Bettman wants to make Thrashers’ sale hurt for Spirit
Hockey fans in Winnipeg aren't waiting for the official announcement: They were already celebrating the Thrashers' expected arrival on Thursday night. (AP photo)
Somebody who I trust — because he has been telling me that the Thrashers probably are going to wind up moving to Winnipeg for almost two years now — offered something else recently.
While it’s almost certainly too late to stop the train to Manitoba, Gary Bettman’s disdain for Bruce Levenson and the Atlanta Spirit is so great that wants to make it hurt financially for the Spirit.
I know. The last thing you really want to do right now is choose sides between Bettman and Levenson. Can they run into each other head first?
But if you’re looking for one microscopic scintilla of a possibility that the Thrashers’ move gets momentarily derailed, here it is: Bettman may be playing hardball. He not only wants the $60 million relocation fee that the NHL is mandating from True North Sports and Entertainment, he may want a share of the $110 million reportedly going to the Spirit for the purchase price.
Again, the possibility of this financial tug-of-wear stopping the Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg remains a long shot. (The Globe and Mail has reported it’s a done deal, although all parties are denying it.) But it’s worth noting that all franchise purchases — and certainly relocations — must be approved by NHL’s Board of Governors.
In short, Bettman has the hammer here.
Ken Campbell of The Hockey News has posted a blog outlining the exact thing I just addressed. But he takes it one step further, writing that not only is Bettman seeking a share of the Spirit’s possible $110 million, but Levenson is countering by seeking a share of the NHL’s would-be $60 million.
From Campbell’s blog:
What still has to be determined, according to a source, is how much of that purchase price goes to the Atlanta Spirit, a group that is hardly dealing from a position of strength when it comes to selling the team. …
Apparently, [Levenson] wants a bigger piece of the purchase price and is trying to get a portion of that $60 million from the NHL. It’s believed the league, meanwhile, not only wants the $60 million relocation fee, but a portion of the $110 million purchase price. In fact, there’s a possibility that the Atlanta Spirit might end up with only $80 million to $100 million of the purchase price. It should be noted that the relocation fee for the Thrashers seems to have come out of nowhere. There was no relocation fee when the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993, when the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995, when the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996 and when the Hartford Whalers relocated to Raleigh, N.C., in 1997.
And the NHL is completely in the driver’s seat on this one. … In reality, Levenson is faced with the prospect of taking what the NHL lets the Atlanta Spirit have or absorbing crushing losses for at least one more season.
Thrashers fans: Your best hope is that neither side backs down and this goes on so long that it will be too late to move the team this year. But don’t count on it.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
Earlier: Will Muschamp comes back to Georgia — as a Gator
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249 comments Add your comment
Ted
May 20th, 2011
11:31 pm
Some of the sportswriters spent so much time bashing the local WNBA team and talking about their financial woes, meanwhile the Thrashers were hemorrhaging $$$$. Heh, the Thrashers are going to a city that totally deserves them and in a place where hockey is completely appreciated. Bye bye
Wayne stuck in AL
May 20th, 2011
11:36 pm
JEFF:
As much as I hate the ASG, it’s not that simple. The reason Bettman wants his $60 million is because without the possibility of the Thrashers (or Coyotes) moving to the Great White Wasteland, he (and the league) could have raked in $100-200 million in expansion fees.
R. Stroz
May 20th, 2011
11:36 pm
I repectfully request that all the Peggers give this a listen from a former NHL player and Canadian:
http://www.tsn.ca/window/podcastcentre.aspx?xmlURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.tsn.ca%2Fpodcasts%2Ftsnpodcast.xml&mp3URL=http%3A%2F%2Fpodcast.tsn.ca%2Ftsnradio%2Fbouchard_051611.mp3
Ted
May 20th, 2011
11:40 pm
And it is true, as someone said earlier, we hockey fans who grew up in other places are rooting for our hometown teams, not the Thrashers, so we could really care less. NHL Center Ice makes it possible for us to watch our hometown teams too.
Jason
May 20th, 2011
11:47 pm
I’m sorry but the argument that Philips is downtown which is hard to get to, costs too much to park, has “those people” etc just doesn’t fly. Philips has since it opened been the number one or number two concert venue in the US and in the top ten worldwide. Plenty of people are able and willing to make it to Philips… it is one of the highest attended arenas ON PLANET EARTH!
Sorry for whatever bugaboos some of you might have but for the vast majority of people in metro Atlanta and the region, Philips is a great venue. Don’t blame Philips or your biases for the disaster caused by ASG and the NHL.
Dawg A
May 21st, 2011
12:07 am
I hope the ASG reads these posts……. You should be ashamed of yourselves and leave Atlanta. You have set back sports fifty years and it goes to show you don’t have to have brains to have money! Now sale the Hawks and leave!!
duh
May 21st, 2011
12:11 am
Enter your comments here
Jbailz23
May 21st, 2011
12:11 am
I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF ESPN CRANKING THE VOLUME ON THEIR IDIOT DUMB GUY COMMERCIALS.. not only r they so ridicules, but they make it about 40% louder so all the dumb jocks might understand to buy some chemical laced shaving cream.
