It’s shameful to blame fans if Thrashers move to Winnipeg
The Atlanta Spirit pie chart never worked. The Thrashers' failures are not the fault of fans.
(Updated: 2 p.m.)
Like warped kismet, the Thrashers were scheduled to face the Phoenix Coyotes Thursday night, the same week one of the Atlanta Spirit’s captains of disaster declared a relative state of emergency.
There should have been viewing parties in Winnipeg for this, because there’s a very good chance one of these teams is ending up in Manitoba. These rumors have been circulating for months, and not just from the usual Canadian chamber-of-commerce-type knuckleheads who have a vested interest. The rumors are like dominoes, and they fall like this:
♦ 1) The NHL has assured Winnipeg it is getting a team back.
♦ 2) The Coyotes, who’ve had financial issues since moving from Winnipeg in 1996, went into bankruptcy and now are operated by the league, would move back to Winnipeg if current arena refinancing issues can’t be resolved.
♦ 3) Should Phoenix resolve its problems and not relocate, the Thrashers will move to Winnipeg.
I wish I had a dollar for every time somebody used the term “done deal” with me over the last two months.
Michael Gearon was right about one thing: There is a “sense of urgency.” He just misplaces the blame. For him to suddenly put the onus on the fan base – “The reality is we need fans showing up and we need investors or a primary investor” – for hockey’s lifeline in Atlanta is disingenuous and shameful.
Fans showed up when the product was new and fresh. Fans showed up when the Thrashers won and made the playoffs. But since 1999, the team mostly has been mismanaged and run on the cheap.
Atlanta gets knocked for being “a bad sports town.” Fact is, Atlanta sports fans are smart and discerning consumers because they mandate a reason to spend their money. After being dumped on for most of 11 years since 1999, are Thrashers fans supposed to run through walls for a few good months? Scars take longer to heal.
Gearon, Bruce Levenson, and the rest don’t care. In the past, ownership suggested the $10 million annual Philips Arena naming rights deal was tied to having two tenants. It was a fallback soundbite every time a rumored move came up. Now, Thrashers president Don Waddell claims that’s not the case. If the Thrashers leave, he said, the Spirit merely receives a reduced pro-rated amount. (The Spirit denies an earlier version of the blog that said the naming rights deal was renegotiated six months ago.)
Over a year ago, when the Thrashers sat down to attempt to negotiate a new contract with Ilya Kovalchuk, ownership was apoplectic that Kovalchuk and his agent addressed potential new ownership and the team’s uncertain future in negotiations. Some wanted to cast the failed negotiations as the pro sports cliché of an athlete just asking for too much money. The fact was that Kovalchuk didn’t want to wake up in two years and find out he was moving to . . . Winnipeg.
When he couldn’t get assurances the team would stay in Atlanta, he played his only bargaining chip: He asked for the moon.
This situation is tearing up the insides of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. He doesn’t want to be the guy who allowed Atlanta to lose an NHL franchise for the second time. But he knows it’s a horrible situation created by horrible ownership, which he has called on the carpet before. There is no incentive for an outsider to purchase only the hockey team and keep it in Atlanta. There also is no market right now for the Spirit to sell both teams and the arena rights, even though both have been on the market for at least two years.
The Spirit admits in a current complaint against their former attorneys that they’ve been seeking to sell the Thrashers almost since closing the deal to buy them. How can somebody claim to be putting out the best possible product and at the same time be looking to dump it?
There’s a word for that: fraud.
I’m not sure there’s a way out of this. Even if the Coyotes move back to Winnipeg, the Thrashers will be in the same situation, waiting for a financial archangel the way you and I wait for a winning lottery ticket. It wasn’t right in 1980 when Tom Cousins had to sell the Flame to support his real estate ventures, and it’s not right now.
Gearon said this is an urgent matter. Neglect will do that. But this was years in the making. Don’t throw that into the laps of fans.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
Earlier:
– NCAA investigating Auburn again (not Cam Newton this time)
– Dreaming of Albert Pujols as a Brave
– Roger Goodell should be negotiating, not Tweeting for clicks
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
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223 comments Add your comment
ss
February 18th, 2011
8:19 am
hey gt,
Your point is fair, but when these clowns invest into something that dont have a clue what their doing with maybe they should use the options to figure out how to build a good product. Though their all arrogant and i hope the hawks suck the rest of the season.
