The city of atlanta should step up and bail out the thrashers—just pay the owners $30-$50 million to keep them happy for another year or two. They can just jack up sales taxes or property taxes to pay for it. It will be worth it based on the economic impact of having a team in town.
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 !!!
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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.
—————————————————
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.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
6:23 pm
moriler,
You say that it’s “obvious by now that OHL is just making stuff up to try to get a rise”
I said that Columbus ranks very high in local tv ratings, only beat out by a some northern hockey markets (Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). Atlanta beat Miami. Here is my source – http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2010/01/20100111/This-Weeks-News/NHL-Viewership-Gains-On-Rsns.aspx?hl
What stuff am I making up?
I’m having to post these links separately because when I put them all together it didn’t get through your blog’s spam filter I am guessing. But after these posts one can see that I clearly am not making stuff up to get a rise. My sources prove that. As well one can also see that Atlanta did not perform well as a fanbase like Columbus did.
Also, I am not “Rob” who spammed you guys with that lame post. Come on ‘peggers, you can do better than that.
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
6:24 pm
Y’know qwerty – I’ve always wondered if North American sports leagues would work with relegation / advancement setup. Only problem is the AHL is a feeder league. The contracts for a Calder Cup winning team are owned by an NHL franchise.
I go to Brasil all the time for work. The club my coworkers all cheer for is Vasco. Two seasons ago after over 100+ years at the top division, they were relegated. Fans were distraught…but they won the lower level, and were advanced. It is an interesting idea…
Qwerty
May 23rd, 2011
6:31 pm
Glove, I think it would take a passionate individual running the NHL to make it happen. As you say, the AHL is a feeder system, but there’s nothing preventing it from happening. As you noticed in Brazil, and I notice in Europe, this model make everyone feel like a part of the whole. Your town’s team is part of the big league system. That creates passion in the sport. My two cents (Canadian or American – I’m a citizen of both
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
6:38 pm
Qwerty/glovesave29,
Interesting concept, but one thing will stop it from ever happening in any of the 4 team sports – revenue sharing. Do you know how much more $$ the lowest NHL team makes compared to the highest AHL from national tv contracts? After seeing the jump in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals ratings (don’t you think Gary just loved having Philly and Chicago in it) do you honestly think there won’t be conspiracty theories when NY or Toronto just barely avoids being bumped down? Even David Starn hates having the Spurs in the NBA finals. No NHL owner is going to want to split his $$ with 20 more teams. And NY is going to be mad when they get bumped for Newfoundland.
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 23rd, 2011
6:42 pm
Time for Operation Paper Shredder.
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
6:44 pm
But there are barriers to making this happen. In Italy – for instance…Palermo is not a feeder team for Inter Milan. But the Hershey Bears ARE a feeder team for the Capitals. If the Bears win the Calder and get advanced – you know WSH takes away all the players they have under contract. You’d hav to forget the AHL. Split the NHL in half. To start the whole thing – playoff teams are in the upper division – non playoffs are relegated. Then each year from then on, the bottom 3-4 move out, and the top 3-4 in the lower division rise up.
Michael Gearon
May 23rd, 2011
6:47 pm
Anybody got a dollar I can borrow?
drmondo
May 23rd, 2011
6:48 pm
Glove, I love the idea. I’m an ATL transplant living in upstate NY in a city with an AHL team. I’ve supported the Flames and Thrashers (until this year when it became clear ASG was never going tofix their problems), but I’ve never been a diehard supporter of the local AHL team because they were the farm team for an NHL team I wasn’t crazy about. If they had the opportunity to move up to the NHL, I’d be out there for a lot more games. As it is, the only time they have a shot at the championship is when the parent team is just mediocre enough to not be any good but not so bad they feel like giving the rookies playing time to see what they’ve got.
Qwerty
May 23rd, 2011
6:50 pm
Glove, OHL:
Completely agree. There are dozens of barriers, and it will never happen. But, step back a minute, and put aside the obstacles. Wouldn’t that be a better model? Do you agree the sport would be more widespread?
Shutterpups
May 23rd, 2011
6:52 pm
Oh goodness, there’s certainly a lot of misinformed opinions on both sides of this situation. I won’t attempt to clarify facts about Atlanta, because I can admit that I don’t know a thing about living in Atlanta.
I will clarify that TNSE has never once – *never once* – asked the governments of Winnipeg, Manitoba or Canada for assistance in purchasing or operating an NHL franchise. No really… never once. Even the Premier of Manitoba has confirmed that TNSE has never once asked for financial assistance in completing this sale, or operating a team.
2mins has already cleared up the obvious misconception regarding corporate support for hockey in Winnipeg. That’s ok though – it seems as though you couldn’t actually provide any supporting information to back your claim, Petey.
moriler – you ought to do some research on Canada – there are a lot more Internet Service Providers than just Rogers and Qwest. In fact, I’m not sure if Qwest even operates in my province.
NHL Ready
May 23rd, 2011
6:53 pm
I hate to see them go. I will have to remolded my man cave with Devil gear. Kovy was a smart man to get out and so was the rest of the great players we had. What a mangement waste of a great sport.
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
6:56 pm
“will clarify that TNSE has never once – *never once* – asked the governments of Winnipeg, Manitoba or Canada for assistance in purchasing or operating an NHL franchise. No really… never once. Even the Premier of Manitoba has confirmed that TNSE has never once asked for financial assistance in completing this sale, or operating a team.”
Technicality – they did ask for debt relief from the gov’t to build the MTS Centre to NHL standards.
Stu
May 23rd, 2011
6:58 pm
They shouldn’t call the new Wpg team the Moose, even if they change the logo. Jets or Galcons are both good names. The AHL team can stay the Moose when they move to Nfld, lots of Moose there so the name still fits.
Qwerty
May 23rd, 2011
7:00 pm
Drmondo, precisely my point. AHL fans never feel fully vested because they know their top talent will be robbed when success arrives. Now, if you knew your talent was yours, and if you knew you would keep that talent when your team is promoted, that creates passion in you Division II team.
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
7:00 pm
Here’s what I’d do – make the NHL a 40 team league. 20 in the upper division and 20 in the lower. The top 10 teams in each division make the playoffs. The bottom 4 teams in the upper division are relegated to the lower division. The four best teams in the lower division advance to the upper division. Players in the lower division take a 15% – 20% hit for being on a relegated team. Lower division ticket prices must also be lower, but by a lesser amount. Players association will hate the lowered salaries – but the concession is there are 8 more teams to staff. This gives lower teams salary relief to attempt to move back up. It’s never gonna happen – but it would be great.
