Report says Hawks and Thrashers may both be for sale (UPDATE: Spirit responds with silence)
The Atlanta Spirit has always been one big happy team. OK, maybe notsomuch.
The Atlanta Spirit ownership group has been disputing reports that it is seeking to sell the Thrashers and that the NHL team might be on the move to another city. Now comes a report that the Hawks also might be on the market.
A New York Times story on sports ownership during the recession references both the Hawks and Thrashers as being among franchises that might be for sale. The paragraph in question reads:
Now that the economy seems to be on the mend, owners who held off selling during the downturn are seeking to unload their teams. According to sports bankers, the teams thought to be for sale include the Atlanta Hawks, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors and the Detroit Pistons in the N.B.A; the [Dallas] Stars, the Atlanta Thrashers and potentially the Columbus Blue Jackets in the N.H.L.; and baseball’s Houston Astros.
E-mails this morning to various club officials seeking comment have not been immediately returned.
(UPDATE: Despite emails and phone requests, the Hawks/Thrashers/Spirit have yet to issue a statement, either confirming or denying the New York Times story. Draw what you will from their silence. For what it’s worth, the Thrashers have been quick to deny past stories of the franchise’s possible sale and/or move.)
There had been no indication in the past that the Spirit is looking to sell the Hawks. However, the potential exit of partner Steve Belkin is expected to prompt the group, led by Michael Gearon and Bruce Levenson, to seek a new partner. Belkin and the other owners have been in litigation for about five years. Both the Hawks and Thrashers are struggling in attendance. The Thrashers rank 28th out of 30 teams in the NHL, averaging 13,397 announced per game. The Hawks rank 21st in the 30-team NBA, averaging 16,092 announced, despite having the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently told the Journal-Constitution that the squabbling among owners has affected the Thrashers’ operation and product: “Ultimately, the ownership situation has to be straightened out. It’s difficult to operate a franchise when owners aren’t getting along. It’s even more difficult in a recession climate. A team has to be at its very best. Issues have to be resolved and everybody has to be together so they can interact with fans. But that’s difficult when the owners aren’t together.”
The Times story addresses how devalued pro sports franchises are in today’s economy, and how new owners like Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Bobcats “are facing a future without the near-certainty of making up for any short-term losses by selling their teams for hefty profits later.”
“It used to be you got bailed out when you sold your team even if you lost money year after year,” said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd., a consulting firm. “Now, you’re no longer assured of cashing out to cover your capital costs and losses.”
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227 comments Add your comment
Tim from EP
March 17th, 2010
10:48 am
Why is the location of where the Hawks and Falcons play an issue, but no one has a problem going to Turner Field to see the Braves…I’m just saying. One of the main problems with the Hawks is their ownership situation. If you have a good product and no one is buying it, then you have a marketing issue. Not just advertising…but marketing. I hate to put this out there, but going to the Hawks game is almost like going to a Hip-Hop concert. Not everyone is into that type of atmosphere. I mean..how do you go to a sports game and they don’t even play Phil Collins’ “In the air tonight:!
Chamwa
March 17th, 2010
10:49 am
Iron City….I’ve been to Steelers games & Pirates games when there was no sell out. So, it’s not just in the ATL. Also, the Falcons have sold out every game for years.
THRASHERS / HAWKS FAN FOR LIFE
March 17th, 2010
10:50 am
TED TURNER AND ARTHUR BLANK SHOULD MAKE A JOINT PURCHASE OF BOTH OF THE TEAMS!! They’re actually BASED HERE and LIVE HERE unlike the yankee Atlanta Spirit Group who only cares about themselves and their bickering. That group is harming the teams and they never show up to the games and support the team. It’s heartbreaking to see outsiders controling our local organizations. Let the Hawks and the Thrashers be in the hands of someone LOCAL and CARING. Someday it will happen, someday… For now, GO HAWKS!!!! GO THRASHERS!!!!
Realist
March 17th, 2010
10:51 am
Blank is going to buy the braves when Liberty Media’s tax writeoff expires at the end of this season. He knows better than to touch the Thrashers and Hawks. He’d probably buy Philips Arena if they sold it as a standalone.
Ghost of O.J.!!!