Blueland Buddha
February 18th, 2011
9:13 am
There are several grassroots movements to make our passion for the Thrashers known on a wider scale. The callers into NHL Hour with Gary Bettman (every Thursday at 6pm) were great! We had several Thrashers fans that made it on air. There is the well publicized Keep The Thrashers website and FB page. There is also The Concerned Atlanta Thrashers Fans Facebook page. We should make all attempts to get get our voices heard! Please join them!
The Ghost of Norm Van Brocklin
February 18th, 2011
9:16 am
Wait a minute…..Atlanta has a hockey team? REALLY?
Nonfan
February 18th, 2011
9:33 am
Much ado about nothing. The Thrashers have always sucked. The Hawks are also a mediocrity that can’t really contend in the post season. I would say the management group is a joke, but there is nothing funny about continually offering up pathetic teams and then complaining that Atlanta is a bad sports city. Bye, Thrash.
JMT21
February 18th, 2011
9:36 am
Jeff was on Team 1200 to discuss the ownership woes. He mentioned that no new owner in their right mind would get in bed with ASG. Judging by what I’ve read many here are probably in agreement.
He then went on to mention that any new owner or ownership would need to separate themselves entirely from ASG and in all likelihood would need to purchase the Thrashers, Hawks, and Phillips arena to make a go of it.
I’m guessing this would be a 500 million investment.
Being from Winnipeg I’d be happy to have a team back and it seems the Thrasher fans certainly deserve better than what ASG are giving them.
10,300 announced attendance in Glendale yesterday…… actual attendance closer to 8K.
If a city doesn’t deserve a team it’s clearly Glendale…….
Jeff Schultz
February 18th, 2011
9:40 am
JSS — Far be it for me to defend a car salesman but I’m not going to indict McDavid as a potential sports owner just because he’s, uh, “colorful.”
Jeff Schultz
February 18th, 2011
9:41 am
JP — Very cool comments, thank you.
Jeff Schultz
February 18th, 2011
9:43 am
Dawgma — Thanks. You’re correct about nobody in ASG taking blame.
Jeff Schultz
February 18th, 2011
9:45 am
Paddy — It’s funny — reminds me of the belief some folks have that a media person only hates athletes when they don’t talk to them or act like an A-hole. I’ve never been like that. If a guy is an A-hole but he’s honest and yells at you to your face, I’m fine with that. At least I know where they’re coming from. It’s the dishonest backstabbers I can’t stand — and some of those folks are great in public.
Jeff Schultz
February 18th, 2011
9:45 am
Thanks Larry.
Jeff Schultz
February 18th, 2011
9:46 am
SS –Winnipeg has a smaller arena that I believe seats about 14,000 (don’t hold me to that). But actually was talking to a friend in Toronto yesterday who told me they can raise the roof to expand the arena.
Jimmy Crack
February 18th, 2011
9:50 am
This can’t be true, Jeff.
680 the Fan’s celebrity oracle Father John “my farts don’t stink” Kinkade says it is all the fan’s fault.
Who am I to believe?
kaiser souze
February 18th, 2011
10:04 am
Insightful article and even more insightful comments by the masses. The Lack of Spirit Group is not deserving or smart enought to roll with the Big Boys of the NHL or NBA. They bought a big house in a expensive community but don’t have the bucks to furnish it properly. No bucks, no Buck Rodgers to ride in and save the day. Atlanta fans are discerning and in this economic climate the sports dollar is quite frugal. We invest in organizations that we would be proud to be a part of and well represent our city and Georgia. The Lack of Spirit Group. no soup for you, or fans or winning playoff series. Dumb sh_ts all.Selah!
JMT21
February 18th, 2011
10:10 am
The MTS Centre holds 15,003 for hockey. There has been talk regarding raising the roof to add more seats but the ownership said it wouldn’t happen because the costs to do so would far outweigh the revenue from adding say 2,000 seats.
Adding 2,000 seats by raising the roof would likely be the cheapest tickets so the potential revenue wouldn’t be worth the cost.
ATLSN
February 18th, 2011
10:18 am
If you’re an Atlanta/Georgia Sports fan and want to talk with other fans, check out our NEW message board.
http://www.atlsportsnation.com/forum
We have team forums for the Falcons, Bulldogs, Hawks, Braves, Yellow Jackets, Thrashers, etc. Please register and post! Be apart of a huge site in the early days of existence. See ya there! We’re looking for posters, moderators, bloggers/writers. Join up if interested.