Qwerty
May 23rd, 2011
7:05 pm
Glove, you see, the barriers are already coming down. I like the idea. But, as we agreed, it’s an academic discussion. There is no passion for the sport at NHL HQ – only the need to run a business.
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
7:12 pm
Qwerty – but this is the joy of this and rawhide’s blog over the past 5-6 years. We always throw around ideas like this to goad on a discussion.
I’d like to see the NHL set up like the NFL. Where is is geographically split, but that each area had both a NFC and AFC presence. That would make it possible for – let’s say – a NYI vs. NYR Stanley Cup final. Bettman is not a creative thinker…so things like this will never happen.
Steve-o
May 23rd, 2011
7:20 pm
Govesave29,
Re: a NYI vs. NYR Stanely Cup final. Don’t even get me started about metro NYC having three hockey teams. The New York City area only deserves one. The Islanders and Devils both have lackluster fan bases, yet they will still have teams after the Thrashers leave town. Makes me bitter!
deb
May 23rd, 2011
7:25 pm
quick to the soon to be exthrasher owners how much did you sign HAWKS JOHNSON for $$. I Hope all the businesses out there never do business with the two owners ever.
Qwerty
May 23rd, 2011
7:30 pm
Glove, I see passion in your words and I commend you for that. You’re clearly a hockey fan. I was also when I lived in Winnipeg. Now I live in Boston and I’m more of a hockey consumer. I spend my entertainment dollars only on quality product. Maybe that’s the case for Atlanta – too many consumers, not enough fans. I know in Winnipeg, there are limited consumers. I just hope they have enough fans. Good chatting, Glove. You’re a gentleman and a scholar.
Getthepuckouttahere
May 23rd, 2011
7:30 pm
Fart Wrote…The “front page” of most newspapers would not put sports on there unless it’s a world series or championship of some kind. Again..a lot more things happen in day to day life in Atlanta as opposed to Winnipeg where you people apparently have absolutely nothing to do but try to stay warm and dream of Teemu Selanne
This is true, usually there’s at least 2-3 shootings/homicides that grace the front page. Like 4 shot in Grant Park, and the same day, infant shot. No room for sports talk with all that fun going on daily. Yeah, you have to love the shiny, happy feeling you get when you read the Atlanta headlines.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
7:52 pm
glovesave29/Qwerty,
One thing that immediately came to mind is what the new guy in Buffalo is doing. They should’ve never broken that agreement and now he is fixing things by buying the Rochester club himself. He has been dynamite from what I hear from folks around there, they are pumped up. But the reason I mentioned it is what if each of the 30 NHL guys bought an AHL club? That would get around the revenue sharing thing. Also, this is nothing against Atlanta, but I think it’s stupid that you guys are with the Phantoms when there is a team in their same town that should have them. I know you originally had a team down south but it went away with the IHL. But still, if teams in the AHL and NHL should align better. The only problem here is when 1 owner gets 2 teams in the upper league and another owner has 2 teams in the bottom league. I also like the idea of NY having multiple teams. Imagine if the Yankees didn’t compete with the Mets, they’d be spending even more. They should have 4 baseball teams just for that reason alone. Here’s a question, would MLB ever do this concept with AAA teams? I say no.
Shutterpups
May 23rd, 2011
7:54 pm
“Technicality – they did ask for debt relief from the gov’t to build the MTS Centre to NHL standards.”
Did they ask, or was that speculation? The arena is already up to NHL standards, as has been confirmed by Bettman. Construction on press boxes started a long time ago.
Has the province promised to assist with infrastructure in the area of the MTS Centre, and maintenance of the building itself in the future? Yes, of course they have. The MTS Centre provides a lot of money for the city of Winnipeg and province of Manitoba – it’s a good investment for both city and province as the 3rd busiest venue in the country.
The fact remains that TNSE has *never* asked for assistance of any kind of to bring the NHL here.
Shutterpups
May 23rd, 2011
7:55 pm
Sorry that should say “construction on upgrades to press and luxury boxes” – MTSC already had press boxes obviously, lol.
TrueSouth
May 23rd, 2011
8:05 pm
Shoddy journalism. The exclusive agreement was terminated already. Why not update your story with widely known facts?? JB Smith is absolutely moving forward with negotiations to buy all 3 entities. Your statement that he is “probably” out of the picture is just beyond the pale sir. What is your agenda?
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 23rd, 2011
8:06 pm
“JB Smith is absolutely moving forward with negotiations to buy all 3 entities. Your statement that he is “probably” out of the picture is just beyond the pale sir.”
I don’t think the “Balkan” has ever been in serious negotiations and I certainly don’t think he was the last prospective buyer that just dropped out.
Theo
May 23rd, 2011
8:07 pm
timthebrave
If you don’t have a horse in the race its not that interesting. When the Jets left in the 90’s, never watched NHL again. Tried to get into Phoenix, but that just sucked. I’m happy about getting the Jets back, but after reading these comments it really brings back 96 when we lost team to Phoenix. Bettman should be replaced, I wanted our original team back – it doesn’t feel good to take somebody else’s team, just like what happened to us. But Bettman fought tooth and nail to keep the Phoenix team regardless of the millions they lose every single year for the last 15 years.
Thrasher fan
May 23rd, 2011
8:20 pm
Hawks 7 highest payroll. Thrash bottom of the league. ASG made no effort to win. If we were a playoff team like even Tampa our attendance would be top third of league.
Peter
May 23rd, 2011
8:24 pm
Well, Atlanta, you got what you deserved, sorry about that….it happened in the early 80s’ when the Flames bolted for Calgary and it is all but certain and done that the Thrashers will pack up the moving vans and head north to Winnipeg….let us be obvious here for a bit:: Hockey has not worked nor will it ever work in a city like Atlanta, you have your NFL & your NBA & your MLB and of course NCAA & NASCAR, the NHL does not fit in the Peachtree State….I remember seeing highlights from a Thrashers game against Ottawa late in the season and there were thousands of empty seats deep into the final period, not a good sign and then your team fudges the attendance figures, if there were 12,000 plus fans in that or any home game for Atlanta this or any season, then I am the Pope….and when the move is completed later this week, let the True North do the right thing, rename the team the Winnipeg Jets and by the way, this is only the beginning, with unstable siutations in Columbus Ohio, Sunrise/Miami Fla., Dallas, even Phoenix and to an extent, Nashville….this proves once and for all Gary Bettman’s experiment in the US SouthEast has been a huge failure as hockey should return to its roots back to Canada, first Winnipeg, is Quebec City next? as we like to say in the electronic media business, STAY TUNED!
