Door isn’t closed but Thrashers’ picture still gloomy
This photo would suggest Michael Gearon (left) and Bruce Levenson have been passionate and dedicated owners of the Thrashers. Pictures can be deceiving. (AJC photo)
So now we can officially move one aspect of the Thrashers’ potential franchise relocation from the logical rumor to the fact category.
The AJC has confirmed that Thrashers’ ownership is in negotiations to sell the team to True North Sports and Entertainment, which would move the franchise to Winnipeg. While the negotiations have long been assumed, this is the first time somebody familiar with the NHL process has confirmed talks actually are taking place.
Does this mean the Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg is a done deal? No. Fact is, the Phoenix Coyotes’ move to Winnipeg seemed certain until the city of Glendale, Ariz., stunningly agreed to pay $25 million to the NHL — effectively funding the team — for at least one more season. But the odds still heavily favor the NHL losing its NHL franchise for the second time.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said via email to our Chris Vivlamore, “Nothing I’m prepared to say at this point.” But this is the same Daly who last week said, “I can’t guarantee” that the Thrashers will play next season in Atlanta.
Since I wrote last week that the NHL appeared to be abandoning Atlanta, unlike its very public and passionate stance to save Phoenix, league commissioner Gary Bettman has been catching some heat. USA Today, among others, weighed in with a similar perspective.
One other factor in the Thrashers’ favor is Bettman’s clear dislike for part-owner Bruce Levenson and the rest of the Atlanta Spirit group. He would prefer not to simply allow a sell and franchise move, whereby the Spirit profits. Bettman and the league understand that the Atlanta market has failed is largely because because of the way the franchise has been run.
But in the end, there likely are only a few scenarios in which the Thrashers will stay in Atlanta:
♦ 1.) A financial angel falls out of the sky. But thus far, no prospective owner has come forward with both a stated desire to buy the team and proof of his financial worth.
♦ 2.) Something falls apart on the Winnipeg end (with True North), or from the league’s perspective (other owners may be uncomfortable with the fact new local ownership for the Coyotes still isn’t assured).
♦ 3.) Bettman effectively stalls and gives the Atlanta franchise a one-year stay of execution, telling Levenson and the Spirit that the franchise can’t be moved for next season. It’s not believed the Atlanta Spirit could just walk away from the hockey team and throw the keys to the league. So it’s not certain what would happen if Bettman disallowed a move right now and the Spirit resisted.
There is no official time table on this. But given logistics and the fact next season’s schedule generally is released during or just following the Stanley Cup finals, there needs to be resolution soon.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
175 comments Add your comment
IlliniBrave
May 16th, 2011
5:37 pm
To all those folks who are threatening “to never again go to another Hawks game”:
uh… you go to Hawks games? Why?!
juice sourcer
May 16th, 2011
5:54 pm
Losersville, USA
preacher
May 16th, 2011
6:00 pm
Winnipeg, the smallest market in the NHL, gets a loser. Guaranteed.
Let NONE in
May 16th, 2011
6:02 pm
DOOR is Closed. Turn off the lights. You all have been great.
Reid in EAV
May 16th, 2011
6:03 pm
ASG screws us for years and this is the thanks we get.
SouthernFriedHockey
May 16th, 2011
6:07 pm
Just seems to me like the franchise was doomed from the start. No affiliation whatsoever with former Flames players, not owning our minor league affiliate, spending at the league minimum at best. There are way too many reasons to list.
Seems to me the league really dropped the ball on this one from the get go. I personally began emailing Bettman years ago as I am sure many others did regarding the state of our ownership group. Hockey in Atlanta is not the problem, neither are the fans. We will support a team where the players compete and the ownership cares to at least try. We support honest effort, not BS.
Let NONE in
May 16th, 2011
6:11 pm
GOOOOOO GEORGIA BULL DAWGS WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let NONE in
May 16th, 2011
6:14 pm
Does Winnipeg have a legitimate airport?
Cletus Dooley Earnhardt SR.