I Hate Hockey
February 18th, 2011
10:20 am
I hate Hockey but I have a lot of friends that love it. This is completely the fault of ownership and not the fans. I hope they stay for my Hockey loving friends but this team should be given to owners that give a S*&t and taken away from these spoiled brats that We currently have now.
NHLer for Life
February 18th, 2011
10:25 am
As a season ticket holder, I need a compelling reason for renewing (side note: BY MARCH 11 to include PLAYOFF TIckets) for an uncertain season that may not even materialize here in the Atl. Every day goes by and the reasons fail to appear. There is more negativity coming from this group of misfits that lessens the chance of my renewal.
The marketing campaign for this season really was spot on – the team may be good, but we are brutal. Brutally good? Come’on, the biggest oxymoron I have ever heard.
I have followed the NHL all my life, the youth of this team bodes well for the future but we will never see it. Going to games used to be fun and as a season ticketholder, was a worthy investment. These days it is playing the most moronic games during breaks (Cliff Hanger?, fan wave -who thought of this mindless exercise?), promotions that do NOT entice people to come out, and treating the season ticketholders as mindless syncophants. There is nothing special about being a season ticket holder, just someone who gets laughed at as a fool.
While I do not wish for the team to leave, I wish someone with a set of gonads would step up and honestly communicate with the fan base. We have been lied to (relocation tied to Philips Arena contract), doing our best, etc. Time to throw them out.
The aggravation has to stop. Our health depends on it as well as the health of the team.
Sage of Bluesland
February 18th, 2011
10:40 am
John Kincade is a ‘paid’ representative of the organization (like the other tool Darren Eliot). Their hands are ‘tied’ and can only serve one master, so to speak.
However, recognize the propaganda for what it is.
To blame any of this on the fans is not only dishonest, it is reprehensible. It is disgusting.
It is further proof, for any that need it, that this organization’s ownership/management do not deserve another dollar to subsidize their incompetence.
I’ve been offended for many years on the double-talk, the failed promises, the failed performances, the failed vision, the failed deliverables…but this final act was it for me. I won’t go down there for even “one last time”. I refuse to give a single dollar of mine to those who have treated me with such disdain.
Nope, can’t do it. It’s not in the fiber of my being. Those who continue to subsidize even a small portion of this abomination is part of the problem now.
If you want to force a change, then cut the funds…entirely. If ownership and management don’t care, then why on Earth do YOU?
Think about it.
JSS
February 18th, 2011
10:57 am
Jeff Schultz
February 18th, 2011
9:40 am
“JSS — Far be it for me to defend a car salesman but I’m not going to indict McDavid as a potential sports owner just because he’s, uh, “colorful.”
Old Bud is “colorful” too… But at the end of the day, he’s no better than Art Modell… McDavid is a stone cold predator who has made his millions on the backs of either the very poor and just hard working people who are fighting to stay afloat. Now I know it is second nature for financial predators to be put on a pedestal, especially here in GA. However, to knowingly elicit an owner like that, I again say “No thanks!”
JSS
February 18th, 2011
11:06 am
Sage of Bluesland
February 18th, 2011
10:40 am
“John Kincade is a ‘paid’ representative of the organization. Their hands are ‘tied’ and can only serve one master, so to speak.”
Kincade’s hands are not tied. Everything that he does is a calculated to his benefit. He had no problem speaking his mind before. I have never put one ounce of credence of validity to any opinion that he makes, product that he endorses, or cause he champions. He choses to sell his soul. He is a mercenary!
Sage of Bluesland
February 18th, 2011
11:29 am
I don’t know about that JSS; I consider him an “agent” of the organization. A paid-agent (either monetary or non-monetary benefits). I’m sure there are conditions in his agency agreement/contract, etc.
I would also bet you that one of those conditions is not to poop on the organization through his radio-show…
He has no problem speaking his mind when he is not committed contractually….Thus, take everything–EVERYTHING–he states related to the Thrashers with a very small grain of salt.
I know I do. Even when he wasn’t doing his little gig between periods, he may have had his eyes on such an eventuality…
In the end, he has proven, time and again, to be nothing more than a tool of the ham-fisted organization….and a poor one at that, too….
(His email discourse has proven to be lacking, trust me….)