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 23rd, 2011
8:30 pm
“If we were a playoff team like even Tampa our attendance would be top third of league”
Doubt that because for hockey Philips seats what 17,000+?
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 23rd, 2011
8:36 pm
“Nashville….this proves once and for all Gary Bettman’s experiment in the US SouthEast has been a huge failure as hockey should return to its roots back to Canada, first Winnipeg, is Quebec City next?”
Why should hockey only be exclusive to Canada and the northern half of the United States? Especially when more and more rust-belters are moving southward to warmer climates. Also hockey in the south takes to to develop and take root. You can’t crow a crop of corn over night same thing applies to hockey down here. I’ve grown up in the south and i’ve been a fan of hockey since I was like 6 or 7 and how did that happen you ask? My dad got me into the sport by taking me to Atlanta Knights games. Anyone that has been to atleast 1 hockey game is usually hooked after that first game and they become fans for life in most cases.
Thrashers announcement probably won’t come by Tuesday, Hawks exclusivity window closes | ProHockeyTalk
May 23rd, 2011
8:56 pm
[...] Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said it’s “safe to say” that an announcement regarding the deal won’t come by Tue…. True North and the Atlanta Spirit already reportedly agreed to a $170 million price tag (with $60 [...]
Ward
May 23rd, 2011
9:05 pm
Will Thrash become an orphan?
glovesave29
May 23rd, 2011
9:09 pm
Peter – wow, your ignorance just kills me. Let’s take this method of thinking to other parts of our daily lives, shall we…?
The airplane was invented by Ohio brothers and tested in NC. Thats the USA – so clearly we are the only ones who can fly on planes.
Beer was invented (by mistake) by farmers in the Tigris river basin when their grain crops got wet and began to ferment. Only those currently living in Iraq may drink beer.
The car was invented by Daimler in what is now Germany. Sorry only those Bavarians may ride in autos.
Pretty dumb, eh? How bout this novel idea…when you have something great (like hockey) share it with the world. Grow it all over. Novel concept…I know. Canadians love hockey because it is in your blood, part of the national fabric. So how are we supposed to grow it in the south when the markets are abandoned. My grandfather played roller hockey – he passed it along to me, but I moved to the ice – my daughters now play street hockey with me and go to Gladiators / Thrashers games…passing it along as it should be.
Atlantans are just a hard to please bunch. To say we do not like hockey is wrong. Ask Wild color man Mike Greenlay. He was on our IHL Knights championship team. Ask him how loud and passionate Omni fans were. We are losing NHL hockey – life goes on. I am OK with the AHL calling Atlanta home. Decent, affordable hockey. Its easy to sit 1500 miles away in Manitoba and judge us. Wait until your team mires in mediocrity and the bill comes for $9500 for season tickets. Then judge us.
Ndwol
May 23rd, 2011
9:56 pm
That rage is the same rage Winnipeg felt for Gary Bettman 15 years ago when he embarked on the Southern expansion odyssey, ripped our hears and stole our Jet’s away. Now they’re the “Disaster in the Desert”.
Take some pride Atlanta, you’re smart enough not to let Bettman suck the taxpayers at $25 million per year into the NHL sinkhole. Glendale will go down in history as the biggest bunch of fools. We will remember you fans in Atlanta. We know your pain.
Qwerty
May 23rd, 2011
10:05 pm
Peter, what Glove said. Please re-think your comments. No hockey fan deserves this. Not Atlanta fans now, and not Winnipeg fans 15 years ago. This came down to purely a business decision. I’m an ex-Pegger, so I’m comfortable telling you this: Don’t think for one moment that this is a triumph for the NHL. Yes, it’s a triumph for Winnipeg, and in a nostalgic way, I’m happy about it. But the NHL is holding it’s noses on this. This is a failure in growth. Yup, they are a business and they want to grow. They will retreat back to Winnipeg where it’s stable, and begin planning the next growth wave. The more stable markets there are in the south, the more stable Winnipeg will be. And regarding Atlanta, I give it 10 years before the NHL is back.
j nes
May 23rd, 2011
10:07 pm
“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.”
Who are the reps from each team and how can we get them to vote not to move our team?
Time To Sober Up on 'Attendance' Atlanta
May 23rd, 2011
10:07 pm
Listen, all the yakking here about attendance requires some sobering stats for so called Thrashers fans.
Your average ticket price is $48.51 and a sellout attendance is 18545 which equals $899617.95 a game in REVENUE. And note – REVENUE, not attendance is the only relevant figure.
The average ticket price in Calgary and Edmonton, comparable markets to Winnipeg are about $60 bucks a seat. So 15,000 seats at $60 a ticket is $900,000 a game. So its a wash – but that assumes that Thrashers sell out every game WHICH THEY DON’T. (averaged 13,469 a game in 2010/11)And excludes all the comp tickets and giveaways that aren’t computed in the average.
Currently, if you accept the BS that average Atlanta attendance is 13,469 a game ( impossible to believe when many games have had 6-7000, but lets take it at face value for now) that equals $653 381.19 a game, which, if the Jets sell 10890 seats on average which is a very conservative estimate, their revenue would equal the Thrashers. So its a no brainer to move the team to Winnipeg when sellouts in Atlanta, which will never happen, would equal revenue in Winnipeg with a smaller arena.
Quit quoting potential attendance. Its irrelevant. By your logic, a 100,000 seat hockey arena in Mexico City would be better than a 17,000 seat arena in Toronto, even if tickets were 3 bucks a piece in Mexico City. Wake up clowns, Jets will sell every seat in a week.
@glovesave
May 23rd, 2011
10:10 pm
9500 bucks for a pair of tix maybe in the endzone. Looking like 7100 A SEAT, or 14,200 a pair for season tix between the blue lines and 10000 a pair in endzones. Jets fans will gobble them all up in under a week. And these are CDN dollars so add about 5% to that to figure out what it would be in US dollars. We got the money and are ready to spend.
j nes
May 23rd, 2011
10:13 pm
Enjoy our team, poachers. But I bet you will have even more trouble than Atlanta when it comes to attracting and retaining free agents in your miserable city. Seriously, what does Winnepeg have to offer for an NHL player besides being swarmed by fans every time they go out to buy groceries?
ATLThrasher
May 23rd, 2011
10:21 pm
I am a transplanted Canucks fan living in the ATL since 1997, and all these snide remarks from the Canadian fans are getting to be a little much. Besides, Canucks fans never like the Jets. In 1990s, the Black-Red-Yellow Canucks, under Pat Quinn, always trashed the inept Jets in the playoffs.