March 17th, 2010
10:51 am
SportsGuru
March 17th, 2010
10:42 am
Your assesment of this is off base…. Remember, they tried this with the Knights….The attendance at Gwinnett Area was weak at best! The Citizens of Gwinnett got ripped off by the Braves last year and the attendace at the new minor league park will suffer as well. You folks tickle me with the notion that putting a stadium on the North side means sellouts is wrong on so many levels!!!! Remember, Phillips Arena, and Turner Field were built in the last 15 years and I can say with a high degree of certainty that those that make these decision have billions of dollars and if just putting a stadium in one of the burbs would insure sellouts, then rest assured, They would!!!
Tim from EP
March 17th, 2010
10:53 am
The people who don’t want to go downtown are probably the same people who don’t believe in Marta. They feel they make a lot of money and everything they want should be a 5 minute drive from their home. Just be honest and say that… I mean I feel you.
corey
March 17th, 2010
10:53 am
Big Blue, you couldn’t be more wrong…
I’ve worked in sports for over 20 years in many different markets and Atlanta isn’t much different than any other city its size. Every market has an “it” sport. For Atlanta it’s college football with UGA being far-and-away the one with the highest interest. Do you have any IDEA how much money an SEC team makes? The Hawks and Thrashers are jealous of Vanderbilt’s TV contract, I can assure you…I’m not sure when you’ve been over to a UGA football game, but there are around 5-20,000 fans outside the stadium trying to get in on a gameday…there are no empty seats there or at hardly any other SEC stadium.
Atlanta has the same issues with fan support that LA, Phoenix, San Francisco, Miami, St. Louis–even New York and Philly have…it is not the worst by a longshot.
Most of Atlanta’s population is suburban and transient. The people who live in Atlanta didn’t grow up in a “city” like New York or Chicago…so they aren’t going to go downtown after work for a sport they consider secondary. For the same reason that people in Boston aren’t going to take the T down to see BC play Miami…even though half the TVs in the south would be tuned in if they were both in the top 10…The NFL left LA for that same reason–it’s an NBA town. Just like Atlanta is a college football town–and one that spends its money on college football.
I’d love to know if “big blue” stands for Michigan or Kentucky..because if its either, you don’t need to be lambasting Atlanta’s sports scene.
ThrasherATL99
March 17th, 2010
10:55 am
This is Schultz’s wet dream coming true!
David C
March 17th, 2010
10:55 am
“Now that the economy seems to be on the mend”? What world is this NYT writer living in.
The Real Fan
March 17th, 2010
10:58 am
The only queer is Gwinnett is the gwinnett mom.
Spud Webb
March 17th, 2010
11:00 am
Yahooooooooooooooo, please sell the thrashers.
Rajesh Koothrappali
March 17th, 2010
11:01 am
Who really gives a poo about either of these two teams? The Hawks are the Eastern version of Phoenix. Talented and fun to watch but will never win a championship. The Thrashers simply are reaping what they sow. Years of mismanagement from Waddell. Bad scouting leading to bad drafts. They are too cheap to pay the going rate for any stars they do get which leads to D-Wad dumping them for a bunch of barely warm bodies. Why should anyone feel the need to root for them if the team continually shoots itself in the foot by letting quality players leave town for nothing in return?
The Real Fan
March 17th, 2010
11:02 am
Tim from EP
Mark
March 17th, 2010
10:48 am
Man you hit the nail on the head. Falcons sell out, Braves sell out when winning and have for sometime. Maybe thoise stadiums aren’t really in downtown?
Go figure.
The Real Fan
March 17th, 2010
11:03 am
Rajesh Koothrappali
March 17th, 2010
11:01 am
I bet you root for Cricket!
SecondSage
March 17th, 2010
11:03 am
All this talk of moving the team to the burbs, LOOK, the world doesn’t revolve around you. No matter where you live in the burbs, answer this question. What makes your location better than others. Right now MARTA puts you at the DOOR. Are you willing to have MARTA RAIL come to your area? If not people would have to fight rush hour traffic to get to your venue. Cancel all week day games as far as attendance.
As far as fans goes, Atlanta is turning the corner as far as fan base. If I had the money I would buy both teams, even the Thrashers. I’m not a big fan of hockey but I don’t want to see the Thrashers move. They’re MY team!!! The Hawks are due a deep playoff run soon as we get a new coach. Rick Sund is taking the team in the right direction.
I’m a transplant and have my football and baseball loyalties. But I’m 100% Hawks and Thrashers. I go to the games, I’m in agreement with dropping the prices. This would definitely boost attendance. The end upper level seats should be $3,6,9. The Middle Upper level seats should be $12 and $16. Even the Nets would sell out at those prices.