Does Arthur Blank
February 18th, 2011
11:36 am
For the last five years Blank has been trying to get an MLS team here. Surely, someone needs to realize that the lose of the Thrashers anywhere will seriously jeopardize any chance of another top league sports team coming here. Heck the MLS are even having exhihibiton games at KSU to explore viability – how viable is it when an NHL team which has more wide spread support is being shipped to Canada. If the city of Atlanta doesn’t want to biggest joke of a city in a week where they were named the #2 crime city in America and their school board are accused of wide spread cheating then they need to step in a sort this situation out
Jeff Schultz
February 18th, 2011
12:03 pm
JSS — “McDavid is a stone cold predator who has made his millions on the backs of either the very poor and just hard working people who are fighting to stay afloat.”
… Oh gee. Like that differentiates him from most sports owners.
meh
February 18th, 2011
12:14 pm
we can’t lose another team to Canada. they already took the Flames, they can’t have the Thrashers. let’s keep them in Atlanta
meh
February 18th, 2011
12:23 pm
the problem is that the ownership sucks. it’s hard to get the fan base to care about the team when the ownership doesn’t
gooneygoogoo
February 18th, 2011
12:52 pm
So was Kovy pointing at the Stanley cup and saying to Crosby I wish i could one of those like you did???
gooneygoogoo
February 18th, 2011
1:02 pm
What about MLK III. He wanted in on the METS. Maybe he will put his money where his mouth is, and breakdown some barriers by owning a hockey team.
gooneygoogoo
February 18th, 2011
1:31 pm
Wow now i will have to drive to raliegh or nashville to see the PENS.
Dawg Tired
February 18th, 2011
1:41 pm
Hockey should be played in Canada or one of the original “hockey towns” in the US like Detroit or Pittsburgh. The only thing more ridiculous than playing hockey in Atlanta is playing in Florida or the desert.
Fans - Tell Chamber of Commerce to Step Up
February 18th, 2011
1:42 pm
This is a sad situation for Atlanta hockey fans. Not surprising the NHL does not consider Rollins as an alternative. We have added a way to contact the Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce asking them to lead the fight to save our hockey team – leaders need to lead on this issue:
http://www.keepthethrashers.com/chamber.html
Keep fighting the good fight! Let’s not let Canada take our team.
Dawg Tired
February 18th, 2011
1:51 pm
Hockey should be played in Canada or one of the original US “hockey towns’ like Detroit or Pittsburgh. The only thing more ridiculous than playing hockey in Atlanta is playing hockey in Florida or the desert.
The Atlanta Spirit are part of the Unfortunate Segment of the Populace
February 18th, 2011
2:03 pm
`
Can we send the Atlanta Spirit Bozo Group to Wnnipeg forever
. . . . . . . . . . . and keep the Thrashers.
PopeyeTheSailorMang
February 18th, 2011
2:12 pm
Jeff, ss et al – the 15,000 seat arena in Winnipeg is more than adequate according to the head honcho.
“You’re going to have a very intimate building that can generate substantially, not completely, but substantially all of the revenues that a slightly larger building could generate,” said Bettman. “So I don’t think people need to get hung up over a thousand seats.”
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=326714
LAC
February 18th, 2011
3:58 pm
This town WILL support NHL hockey and in a BIG way. However, these lying little whinning owners are THE sole reason people, including myself, a STH for 7 years, not to continue to go. Plus I was right in my assumption. New owner seats fill back up FAST ! Real Real easy equasion, hard to see Gary Bettman had NOT figured this one out…
Problem is paying these players sick amounts of money to play a game. That is one of the reasons pro teams are losing money on a regular basis. I can tell you as a business owner of seven shortline railroads, if I do not keep costs down and maximize my people and assets, I will lose money and I will not allow that to happen. To be a good businessman, you need COMMON sense as well, something most pro sports owners DO NOT HAVE.
Just look at the photo of these little wimps in Jeff’s artical. They are touching the basketball like it was a gift for GOD himself, while Idiot rutherford snydel, and Drunk levenson are holding the
hockey sticks like they were reaching for toilet paper.