Let’s do some ramp up for the Canadian fans by a Canadian who lives and breathes hockey when growing up in Vancouver:
1) You have to live at least a year in another country to really understand. All those Peg fans that have never even visited the Deep South need to take chill pill and pipe down the noisy arrogance. You are kinda looking bad . . .
2) I hate to break it to you, but the USA has way more world-class sporting options than Canada. There’s NFL (like the Blue Bombers can compete with that), MLB (Expos really worked out in MTL didn’t it?), NBA, MLS, NCAA (most SEC College Football teams like Auburn or the Dawgs would beat the crap out any CFL team), NASCAR, IndyCar, Augusta Golf, etc.
3) Due to Option 2, US sports fans have much more to choose from and can become more savvy Sport Entertainment consumers. This is not Europe where fans are taken advantage of left and right by smug Football(Soccer) owners and it certainly is not Canada where there is only one major league sport league available in most Canadian cities (ie. the NHL). This includes Olympic city Vancouver where fans have to trek down to Seattle to see world-class football. Even if it’s the Seahawnk in the horrible NFC West.
Consequently, there is a higher standard for owners in the US-based sports leagues; otherwise, the fans are actually able to find better options unlike many Canadian sports fans.
So, since the Thrashers had crappy owners and the ATL fans found better options and more things to do. If a new owner comes along with a solid business plan that is high on marketing and investment for good players (like some Billionaire owners do in Europe when buying Soccer teams like ManCity in the EPL), and is willing to take a risk then the NHL will award Atlanta a new franchise. After all, with the NHL, all you need to do is way enough $$$ at them to get a new franchise. It’s not like the NFL where the leagues holds any prospective city gov’t. for ransom to get 70,000+ seater stadium built like what is happening in Minnesota right now.
ATLfan
May 23rd, 2011
10:22 pm
Hey jealous manitobians… where did you see attendance of 6-7000? we had 13,5K attendance with terrible ownership and loosing streak. We will see how many of you will be ready to spend 9,5K. If you consider yourself so capable and way better than we are, why did you lose coyotes? Looks like not everything was perfect in your hockey dreamland.
Even if we will loose the team, that would be fault of ASG and NHL. And wait for few days before sympathizing us…
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
10:33 pm
j nes, people who play a sport on ice can actually handle cold weather. How much trouble did the Flames have resigning Iginla or luring Jay Bouwmeester away from south Florida and into cold Alberta?
luvazhockey
May 23rd, 2011
10:37 pm
The g52 posting here is a dick head that is impersonating a poster on azcentral. As a arizona hockey fan I appoligize for this turd. We all support you and wish we could help. The winnipeg trolls have very very little class and are giving a city a bad name. It is not over yet and I am pulling for you.
@AtlFan
May 23rd, 2011
10:42 pm
Who says you had 13,500 a game in attendance? Your owners? Lol! Everyone knows the owners flooded the market with comp tickets to qualify for revenue sharing. And I’ve heard plenty of players and sportscasters say it SUCKS playing in front of 4-5000 fans, that’s right, I was being generous with 6-7000, the reality is 4-5000. Just because you ’sell’ 13,500 tickets doesn’t mean they all show up.
@AtlThrasher
May 23rd, 2011
10:47 pm
Hey, ex-Vancouverite, whose side are you on? If you’re going to delve into the argument could you at least bring more erudite comments than this?:
“I hate to break it to you, but the USA has way more world-class sporting options than Canada” NO KIDDING IDIOT!!!!!!!!! And I sure as hell hope they do with TEN TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!
Tool. You think you’re ‘breaking it to me’? All the crap you spouted does nothing to negate the fact that the Jets will make more money in Winnipeg than the Thrashers in Atlanta. And who gives a crap about your sporting and cultural ameneties??!! Thrashers LOSE money.
We have the richest owner of any sports team in any league in the world. He’s got his money on the table and he’s willing to take a chance.
This sounds like a joke but its an actual fact: The Thrashers got worse ratings than Mighty Putty infomercials on many weeknights. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
ATLfan
May 23rd, 2011
10:51 pm
This owners were trying to sell the team for several years! Why would they need to increase the numbers? Turn on the common sense – they want NHL to allow them get rid of the team and they had to ruin the attendance.
But you may say only hundred people were there and it would be difficult to change your mind. There is no other official numbers, so you can say whatever you want and it wont change anything. It would be interesting to see how much your owners will increase numbers… more than capacity? xa-xa
http://googlesearchesfromsundayafternoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/thrashers.jpg
May 23rd, 2011
10:54 pm
click here for average attendance to a Thrashers game. Do you see 13, 500 here or 4000?
http://googlesearchesfromsundayafternoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/thrashers.jpg
@AtlFan
May 23rd, 2011
10:56 pm
click here for a picture of ‘average’ Atlanta Thrashers attendance. There could be 12 feet of snow on the ground and -40 weather and there would be more people at the game in Winnipeg than this:
http://googlesearchesfromsundayafternoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/thrashers.jpg
ATLfan
May 23rd, 2011
11:05 pm
Peg! As I said, it doesn’t matter what you’ll say – it’s all bull… Thrashers played Blues twice last year and once on home ice – Dec 21st. And I was on that game and it was a nice crowd that day. Partly because many people were already on Christmas holidays.
And you can see the gallery – http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/gallery.htm?id=19082&location=/photos&pg=6
And make your own judgements on the size of the crowd and make comparison with the bull… you’ve just posted.
Enjoy:) And don’t trust sites like googlesearch… whatever.
OHL
May 23rd, 2011
11:08 pm
@AtlFan, I’ve played hockey and I know what the pre-game shootaround looks like. That’s not a game photo. Stick to the facts. Please don’t use smear campagins, there are those of us who can spot a fake.
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 23rd, 2011
11:08 pm
lol that was a picture of WARM UPS, wow how retarded are you?
Getthepuckouttahere
May 23rd, 2011
11:09 pm
There are so many excuses offered by Thrasher fans they outweigh the attendance on any given night. And whoever it was that said the attendance was 13000 needs to get their head examined. There’s a huge difference between PAID attendance and those who actually walked through the turnstiles. If there was 13K every night you wouldn’t even be here talking about them relocating you dopes.
Getthepuckouttahere
May 23rd, 2011
11:10 pm
Btw…how many 13K nights did the Thrashers have in the last 4 years??? And I mean actually sitting in the seats.
ATLfan
May 23rd, 2011
11:14 pm
@Getthepuckouttahere: Zero… Happy now?