Hatfield Geoff
March 17th, 2010
11:09 am
The Clusterf**k that is the Atlanta Sprit Group has got to be the biggest joke in professional sports. They kept Billy knight in charge of the Hawks as he screwed up the draft (Imagine this team with Chris Paul instead of Marvin William and a good player for the pick they wasted on the guy from Duke whose name I can’t remember). They leave Don Waddell in charge of the Thrashers for what 10 years now and have nothing to show for it but a 3-game sweep. If the Atlanta Sprit had been around in the 1920s and been the group that backed Lindberg he would have crashed off of Long Island. Sell the Thrashers (fire Waddell first and the price will go up 10%) and sell the Hawks to Belkin. One Moron running things has got to be better than 15.
Winkasdad29
March 17th, 2010
11:10 am
Atlanta fans don’t seem to care about pro sports that much. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of passion for its local teams. They love college football, though. I don’t understand that because college football doesn’t even have a definitive winner every year.
The Hawks are an up and coming team – they need more time to find out how far they will go. I don’t envision the Hawks going anywhere. Unfortunately, the Thrashers may end up in Winnipeg. If they go there, the franchise may still not survive because of the financial climate in Manitoba.
The Thrashers need to hire another GM. They also may want to look at the business model of the Carolina Hurricanes, who won a Stanley Cup in 2006, and 2 other appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals.
As fas as going to Philips Arena is concerned, I’m going to borrow from Chad Ochocinco – child, please! That area is not dangerous compared to some other areas of the city. On game nights, the police are all over. Besides, MARTA drops you off almost at the door. I don’t understand this “perception is reality” attitude of many that live in the metro area, especially in the suburbs.
Mike
March 17th, 2010
11:11 am
When will people learn that moving the teams to the burbs will never happen. It isn’t just the hometown sports teams that play in the arenas, but the sporting tournaments, conventions,etc that come to town. You have to have hotel and meeting space (Georgia World Congress Center) to attract those things. No city will build an arena for these teams because alone and without these additional events, the arenas aren’t worth the investment.
Not Blind
March 17th, 2010
11:12 am
I wouldn’t drive to the Arena on a week night and mess with parking even if someone paid me $100 and gave me a good ticket. I used to drive to Doraville station and take the train directly to the arena. It’s a no brainer.
What I actually do nowadays is spend my hockey money on NHL Center Ice. The Spirit Group have completely destroyed any desire I have to pay big money to see the Thrashers. I used to pull for TB but I don’t care for them much anymore in the Tochet [ sp ? ] era. Right now the team I like to watch is the Isles. Them guys compete and their coach is doing a great job with the team.
Ghost of O.J.!!!
March 17th, 2010
11:14 am
OK!!! For the record, as a business owner, you CAN NOT give away tickets for 3, 6 or 9 dollars and still afford the bring in top flight talent!!! You can’t afford to pay an Alex Ovechkin, or a Kobe Bryant ( or in our case Joe Johnson) by selling 10 dollar seats!
Mo Wanchuck
March 17th, 2010
11:15 am
When did the Knights play in Gwinnett?
Jon
March 17th, 2010
11:16 am
Stinkhole of Atlanta? HAHAHAHA. I’ll take Atlanta any day over the suburban ignorant cesspoools of Cobb, Gwinnett & Forsyth all day long. Sorry you can’t stand sitting next to a black person on the train who doesn’t dress like you or talk like you. And if any of you dimwits thinks the franchises would ever prosper outside city limits then please go take a few b-school classes.
SecondSage
March 17th, 2010
11:17 am
I don’t know if KISS’s “Rock and Roll all night” is exactly Hip Hop. They play that at the Hawks games.
Money Losers
March 17th, 2010
11:17 am
Both of these teams are losing millions, due to poor management and atlanta fan indifference. They should be sold and moved to cities with real owners, who understand sports marketing, pricing, player evaluation… The current owners are morons.
?????
March 17th, 2010
11:19 am
so if the hawks get bought would they move?
Transplant NY Hockey Fan
March 17th, 2010
11:20 am
Instead of selling the Thrashers, need to get rid of their Management starting with the top and start fresh with new management that really cares about the team. Wendell and others have driven the team into the ground. How wonder attendance is low. Fans see what is happening to the team. This is all very sad because Atlanta had a good thing going. Why can’t someone turn the light bulb on and see all of this. Help – get the Thrashers new owers and managers then reorg the team ASAP!!! Thanks from a previous Regular attending FAN!