May 16th, 2011
6:15 pm
Heyy boyss at leaste the GORGIA BULLDOWGS FoOtballs ARE STILLL IN ATLANTTA!!!!
-GO UGA
G52PIM228
May 16th, 2011
6:23 pm
“Does Winnipeg have a legitimate airport?”
You will have to fly into Fargo unless you want to hire a bush pilot..
Report: Atlanta Spirit,True North negotiating deal; Thrashers could relocate to Winnipeg | SweetLittleAss.com
May 16th, 2011
6:39 pm
[...] Schultz expanded on the subject in a column for the AJC, pointing out that the outlook is grim but the move isn’t set in stone, either. Schultz mapped [...]
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 16th, 2011
6:45 pm
This is the fault of ownership and management for years of an inferior product.
Amen to that.
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 16th, 2011
7:01 pm
Airports are where civilizations are located not where Polar Bears rule the land.
Sage of Bluesland
May 16th, 2011
7:16 pm
Oh well, such it is. Let this be a lesson to those businesses who think they can continue to fob an inferior product down our throats and expect us to be grateful for it.
Not gonna happen.
My final hope is that Don Waddell is disgraced enough to move out of this wonderful city, the city which he has lied to and defrauded for so long; a place from which he has taken much–yet given back so little.
I also hope that the team is forced to spend one more year here in Atlanta….and the stupid sheep finally wake up and stop subsidizing the incompetence which has been so apparent for so long.
(Too bad you didn’t listen so long ago–maybe changes could have been forced much sooner….but, I’m sure Sara and her spweadsheet will help us all see the light…)
blazerdawg
May 16th, 2011
7:35 pm
Flames drew very well.
Knights broke IHL attendance records.
Thrashers set the expansion NHL attendance record.
After a few years, when another team’s fan base is down in a smaller market, that owner is going to take a hard look at Philips arena and this market.
Long Island, Columbus and Florida – you are on the clock.
Producer
May 16th, 2011
7:41 pm
Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on your way out of town. Nobody here care a whit about hockey. While you’re at it take the loser Hawks with you. They play like a WNBA franchise without the benefit of their attendance level.
Thoroughbred
May 16th, 2011
9:01 pm
Hahaaaaaaaaaaah I pray the Thrashers leave Atlanta! For those of y’all that are upset boo hoo hoo. This is the South not Canada, Russia, or somewhere like that. All you hockey lovers move with Thrashers back north.
Tom Lysiak
May 16th, 2011
9:23 pm
The only real thing we can hope for is the third option Jeff listed. Besides Bettman realizing the ASG is at fault here, the league has responsibilty for not properly vetting this bunch of clowns. Hopefully the other owners fully realize the situation here and will not allow the “power play” move the ASG is attempting. Too bad these clowns didn’t put the same effort into the Thrashers as they are putting into enriching themselves, while sacrificing hockey fans in Atlanta. “Trying to do everything we can to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta” my a–.
mike fischer
May 16th, 2011
9:58 pm
While some appear sad to hear that your team is leaving, again, we in the Peg are thrilled to have a wrong done to us 15 years ago be righted. Though the pain and anguish that we suffered can not be forgotten, the return of NHL hockey to Canada and more specifically Winnipeg will be a welcome sight. We in Winnipeg live and breathe hockey. We have snow on the ground for 5 months of the year and temperatures cold enough outside to sustain outdoor ice rinks, we have over 200 outdoor rinks, for three months of the year. Don’t worry Atlanta, we will take care of your team. Go Jets Go!
Darrell S Jackson
May 16th, 2011
10:05 pm
When did hockey come to Atlanta?
perk
May 16th, 2011
10:10 pm
What a Damn Shame………………..
ylojkt
May 16th, 2011
10:34 pm
Hate to see it happen. We need the Thrashers, Atlanta is a good hockey town! Where’s Ted Turner when we need him? Stupid AOL screws everything up.