@AtlFan
May 23rd, 2011
11:16 pm
Your average ticket price is $48.51 and a sellout attendance is 18545 which equals $899617.95 a game in REVENUE. And note – REVENUE, not attendance is the only relevant figure.
The average ticket price in Calgary and Edmonton, comparable markets to Winnipeg are about $60 bucks a seat. So 15,000 seats at $60 a ticket is $900,000 a game. So its a wash – but that assumes that Thrashers sell out every game WHICH THEY DON’T. And excludes all the comp tickets and giveaways that aren’t computed in the average.
Currently, if you accept the BS that average Atlanta attendance is 13,469 a game ( impossible to believe when many games have had 6-7000, but lets take it at face value for now) that equals $653 381.19 a game, which, if the Jets sell 10890 seats on average which is a very conservative estimate, their revenue would equal the Thrashers. So its a no brainer to move the team to Winnipeg when sellouts in Atlanta, which will never happen, would equal revenue in Winnipeg with a smaller arena.
Quit quoting potential attendance. Its irrelevant. By your logic, a 100,000 seat hockey arena in Mexico City would be better than a 17,000 seat arena in Toronto, even if tickets were 3 bucks a piece in Mexico City. Wake up clowns, Jets will sell every seat in a week.
@AtlFan
May 23rd, 2011
11:20 pm
okay, how about this one?
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee50/kurtenblog/thrashers.jpg
@AtlFan
May 23rd, 2011
11:40 pm
go thrashers!!
http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nhl_experts__41/ept_sports_nhl_experts-822917396-1254160049.jpg?ymxqo9BD41alGLzD
Cornbread
May 23rd, 2011
11:54 pm
Ol’ Denis Lemieux had it right about the Peg Trolls posting here: “Against the rules. You know, you’re stupid when you do that. Just some English pig with no brains, you know.”
Eddie
May 23rd, 2011
11:55 pm
It is a sad day when one city is used a sacrifical lamb to save another city’s team but that is exactly what is going on here.
@cornbread
May 23rd, 2011
11:59 pm
Ya, but Deni Lemieux also had the central point of the whole Movie “Who won de Chiefs?” Thrashers have clown owners worse than the indifferent owner of the Chiefs who was using them as a tax write-off. What other reason could there be for 9 clowns to get together to try and put a hockey team in Atlanta? They smelled windfall profits associated with a crazy network TV deal that never happened.
ATLThrasher
May 24th, 2011
12:07 am
Wow, that was a very insightful reply on my post. Such pleasant language. Just remember, as all decent debaters know, that when one side starts name-calling it usually means they are losing the argument.
Yes, it’s nice that Winnepeg may get a NHL team. And, yes, Atlanta is a tough place to run a hockey franchise which would make it all the more satisfying if some creative business group ever made it happen.
If the Peg fans want to start slinging mud like in the recent Cdn. Federal election where the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois got really nasty at the end cuz the Cons and Dippers went and totally creamed them then you will just come out of this with as much crebility as the now defunct “Natural Governing Party” and the QC Separtists.
Maybe, you should go get Duceppe and Parizeau to campaign for a team in Quebec and see how that works out . . .
sobaka
May 24th, 2011
12:27 am
Hey OHL fan: I live in Westerville and have followed hockey much longer than most central Ohioans. I would NOT crow about the support that Columbus has given the team, as many local media have pointed out the sea of empty seats is growing annually. The most popular player in Columbus history was Jody Shelly, and he is a talentless goon. I never hear the CBJ’s discussed at work by colleagues, so please don’t tell me how COWTOWN is the second coming of Hockey Town.
I genuinely empathize with the hockey fans in Atlanta, as there is no question that the franchise was run second-hand. Had Denver, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa, Dallas, et al, had teams like the Thrashers, those cities would also be lamenting the loss of their hockey teams. Following the departure of the Rockies from Denver in 1982 and the North Stars from the Twin Cities in 1993, the media ripped those two markets as hockey deathbeds. They said the same about Tampa Bay just a few years ago. It is surprising how people cannot understand that a chronically poor product results in poor fan support. Having said that, it is even more surprising that there is no corporate entity in Atlanta willing to invest in the Thrashers, given the relatively low asking price as compared to the other professional sports. Pittsburgh, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, Nashville, and Tampa Bay only have teams because a local corporate power or wealthy individual took the risk to buy the team and give it a chance to succeed. You have to ask yourself why Atlanta always lacks such an entity, be it with the Flames or with the Thrashers.
For Canadians and northerners in the States who bash hockey in the south, keep this in mind: if the NHL dies throughout the Sunbelt, just how many teams could Canada and the Northeast absorb? It would seem to me that a lot of Canadians and northern US players would be out of work, and add to that the coaching, management, broadcast, and scouting staffs, and you are talking about a significant number of people. Now add to that the number of ice rink shut-downs, you would certainly lose more employment for some of your people. So what would you tell those unemployed people? That you played a big role in them losing their employment? Wonderful. Yes Flin Flon, Yellowknife, Moosejaw and Saskatoon would all draw very well in US markets, and would certainly more than compensate for the loss of Sunbelt teams. Until you realize that the NHL would look like the CFL, and we know what a economic success that is …
sobaka
May 24th, 2011
12:42 am
The problem with being a hockey fan in a non-traditional market is the realization early on that you won’t be concerned with the on-ice product very long, as it won’t take long for hockey-hating Americans and US-hockey hating Canadians poison the air, trying to sabotage the very sport that the league is supposedly trying to grow. It takes an extraordinary fan to endure that. One does not follow a team to see where it ranks in attendance statistically, its TV ratings, its cashflow problems, and to endure ceaseless rumors about the teams imminent demise. One supposedly follows sports because they provide us with an outlet from those very problems.
Until Atlanta finds a legitimate owner willing to endure losses over a few years, the team’s plight seems to be hopeless. With the incredibly bitter feelings over the treatment by the current ownership and the resentment caused by ignorant and callous individuals gloating over the demise of the NHL in Atlanta, the sport is much worse off than it was in 1971, before the Flames first came to Atlanta. At least in 1971, one could say that people in Atlanta were unknowledgeable of hockey. Now, the situation is such that that there are far more people turned off and livid with professional hockey than those who would support it. It is not unlike those who have recently gone through a divorce.
I implore someone, anyone, in the Atlanta corporate world to step forward and buy the Thrashers. You’ve made your hundreds of millions in Atlanta, how about giving back a little to the community in a time of need? There is no question that the team would be well supported were it run in an even average manner.