Kovy's Agent
March 17th, 2010
11:20 am
David C: 5.9% GDP growth in the 4th quarter, 3.2% GDP growth in the 3rd quarter, probably 3 to 4% growth this quarter. My stock portfolio is up 100+% since last March and I stand to bag a cool 10% off Kovy’s upcoming $100M contract this summer! Oh, times are good alright. Too bad you’re not seeing any of it.
mike
March 17th, 2010
11:23 am
Gwinnett Mom- I live in Larryland and I am a lesbian, albeit trapped in a male body.
As for going downtown to Phillips, it better be a damn good concert, or free tix to see a game, otherwise, I am not going. Parking is too high, MARTA is an inconvenience, I hate being pan handled or bothered by the scalpers, who blatantly break the law right in front of the worst police department in the country.
SecondSage
March 17th, 2010
11:23 am
I understand Ghost. But you would sell more tickets and the bottom line would improve. Bringing in talent like Ovee and Kobe would lead to TV revenue and Merchandise sales, therefore making the money back. Ticket Sales alone doesn’t pay for the players.
I wasn’t here back then but I understand Nique had all the games sold out. Plus all the NBA stations are here. TNT and NBA TV. I say we pull a Green Bay and all of us put in $100 each. Then we can vote on who we want as GM and we can only blame ourselves. Who’s with me??
Manny
March 17th, 2010
11:25 am
As far as the Thrashers are concerned, I don’t know. I like having hockey in Atlanta, but you gotta be consistent.
Hawks? The Hawks have low costs in personnel and salaries. They have a great record. They have consistently reached the playoffs in recent years. They are now known as one of the dominant players in the Eastern Conference. But their attendance is terrible.
Here’s the thing: I think that you have to find better ownership. And you need one guy where the buck will stop. You need an Arthur Blank or a Ted Turner to hold the strings. But I doubt that will happen.
But if the Hawks go anywhere, watch for a push from St. Louis. If I bought a perennial playoff basketball team, I would move the team to St. Louis. And I would sell out whatever arena they put me in.
Atlanta fans are too fickle. They wait until the playoffs to show up, and then… barely.
SecondSage
March 17th, 2010
11:27 am
Mike, that’s BS, the scalpers only bother you if you’re interested. They ask you once as your passing. say no and move on.
Seriously, all these preconceived notions must come to an end. It still feels like 1952 here. The region will not progress otherwise.
Khao$
March 17th, 2010
11:28 am
Atlanta is a big town with a small town mentality when it comes to pro teams. I’ll concede that we have a lot of people that have relocated from other places who have retained their allegience to their teams. I get that. However,even when the Braves were winning (’91 and ‘92 aside), the fanbase has been lukewarm. Crime in the city? Guys from Boston, New York, Chicago, and Detroit could make the same excuses. The fact of the matter is, Atlanta (speaking in general terms) seems to cater soley to collegiate football. That’s fine for towns like Clemson, Auburn, or Tuscalosa. However, we’re 5 million strong in the metro area.We’ve hosted the Olympics. We have winning basketball. We have a storied baseball team. We have a football team where the owner is willing to pay for players and has a bright future. At this point, the money and safety excuses are played. Other cities could have the same complaints. The economy is bad EVERYWHERE and crime is typically higher in ALL MAJOR CITIES to varying degrees. We haven’t lost a team since the Flames. I assure you, we’ll look bad if we lose any of the existing franchises. Lets just call it for what it is…this town love college, but isn’t ready to graduate to the pros…
P Rose
March 17th, 2010
11:31 am
Andre and Jason are right. I live downtown, a half-mile walk from Philips Arena, and I love it down here. My wife and I regularly walk down there to eat at one of the many fine restaurants. We’ve been doing so for nearly eight years, and never once have we been threatened. Occasionally some homeless guy will ask for a handout, but so what? The “crime” argument is so weak. Yes, a few people have been robbed near Tech. In a city of five million, when one downtown robbery is reported every few weeks, I’d say your odds of survival are pretty good. I see more crime in the suburbs. There seems to me to be more drunk driving, road rage, and juvenile delinquency in Gwinnett County than I see living downtown. And to “Gwinnett Mom” – many of my neighbors are “queers,” as you call them, but I’d rather live next door to them than to you any day. I have season tickets to the Braves every year, even though I have to drive three miles to get there, because I like the sport. Basketball and hockey bore me, personally. I could easily walk to those games, but I seldom do – maybe one or two games a year. Atlanta is indeed a transient town. People move here, or to San Diego, Phoenix, Tampa, etc., from the stink holes up north because our economy and climate are so much better. Cubs fans are more passionate than Braves fans because of their old ball park and 100-year tradition. College football rules down here for the same reason. Chicagoans’ baseball passion doesn’t make them better than Braves fans, just more passionate about that particular sport. Moving any of our downtown franchises to the suburbs wouldn’t make attendance any better; in fact, it would be a disaster. No one would drive from Douglasville to Suwannee. Talk about traffic? That would be traffic hell. Downtown is centrally located and all roads lead here. Please just admit the real reason you don’t support the teams downtown – either you don’t care about the sport, you’re from Chicago or some other stink hole up north, or you’re afraid of homeless black people. I’m just keeping it real.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 17th, 2010
11:33 am
” I hate to put this out there, but going to the Hawks game is almost like going to a Hip-Hop concert.”