The numbers for the last few years are normal for this down economy. You could count on me and my family for at least 10 – 12 games a season before 2008, since then, we have only been to three games. It’s ridiculous for the NHL to have a double standard here, Atlanta is everything Phoenix is not – a major market with a huge area for a fanbase. The team has to recover with the economy, that’s just simple math here.
KLS1
May 16th, 2011
10:37 pm
ASG are complete aholes…don’t think they won’t bury the Hawks before it is over.
Save the Thrashers by getting rid of these clowns and maybe all ATL sports fans can sleep at night.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
May 16th, 2011
10:46 pm
Is an NHL franchise even worth having? the estimated cost for a buyer of the thrashers is $170 mil..even the sh*tty astros just sold for $680million and about half the NFL teams have a (will have until they start missing reg season games and piss me and others the hell off enough to not renew my season tickets to the falcons) values over $1billion. The NHL is the red headed stepchild with a forged kenyan birth certificate league. They are only profitable in about 1/2 of the markets they are in. Those would be the cold markets.
Pegger8
May 16th, 2011
11:06 pm
Awwwww, Winnipeg=Poverty, your just so cute when you get mad at Winnipeg! You just wish you could be us in the GREAT white north! Sorry to hear things are so depressing where you are (Probably AZ?) that you feel the need to make these desperate, inferior, comments. Hopefully this at least makes you feel a little better about yourself. It gives us a chuckle when those below us try and take shots. But be careful or we are gonna stop buying all of your cheap, foreclosed real estate! You need our money, what do they say about “biting the hand that feeds you”?
As for Atlanta we win Wpg do feel your pain, and this is far from the best way to get a team back. I hope Winnipeggers are sensitive to this fact (most are) if it happens.
Pegger8
May 16th, 2011
11:08 pm
..we in Wpg….
Bill
May 17th, 2011
12:06 am
Michael Gearon, Bruce Levenson, Don Waddell … thank you for ruining hockey in Atlanta … where can i send thank you notes?
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 17th, 2011
12:11 am
@Trisha: The $170 million would only be if they are re-locating because it would include a $60 million re-location fee for the NHL.
jrdawg88
May 17th, 2011
12:15 am
At the risk of pointing out the obvious, ASG has been trying to sell the team for some time now. During this period, they have either a) rejected the option of selling the team to local owners, or b) no local owners have shown a willingness/ability to purchase the team. Which is it? Since the answer is obviously b, why is it that no locals want to purchase the team and keep it here?
Brendan
May 17th, 2011
1:35 am
Well, could this finally be the end of screaming “Knights!” during the National anthem? Could this finally be the end of Don Waddell ruining an NHL product? Could this finally be the end of the name “Philips” attached to the arena adjacent to CNN Center?
If so, who knew the cost would be so high, to make these changes.
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 17th, 2011
1:56 am
“Well, could this finally be the end of screaming “Knights!” during the National anthem”
LOL if the Thrash leave that will probably just switch over to the Glads games.
George Arnold Toynbee
May 17th, 2011
5:58 am
The withering irony in all this is at the end of the day everything might have have turned out geometrically better if ownership had ended up being: a) a used car dealer; b) a credit card salesman; or c) any combination thereof. If nothing else they certainly would’ve had alot more business savvy…
Winnipeg, Canada
May 17th, 2011
7:56 am
There is still a “crack” in the door.
Underground Atlanta
May 17th, 2011
7:58 am
The Atlanta Spirit Group has always been goofy and gloomy.
Dave28
May 17th, 2011
8:30 am
People talk about the NBA being in bad shape, but the NHL is a complete and total mess. It’s sad to see the Thrashers leave, yes but at the end of the day Atlanta just doesn’t care enough about them, except for the 6,000 people that show up. This won’t be the last team to move. At least 1/3 of the teams in the league are rumored to be for sale or will be at some point. The NHL is in so many markets that it shouldn’t be in, it’s not funny: Phoenix, Atlanta, Columbus, Nashville, Florida (Miami), Dallas, etc. You can have 5 million people, like Atlanta does, but if you have a region that doesn’t care for a cold weather sport it doesn’t matter. NHL is a regional sport, not a national one and that’s why it’s failing here and so many other places. Move those teams to Canada or fold them and problem solved.