There is a lot of hurt and anger out there towards the political powers who stood by and did nothing to save this teams, and the same goes towards the hyper-wealthy who have ignored the plight of hockey fans in Atlanta. Ultimately, there will be accountability. The loss of the Thrashers from Atlanta will do much harm to your already less than ideal image of a major league city. I just wonder if anybody has the courage to step forward and do the right thing. Time will reveal all.
SouthernFriedHockey
May 24th, 2011
1:14 am
Sobaka:
Great posts, thanks for the support. While I live in Atlanta, and have for most of my life, I and many others know for a fact that there will be no coprorate saviour. We cant get the mayor, the sports council, or the governor to speak out either. See, Atlanta lost its soul in the early 80’s with the booming real estate market. We went from a town where people gave a d*** to one where cash was the only idol worshipped. The Olympics were the final nail in the coffin. It was and has been clear to see that the corporations here care only regarding profits, not supporting the community that helped them earn those profits.
We can say “what might have been” all we want, it still won’t change the outcome I am afraid.
JLH
May 24th, 2011
1:20 am
So, exactly WHAT did we achieve by boycotting the hockey product that ASG produced?
SouthernFriedHockey
May 24th, 2011
1:25 am
JLH:
Until I see an official count I wonder how many actually boycotted to be frank. Alot of people talked about it but I or anyone else would not know the answer to that.
Crazy Diamond
May 24th, 2011
1:50 am
Atlanta Spirit will screw up the deal. You just know it. We are so screwed.
James
May 24th, 2011
2:10 am
Listen, I live in Winnipeg, the people here are hockey fans for life. The Thrashers can’t even get enough support to survive in a heavily populated, heavily media integrated market. If it isn’t happening, changing your ownership will not mean increased profits. With continued losses a move is inevitable, and the people of Winnipeg have been mourning their losses for 15 years now. There is no point in keeping a dying team on life support for the benefit of no one.
It sucks to move, but Winnipeg deserves a team. We would cherish and love the Thrashers in Winnipeg without question. Just the idea of the Jets coming back has Facebook promising the arrival of almost 20,000 Winnipegers in full Jets gear to Portage and Main. The Thrash rallied 200 fans to their rally and they ALREADY HAVE A TEAM.
Winnipeg will have a team, and we will support our team to the end. The Jets didn’t leave because there wasn’t fan support, don’t forget that.
James
May 24th, 2011
2:23 am
@ sobaka
Canada and the North do not have to absorb teams there are many other American locations for team to relocate. But if we had to take on new teams Quebec and Ontario alone would be able to take new teams, at least 2 – 4.
“Yes Flin Flon, Yellowknife, Moosejaw and Saskatoon would all draw very well in US markets, ”
Lol I’ve been to Flin Flon and its no Atlanta, but Hockey does not need the Sun Belt, although its a nice addition it has been more of an experiment than anything. If Hockey needed to move North there is and never will be a shortage of hockey hungry markets.
Winnipeg deserves the Thrashers and we have the financial backing, I wish the best for the Falcons, Braves and all other Georgian sports. I know your a big fan of southern hockey and your rare and everything like that, but imagine an entire city that lives for the sport Atlanta wont give the time of day with several times the population of all Manitoba combined. Tens of thousands of Winnipegers would love to cheer on the new team, despite struggling and being a new team. 20 years from now fans will still be cheering on the new team.
If you really are a hockey fan, despite your surroundings you should know the Trash will be in a much better place. The players will be celebrities, free agent signings will be welcomed with overjoy.
The support here is unbelievable, we lost our team 15 years ago and I can feel for you but talk to me in 15 years, there will be few people who could reminisce over the glory of the Altanta thrashers.
soonahockeywidow
May 24th, 2011
2:31 am
To SouthernFried: there are thrasher fan posts saying they have boycotted…check the feeds..sorry sad but true!
To uninformed Thrasher fans:I have had time to read the feed as I look out my igloo window over our barren lifeless Tundra. There is really nothing else to do here in Manitoba,,,PLEASE!!!
It looks like your loss may be our gain it’s true…… but slam us really!!! Tasteless!
Check yourselves…200 proud to support the team…maybe the rally organizers should have sent out a load of free tickets!
The Balkan
May 24th, 2011
5:46 am
Getthepuckouttahere……………stop speaking the truth or you’ll be banned. As a STH for the last three years seldom did I see 13k in the seats.
Deport ASG
May 24th, 2011
7:16 am
@Atlanta Spirit will screw up the deal. You just know it. We are so screwed
True, but as far as last resorts go, the ASG might actually be on our side considering “striking a deal with them” is almost impossible because even the ASG hates itself, those androids can’t agree on anything. Sadly however in this case, I think the stupid Canadians are overpaying for an inferior hockey team so they can have it in an inferior market which in their delusional brains is somehow better than Atlanta. The only they have going for them is that it’s obviously easier to make ice there. We all know why the NHL is quick to accept. Money for their team and Buttman chose the lesser of two evils, No ASG = Winnipeg for a few seasons. I feel bad for our players who are forced to go there. For two years now players have used NTC in regards to Atlanta and Arizona so they ultimately wouldn’t end up in the Peg. Go ask Kovalchuk, that was a huge factor as to why he left and I don’t blame him at all. Ladd is being politically correct but my speculation is that is has something to do with him not re-signing as well, it was a “done deal” that magically never got done. Ladd was one of our best players, Winnipeg. Stop using Byfuglien as a pylon to place in your city as well, he signed that deal because he got PAID, your love for Bryan Little will fade when you see how soft he is and his scoring droughts will be amplified by an actual media unlike the one here. (Not throwing Little under the bus, Winnipeg adores his comments made on twitter..even though the real Bryan Little does not have an account).
Deport Kincade
May 24th, 2011
7:29 am
Man.. Kincade’s really grasping for straws with his ‘all 3 entities are available again’ gobbledygook. The Balkan has done nothing but grab some attention..this “guy” is the same as Rollins..just some parasite that for whatever reason wants people to think he has money. Money he has unsuccessfully spent on sports franchises in which he never gets past the opening stage of negotiations with. It was a nice glimmer of hope for a moment there the AJC seemingly enjoyed shooting down. Kincade is correct in pointing out the media has never cared until now, I’ve been saying that for years, again..none of this should be breaking news, a collapse happening overnight, etc etc. Bradley, Schultz and Vivlapeg are all writing about the Thrashers… that’s NEVER happened, we have NEVER had this many Thrasher articles, we are lucky if we get news on lineup changes before a game.
Matt from MN
May 24th, 2011
7:46 am
This from the broadcast voice of the Thrashers…”You build a foundation of fans generation to generation. Neither young Flames fans nor (likely) Thrashers fans will have had that chance.”