Clearly you have never been to a hip-hop concert. For one, there is no weed at Hawks games. Secondly, there is barely any, you know, hip hop at Hawks games. Just wondering, do you also think Josh Smith is a “thug”?
PMC
March 17th, 2010
11:37 am
Yeah there is nothing wrong with the safety downtown. It’s fine. It’s at least as safe as it is anywhere else anyway. We could do a better job getting too and from the games. I wish there were express trains anyway. I like riding Marta to Phillips and the Dome because it’s right there. I wish they had one to Turner too oh well.
The ultimate problem though in general is that we live for College Football and aparently exclude everything else from the sports tree. Everything else is niche I guess.
I guess we will see if Heyward will get people off thier duff for weekday games..
ASHEVILLE DAWG
March 17th, 2010
11:41 am
Why are the “rich northside burbers” of Atlanta so presumtuous to think that a stadium needs to be closer to them. And won’t the “not in my neighborhood crowd” rear it’s ugly head. What about the folks from the southside of Atlanta (Henry, Fayette, Clayton county’s) or east (Rockdale/Newton) or west (Douglas county). That’s why the downtown stadium’s were built.
Now the Thrashers have been run by a bunch of clowns for a over a decade. If getting rid of star players in their prime is the indcation of how to run a team, you reap what you sow. Fire Waddell, maybe some will care.
The Hawks are a good collection of players, but no “superstar”. It’s plain and simple…….
Let’s now forget the ownership “clown” group. I’ll always remember the Steve Belkin/ Billy Knight handshake picture……….Nuff said
PMC
March 17th, 2010
11:41 am
For the record if you don’t live in Gwinnett it’s an arduous journey to get all the way up to Gwinnett Arena.
Jimgreen
March 17th, 2010
11:44 am
People who are “leary” of downtown Atlanta need to get out more, see the world for the sake of your own education, Atlanta has a high murder rate sure, but unless you are in a gang or are hanging out on gange territory you have nothing to worry about. And no, downtown is not prime gang land, there are homeless people, but any cosmopolitan city will have a dichotomy of wealth. I live inside the perimeter, originalyl from Douglas Co, and there is no way I would drive to Gwinnwett or even more so Alpharetta for a game, even on a weekend if I still lived in Douglas Co. Besides the proposed arena there is nothing else to do in the ‘burbs.
Greg
March 17th, 2010
11:46 am
I’m not afraid of downtown – I work there and I’ve also attended school there. But, if I actually enjoyed hanging out downtown, I would have moved there a long time ago. Same thing with all of you downtowners – if you enjoyed being OTP, you’d move there, wouldn’t you?
So stop being a hypocrite and telling us that we have to spend two hours roundtrip driving or riding to a game that we really don’t give a flip about in the first place. If you love downtown, or if you love pro basketball, or if you love hockey, then support it more and keep these teams in Atlanta so you can enjoy them.
But don’t sit there and tell the rest of us that we have to “support” the Hawks and Thrashers or we’re just a bunch of hillbillies. Asking us to pay money to support sports we don’t like, playing in an area we don’t enjoy, is like taxing us to pay for your healthcare!
martin
March 17th, 2010
11:50 am
The Thrashers are still here?
shawn
March 17th, 2010
11:51 am
Finally, we get a chance to get rid of Spirit. How Arthur Blank as a new owner? Or even Ted Turner? well, it is probably a wishful thinking.
Delbert D.
March 17th, 2010
11:51 am
Maybe somebody from Duluth will buy the Hawks. Move them to a new stadium that’s not in a high crime area.