IWhy all the hype the team will go to canada ? Guess these LIARS will never tell the truth,
I honestly have to say, I hope one day they ALL Burn and Rot in HELL for what they have put Atlanta Hockey Fans through. Satan will torment them forever and I really hope that happens !
stendek
February 18th, 2011
4:25 pm
Fans at fault? My a$$ Mr Schultz! Blame management. For sure. Blame players. Hell yes! Seen the uncaring go through motions ice follies these disinterested prima donna bums have been negotiating for the last few weeks? This so called team is not worth supporting Jeff! Went into tank a long time ago. Why in Hell should fans support a group of uncaring quitters who gave up on them? Not this one time fan. I will shed no tears when these losers crawl out of Atlanta to Hamilton, Quebec or wherever! Good riddance to bad rubbish! As for owners? Hell ain’t half full lying hypocrites. All your reservations have been confirmed! Have a nice day Jeff. Thanks for outlet to talk ice hockey. What AJC needs!
STENDEK
Jimbo
February 18th, 2011
4:58 pm
Right on Jeff. These guys may be the worst owners of any business that I have seen. If in fact they wanted to sell from Day 1, every owner recognizes that you want to increase the value by doing certain things- improved product, better service, increased awareness and reach, etc. The Gang That Couldn”t Manage Anything has done just the opposite and now they cry that it’s the fans. I sure hope that the NHL steps in and doesn’t let these clowns move hockey out of a good area. You are also correct that there are many transplanted hockey fans that recognize value and would support it if it was offered to us.
Yawn!
February 18th, 2011
6:29 pm
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Thrashers…and please take the Hawks with you!
JR1967
February 18th, 2011
7:11 pm
Yawn-I still remember back in the late 80s when the popular slogan in Atlanta was “Go Braves-and take the Falcons with you.”
Thrash 1
February 18th, 2011
7:23 pm
Good article – right on…
blazerdawg
February 18th, 2011
7:44 pm
Next game at Philips – FRIDAY, February 25 against Florida – let’s pack the place and show the NHL that Atlanta worked too hard to get a team back.
JSS
February 18th, 2011
9:13 pm
Sage of Bluesland
February 18th, 2011
11:29 am
“(His email discourse has proven to be lacking, trust me….)”
Oh I know, he spent half a show one day thinking he was berating me back in 2006 when was fanning the racial divide in Atlanta. This after people simply pointed out that he was wrong about a Mid American Conference team’s nickname.
Here’s my favorite Kincade tirade: “I have a national show on ESPN, I know I’m right! They are the Toledo Mud Hens (not the University of Toledo Rockets). I hope you enjoyed your 15 seconds of fame.”
I have no time for that pompous buffoon!
Bitter hershal in south beach
February 18th, 2011
9:32 pm
hockey please, i lost hope after the flames who drew over 12,000 at home games in the late 70’s were sent packing—–why have any hope that a bunch of greed suxing corp types would ever have the ATL interest at heart!!!!our system really sux—–thank god collage football is protected from scum bag money grubbing thugs—the h— with pro sports
Bitter wall street "thug"
February 18th, 2011
9:40 pm
quit whinny, our system is designed so to take advantage of the poor and what we all on “Wall st” refer to as gubbers( average middle class)
we only believe in profits—-so stuff that in your pipe and smoke it
PS: everything is for sale—–deal with it—its the USA baby
Drexel Gal
February 18th, 2011
10:33 pm
I have a solution: Sell the Thrashers to Tiger Woods. That will make him the good guy again.
Ray Ferraro's Bobble Head Doll
February 18th, 2011
10:45 pm
Jeff – Have the owners bought out Belkin yet? Or do they need to raise some cash by selling the Thrashers to do that?
Timmy
February 18th, 2011
10:48 pm
Who wants to bet that it won’t be more than a few years after the Thrashers move to Canada before there’s a winning product on the ice.
Wright
February 19th, 2011
12:11 am
ATL has had a history of horrible owners in every sport, so what makes this one different?
No One Cares
February 19th, 2011
12:47 am
Please remind me again why Atlanta even has an NHL Franchise? It’s almost as uninteresting as watching dirt.
scottbravesfan
February 19th, 2011
2:46 am
The ownership is awful. They have ruined the Thrashers and the Hawks. The Hawks are going to be stuck in mediocrity for awhile with the Joe Johnson contract.
wastedyears
February 19th, 2011
8:06 am
FIRE MARK RICHT NOW!!! HE IZ DA REASON THE TRASHERS CANT SELL TICKETS AND LOSE EVERY YEAR NO REALLY GO TRASHERS AND TAKE DA HAWKS WITH YOU HOCKEY IZ DUMB SO IZ BASKETBALL GO I DARE U HA HA STUPID GAME COLLEDGE FOOTBALL RULES