THAT is hitting the nail on the head.
Steve-o
May 24th, 2011
8:10 am
From Soboka: “Having said that, it is even more surprising that there is no corporate entity in Atlanta willing to invest in the Thrashers, given the relatively low asking price as compared to the other professional sports.”
“There is a lot of hurt and anger out there towards the political powers who stood by and did nothing to save this teams…”
———————————————–
Chris,
Re: above: Why has there been no coverage (that I’ve seen) in the AJC taking city hall to task for its complete slience as owners from Canada are about to relocate the team, which would be yet another blow to the local economy?
You’d think the city and state could offer incentives for a new local ownership gorup – comprised of the ultra wealthy businesses the poster notes above — to buy the team and keep the Thrashers and all the jobs associated with the team in Atlanta. The silence from city hall and regiional leaders has been deafening.
j nes
May 24th, 2011
8:48 am
I know it is almost over, but I want to entertain myself with the thought that the Thrashers will be saved by an owner that chooses to screw the ASG by keeping the team in Atlanta but playing at Gwinnett Arena. ASG is certainly incompetent enough to let that happen.
Chauncey DeBrickashaw
May 24th, 2011
8:58 am
“The “front page” of most newspapers would not put sports on there unless it’s a world series or championship of some kind. Again..a lot more things happen in day to day life in Atlanta as opposed to Winnipeg where you people apparently have absolutely nothing to do but try to stay warm and dream of Teemu Selanne.”
See my name, does it sound like I am Canadian? Keep crying because you are the only one in the ATL who cares about hockey!
Atlanta Flames Fan
May 24th, 2011
9:05 am
Boycott; just semantics. People refused to throw away good money towards ASG. From day 1, ASG’s intent was to “discard” the Thrashers.
ASG is the culprit, and Bettman the accomplice. The fans were scruwed no matter what they did.
TrueFan
May 24th, 2011
9:17 am
Ok yall minor league thrives here because it costs far less than those out of our solar system priced nhl tix! I am sorry to the ASG yall still suck but did yall ever try lowering ticket prices? Seems like every year no matter how bad they were thrashers tix went through the roff price wise! I wouod raher pay 20 bucks at the Gladiators games and be able to see than pay 30 and sit in the nose bleeds
soonahockeywidow
May 24th, 2011
9:44 am
Chauncey: If you don’t care about NHLwhy you so bitter about us sad Wpg folks getting the team you said it yourself …..all we have here is trying to stay warm and dreams of Teemu. life in ATL has gotta be pretty slack if you take the time to post (and re-post) about a sport/league you care NOTHING about
thrasherdawg
May 24th, 2011
10:09 am
APB
CAN ANYBODY FIND DAVIID MCDAVID ?
Surviving predictions of impeding doom | Atlanta Thrashers: Ice Man
May 24th, 2011
11:00 am
[...] then just yesterday NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the AJC that “it’s safe to say there will be no announcement on [...]
glovesave29
May 24th, 2011
11:10 am
“Your average ticket price is $48.51 and a sellout attendance is 18545 which equals $899617.95 a game in REVENUE. And note – REVENUE, not attendance is the only relevant figure.”
ERRRRRRR! Wrong. Someone please explain to this person the difference between MEDIAN and AVERAGE.
DD
May 24th, 2011
11:15 am
did any of the buyers who are interested ever get to meet with these two so called owners of the thrashers or did they just pass them by. Also is there someone out there that wants all three and could stop this deal with the canadians?????
OHL
May 24th, 2011
11:23 am
sobaka,
Your scientific analysis of “I never hear the CBJ’s discussed at work by colleagues” is not as scientific as Nielsen ratings. The Blue Jackets do very well in tv ratings. Also, before the Thrashers were even owned by ASG, they were owned by Turner Broadcasting, the exact type of big corporate entity HQ’d in Atlanta that everyone is calling for to buy the team now. But no one supported the team when Turner Broadcasting owned it. Their last 2 years when Turner Broadcasting owned the team Atlanta was posting back-to-back years of #28 out of 30 in NHL attendance. Meanwhile Columbus at the same time had their 3rd year in a row of being in the top 12 in NHL attendance with less talent on the ice and a population much much smaller than Atlanta.
So it goes to show that Atlanta won’t support a team if Coke or Delta comes in because they didn’t support it when Turner Broadcasting owned it. Columbus on the other hand has shown great interest in hockey and we know that by the number of years they ranked in the upper half of the league attendance figures and the tv ratings that the Columbus tv market gets.
Dwayne
May 24th, 2011
11:28 am
Atlanta Spirit Ass Clowns bio will read: Most influential person, John Gacy.
Dwayne
May 24th, 2011
11:29 am
Where is the Thrasher Fan Club???
sisu
May 24th, 2011
11:30 am
Sad days when hockey fans attack each other. Winnipeg can say they deserve a team and that maybe true. But why would they take one from another city? Anyone in Winnipeg know how much seats on the glass are for the Moose? For the Thrashers here they were $225 per game.
One can hope that this “salary cap” vision everyone talks about saving hockey will start to work anyday now. The salary cap protects NY rangers from over spending (oops, no it didn’t, they bury players in the minors) and forces teams like Atlanta to spend some money, otherwise there would have been 23 players making the minimum here each season.
If this team moves then I hope that the people of Winnipeg will support it with consecutive sellouts better than Colorado did (when their streak broke)
@glove save
May 24th, 2011
11:43 am
I understand the difference between median and average. 48.51 is the average. If you do know the median, let me know, though not sure what it would prove either way. Median isn’t relevant here.
Warren
May 24th, 2011
11:52 am
As a former Manitoban I am excited to hear Winnipeg will probably be getting a team again, but also want to say to the true hockey fans in Atlanta I am sorry you have to go through losing a team, and it’s too bad some Canadian hockey fans have been posting on AJCs site about how you “deserve” to lose the Thrashers. Perhaps they forget what it was like when the Jets and the Nordiques headed south at no fault of the fans in Winnipeg or Quebec City. Thrashers fans deserve credit for supporting a pretty bad ownership group that is showing it’s true colors now. No real passion for the sport or building a winner, just for making a dollat.
I remember being a Flames fan in Canada and the excitement of the team moving to Calgary the same year I moved to Alberta, but also being excited for Atlanta to get another team a few years ago to replace the Flames. Sadly I think this is probably the last chance for the city for a long time to enjoy NHL hockey.