Raider Fan
March 17th, 2010
11:53 am
This has probably been said 48 times already, but:
BRING BACK TED!
OZZFEST
March 17th, 2010
11:57 am
SELL THE TEAM, JEB…
GSUFan
March 17th, 2010
12:02 pm
I don’t think it’s so much that people that are scared of going downtown because they’ve heard that someone has gotten mugged right there. As someone that attends GSU, I can tell you that people are getting shot (like over at Walters, which is like what, ten blocks away) and mugged and kidnapped, and these are students, from parking decks and what not. I understand the fear. On top of that, traffic and parking are a total nightmare. But you know, I agree with Greg, I would totally live down there if I could. You just have to be careful, and there are a lot of people that are too stupid to realize how to be careful. And a lot of people would rather go to Gwinnett Arena. It’s a nice place, they have big names like Eric Clapton and Michael Buble and they have the Glads! It’s cheaper and closer to a lot of people’s homes, who live in Gwinnett Co. That’s a lot of people. AND PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SAVE MONEY. Parking, Tickets, Food: It all cost money.
The thing is, if the team makes or will make the playoffs, people will come. Simple as that. I know the Hawks are doing well, but that’s just how it rolls in this city. I know that the Spirit Suck, but changing owners won’t change attendance, unless the teams are in first place, or in the playoffs. There would have to be a major incentive for people to come. In Atlanta, with all teams, that is being so good the chance the team will lose is about 5%.
Middle D
March 17th, 2010
12:02 pm
When the hawks wise up and move to a safe, suburban area with easy, inexpensive parking, I’ll attend the games.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 17th, 2010
12:05 pm
“For the record if you don’t live in Gwinnett it’s an arduous journey to get all the way up to Gwinnett Arena.”
You don’t have to be outside of Gwinnett for that to be an arduous journey. I live on the Gwinnett-DeKalb border and it takes me longer to get to Gwinnett Arena than it does to get to Philips.
E
March 17th, 2010
12:05 pm
I work off of Pleasant Hill Rd. in Gwinnett county. I would take being downtown on a Falcons/Tharashers/Hawks/Concert gamenight than stopping for gas at 10:00pm at the RaceTrack in P-Hill Rd. ANYDAY. Gwinnett is a scary, scary, dark place.
RenegadesRugby
March 17th, 2010
12:05 pm
I am embarrassed. I call myself an Atlanta fan. And I have a desire to go to more games. I haven’t been to a Hawks game in 15 years or more. I have been to one Thrashers game this year. I make a goal to attend at least 2 Thrashers games each year, and wanted to attend at least 2 Hawks games this year as well. I have failed on that front.
I like the games downtown because MARTA doesn’t run to the suburbs (Alpharetta/Roswell/Duluth/East Cobb/Lawrenceville etc etc.). It makes it easier to not deal with traffic and also to not worry about if I had one too many beers. I would like to see some changes in the Thrashers organization, but I hope they stay in Atlanta. I also think that the city of Atlanta NEEDS these teams to stay downtown. Atlanta better recognize how important it is for its budget that the Falcons/Hawks/Thrashers stay in-town.
I will also say that the area surrounding the GWCC, GA Dome and Philips Arena is vastly improving. I really want the Falcons to play in an open air stadium, or at least a stadium with a retractable roof, but I want them to stay downtown more than anything.
Joe Shmoe
March 17th, 2010
12:05 pm
I’m a big fan of the Thrashers. I watch the Hawks on TV more now than I have ever.
Why don’t I go to games? Ownership. Plain and simple. These teams suck, they don’t have what it takes to win and they aren’t marketed well. The ownership knows nothing about the sport, they’re just a bunch of rich whitey tighty nerds who thought they’d make a lot of money if they owned a team. Sorry you gotta win and give me a reason to spend my money. I’m not wasting money on an already expensive sport only to show up and see the garbage of a team they are trying to sell me.
When the Thrashers made the playoffs I was just introduced really to the team. I was at both home games and making lots of noise. I almost bought season tickets the next year, and then this team just implodes. You want Atlanta fans to waste their time and money on these sports? Bring in new owners (one for each team) and fire everyone in the building. Bring in respectable professionals who actually know how to build a team, not some cheap, learn on the job, no experience, loser of a GM. Build a team with heart and passion for the game and the city and maybe you’ll have me actually wanting to go to the games. Until then, I’d rather watch conveniently from my nice HDTV in my living room at no extra charge.