TheAntiMe
May 17th, 2011
8:57 am
Hahaaaaaaaaaaah I pray the Thrashers leave Atlanta! For those of y’all that are upset boo hoo hoo. This is the South not Canada, Russia, or somewhere like that. All you hockey lovers move with Thrashers back north.
Spoken like a true redneck. I would have thought that you would have liked hockey, Thoroughbred. After all, many times hockey games end in a tie, which is often said to be like kissing your sister. Obviously, with a name like Thoroughbred, you and your family take the sister kissing concept to a whole other level.
Dave
May 17th, 2011
9:23 am
I don’t care if the Thrashers stay or go, but I’ll be disappointed if the Gladiators relocate.
Gen Neyland
May 17th, 2011
9:26 am
It’s becoming crystal clear that Atlanta can’t hold and cherish til death do us part a NHL team. The reason seems to be beyond the fanbase and lies in the boardrooms. Pitiful. Atlanta ought to register the franchise name of the Atlanta Purgatory’s for any other NHL team that passes through the City of Ashes on their way to the promised land…
Gary Bettman
May 17th, 2011
10:14 am
Dear Atlanta Thrasher Fans,
I need all of you to bend over and enjoy what’s coming…..
Sincerely,
Gary Bettman
NHL Commissioner
Steve-o
May 17th, 2011
10:25 am
Would this be the soonest that a city lost a major league franchise – after only 11 years?
Anders Hedberg
May 17th, 2011
10:27 am
G52PIM228
Don’t be bitter about Canadians buying up American teams. We’re already buying all of your real estate. If it weren’t for Canadians, your foreclosed homes would not have any buyers – your economy would be even sicker than it is now. All those unemployed people…
Go out and do something productive today. You don’t have time to think about hockey. Today might be a good day to try to find some real employment.
Gary Bettman
May 17th, 2011
10:43 am
Dear Atlanta Thrasher Fans,
I need all of you to bend over and enjoy what’s coming…..
Sincerely,
Gary Bettman
NHL Commissioner
P.S. – I will bring the ____ Jelly
jeffrey d
May 17th, 2011
11:02 am
Countdown?
G52PIM228
May 17th, 2011
11:03 am
“Don’t be bitter about Canadians buying up American teams.”
The exodus to Canaduh is astonishing..
jc
May 17th, 2011
11:12 am
NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies left for Memphis after only six years (1995-2001).
AtlFlamesFan
May 17th, 2011
11:17 am
@ jrdawg88
I would bet that the lack of interest would be that the owner of the Thrashers would be leasing Philips from ASG; a risky proposition.
Anders Hedberg
May 17th, 2011
11:35 am
G52
If you think hockey belongs in the south, get ready for some astonishing changes over the next few years.
DawgDad
May 17th, 2011
11:37 am
Perhaps a burdensome Philips Arena lease is one reason potential new local owners are shying away. If that’s the case this franchise is doomed in Atlanta. If they try to operate here in Atlanta with the current ownership next year – ugly scenario.
Anyone blaming the fan support – I have nothing but utter contempt for you. I come from St. Louis where Harry Ornest rescued the Blues from a move to Saskatchewan, operated the team on a shoestring budget, and hired Ron Caron who put that team in the playoffs every year and set the stage for a very successful run during the Brett Hull years under ownership led by Mike Shanahan. The ASG is the worst ownership group I’ve ever seen; they’ve admitted in court procedings they bought the team just to flip it and then lied about that. This was not an Atlanta NHL franchise, it was a scam perpetrated on local NHL fans.
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 17th, 2011
12:23 pm
@ Anders Hedberg
If you think anybody associated with the NHL wants to go to Winnipeg, get ready for some astonishing negative comments directed Winnipeg’s way over the next few years.
Relocationist
May 17th, 2011
12:33 pm
Hey, Anders, that’s some pretty sound advice. Thanks.