Davis T
May 24th, 2011
11:56 am
The Thrashers are moving. I believe if the ownership groups from BOTH sides are debating, then it’s obvious that there is going to be a relocating process. Now, many people are saying that the Board of Governors, basically one “delegate” from each team, has to approve this deal, with a 75% vote approving the governor. It’s pretty obvious that the owner will be approved with a 90% or higher rating if not unanimously. I mean, the guy’s a BILLIONAIRE, I believe according to a live talk show, the guy who’s buying them is the 17th richest man in the world. David Thompson leads True North along with Mark Chipman who also wanted to buy the Coyotes a few weeks ago. Also, a majority is required to allow the team relocate, which all of us have no idea of who decides. Unless the Thrashers find some one who’s willing to buy them, there’s no hope with the ASG. Probably the worst owners of any sports franchise. Welcome to Winnipeg.
Andrew51
May 24th, 2011
12:31 pm
@ATLThrasher
……………Sure.
Andrew51
May 24th, 2011
12:32 pm
Gary Bettman owns shares in Mighty Putty.
schmeckdawg
May 24th, 2011
1:05 pm
You gotta love this. All of this pi$$ing and moaning about saving the Thrashers and 200 people show up at the rally. That tells you pretty much everything you need to know!
Loud Fart
May 24th, 2011
1:12 pm
I can say this..I’ll be there when it fails in Winnipeg, again. According to the NHL – Winnipeg is not economically viable for an NHL franchise (1996). Since then they’ve built a new traffic light, so yes, it will work this time.
@Chauncey, I don’t care what you are, just another arrogant piss ant sized vulture circling the carcass. Crying? That shows you are merely flocking to this turd like a fly, I’ve complained more than anyone for YEARS about how this team was ran into the sludge, I wanted these fraudulent owners out, sadly if this is the only way the owners leave, good riddance. That will be my joy in never supporting anything that has to do with them or having to speak over the head of “fans” like you and your jelly brain wit that got stale as soon as you trolls showed up.
Loud Fart
May 24th, 2011
1:13 pm
200 people huh? I guess the Canadian media and math would have reported that a month before the rally even took place. Still getting tweets from Bryan Little?
James
May 24th, 2011
1:30 pm
@ Loud Fart
The NHL left Winnipeg due to the salaries exploding, the canadian dollar being too low and the rink being too old. I hope you realize that the MTS centre is brand new, the dollar is stronger than the American greenback and there is now a salary cap. Fan support has always been there despite the team struggling.
Read a book troll.
Warren
May 24th, 2011
2:00 pm
In an attempt to be a voice of reason (as I am excited for Winnipeg, but do feel bad for Atlanta AGAIN losing a team) it will succeed in Winnipeg, and for proof of that a person just has to look at Edmonton. Very comparable cities. Edmonton with an older rink which has the smallest seating capacity in the league, ownership with less financial backing than True North, but a fan base as loyal as the Winnipeg one will be.
It’s just too bad the Atlanta ownership group couldn’t have looked at what has been done in places like San Jose. That is a great example of a traditional non-hockey market, but a loyal fanbase built up by years of solid teams and treating fans fairly. Atlanta’s fans, like those of the NY Islanders and the Florida Panthers aren’t stupid. They know a BS effort to build a winner when they see one. You can say spend your money and get out and support the team, but how long can you realistically do that before you feel taken for a fool? As for 200-400-600 people showing up for a rally….what do people expect. It’s a foregone conclusion. Why show up and look even more foolish?
D-Bird
May 24th, 2011
2:42 pm
I’m ashamed.
I’m ashamed first and foremost of Don Waddell for being the WORST sports executive in the history of sports. I’m ashamed that the ASG allowed a team with so much potential, to go by the wayside. I’m ashamed that the local business leaders did not step up with more financial support. I’m ashamed of Arthur Blank for trying to land an MLS team in Atlanta, when he could have helped save our Thrashers. I’m ashamed that the local hockey rinks/leagues (I belong to the AAHL) didn’t do a better job of promoting the NHL. I’m ashamed that the local politicians didn’t step up and voice their opinions. I’m ashamed that the NHL is trying to fast-track the sell/relocation of the Thrashers. I’m ashamed that I always said “I’ll get season tickets next year”.
However, last but not least; I’m ashamed that I am a devoted subscriber to the AJC. You did a piss-poor job of not only covering the Thrashers over the years, but at reporting the dyer situation of the potential loss of our team. We all know sports reporters don’t win Pulitzer Prizes for their work, but you set the “reporting” bar so low that it’s no wonder that our community at-large was in the dark about hockey. Atlanta isn’t a “hockey town”, and it never will be with the type of (ASG) promotions and (AJC) coverage that were bestowed upon the Thrashers. The AJC dedicates much of their time to investigating “real” issues, like School Boards, Tax & Millage Rates and Mortgage Scams, however they elect NOT to investigate the financial impact that losing a sports franchise will have on our city. AJC – you failed!
R.I.P. Thrash!
soonahockeywidow
May 24th, 2011
2:56 pm
Oh Loud fart a more appropriate name couldn’t possbly be found.
Just open a window everyone, eventually it will be gone. Kinda like the Atlanta Thrashers..HMMMMMM?
WPG Jets 2011
May 24th, 2011
5:07 pm
Ndwol
Couldn’t agree more – we know what its like to lose a team. If you read these blogs you’ll see there are tons of real hockey fans, passionate about their team. As for Phoenix – thats the team we should have got. If they had fans that cared like this they wouldn’t have the problems they have. They have a great team and still nobody shows up. Yet Bettman goes to any length to keep them even though they’ve lost millions year after year – and they clearly don’t have any fans, never mind passionate fans that care whether they win or not. I’m real happy to get an NHL team, but this feels just like when we lost our team – good fans but management never gave them anything to care about. Hockey is only good when the fans are into and know the game, thats why I could care less about having Phoenix in the league. They had 99 points this year and still can’t get fans to the building. I mean come on, what is Bettman waiting for? I guess its a TV thing, but Atlanta is same size or bigger. Bettman is lying about something. Doesn’t make sense.
Relocationist
May 25th, 2011
1:03 pm
Well, there are 30 NHL franchises. They’re clearly aren’t 30 NHL quality markets in north america. Not to worry. The NHL will be back on Altnata’s doorstep in the not too distant future. Losing the Thrashers. What’s the loss? Bad ownership? A group of players that is largely made up of AHL level skills? An arena in a bad location? Maybe the third time for an NHL franchise will be the charm. Don’t worry, It won’t be long. Just look at the condition of the Islanders, Columbus, Florida, Dallas, Phoenix. And, it won’t take almost 20 years to get the NHL back in Atlanta this time.