Jbailz23
May 21st, 2011
12:12 am
great article Jeff
thrasherdawg
May 21st, 2011
12:51 am
Aurther Blank has 24 hours to show up with a check for 110 million or it’s over.
builder dawg
May 21st, 2011
12:52 am
Screw Bettman, screw the ASG, I hope the ASG loses enough money to screw up the basketball. I hope Bettman loses his TV contract. The players deserve better than to be “sentenced” to a frozen gulag. Winnepeg, good luck with Donnywad. I hope he forgets where he is and gets frozen SOLID while running to the mailbox in Oct to get the paper in his underwear.I want pics of that. You know guys,you reap what you sow. Winnepeg, be careful what you wish for,these guys are not loaded with talent, and you got the WORST guy in Waddell . Hey ATL, lets find a real owner, build a facility in the Northern burbs, and go after Carolina in a few years. Screw this stuff!!! I’m going to the lake and go watersking, look at hundreds of tan babes and not worry about any of this. By the way winnepeg, its going to be 85-90 degrees for the next six months, man I LOVE the South!!!!! Enjoy the ice boys!
Les Habitants
May 21st, 2011
1:04 am
Winnipeg = Poverty,
Would you mind telling us how you got the idea of that name? The median household income of Atlanta is USD 45 800 while median household income of Winnipeg is CAD 70 510. Taking into account that CAD 1 = USD 1.0272, the wealth of Winnipeg’s population is head and shoulders above that of Atlanta.
http://www.clrsearch.com/Atlanta_Demographics/GA/Household-Income
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Winnipegs-median-family-income-70510-103058584.html?viewAllComments=y
kyle
May 21st, 2011
1:07 am
I’m happy to see western Canada get another NHL team, it was well overdue- its just to bad it has to come at the expense of a first-class city like Atlanta. This franchise had 11 seasons to string together at least a playoff run, and couldn’t get it accomplished. I guess the NHL just isn’t meant to be in Georgia, too bad too because the fans deserve it.
illputitoncspan
May 21st, 2011
1:27 am
WOW!!! Great post by R. Stroz at 11:36 pm. If you haven’t listened to it you need to. Unbelievable!!! Thanks for the post.
Albert Einstein
May 21st, 2011
2:12 am
We all need to take responsibility for this– those fans who decided not to attend just to hurt ownership; the piss poor owners who wouldn’t even push the limits of a salary cap in a post strike small market era for the benefit of the team, fans, and revenues; and the city, county, and state governmental agencies that are allowing this to happen. Ask the Atlanta Area Chamber of Commerce if drawing Sears or another large company from the north is easier or harder without a professional sports team in each league. Please, please, please show up tomorrow to support your hockey team and let the NHL know we really do care. I wish Ted Turner had never sold CNN to Time Warner. This will be a sad moment for Atlanta when we loose this franchise.
HillMan
May 21st, 2011
3:20 am
Jeff,
I posted the same message below on Chris’s blog in hopes that one of you will read this comment.
While I am sure DW has tried to do this, we all know he probably doesn’t have the juice to pull it off.
Here’s an idea to get a last minute hail mary and maybe even a story. What if the 4 large sponsors that are headquarters in the ATL and already sponsor the Thrashers stepped forward now and said (a) each will provide $5M in funding to the owners this year, in addition to what they currently fund, to offset potential loses while they search for a new owner and the (b) also commit to any new owner that they would do the same for at least the first five year. I am sure if a new ownership group knew they could count on $20M to offset start up loses they would come.
I am a STH since day one and believe there are at least 15000 core fans that would become brand loyal for life and spread the word to family and friends. It would be a great PR tool for them, the league and the team. It would allow us to show the league and others that with a fresh start this town would support the team and turn out with more that 15,500 fans on an average night.
If these sponsors have been asked to do something like this and refused, I as a fan would like to know that as well as I could make other choices. The idea here of course is since we don’t have a city council willing to spend $25M a year to keep a team here, maybe some local commerical heros will.
SV
May 21st, 2011
3:22 am
I request all thrashers fans including myself to have closure.
David
May 21st, 2011
4:47 am
It is simple; instead finding someone that wants a team in another city; let work out a way to keep this team in Atlanta. I been to Winnipeg it reminds me of a northern version of Birmingham, Alabama. You got to be serious Atlanta Spirit; you can do a lot better than sell this team to those suckers that will bring no value to the NHL. We have resources in this city to keep this team here let use them. Plus, the commissioner does not like relocation because it like a cancer to the league. If Winnipeg wants a team; they need to apply to league like want we did! We just need a strong and sound ownership to keep this team from ever leaving this city and make it a strong and proud presents here in Atlanta. If I was rich, I would buy the team and yes find a way to make a profit each year owning this team unlike want this Atlanta Spirit did not want to do in the first place.
TrueNorthBlood
May 21st, 2011
6:56 am
in response to Let None In.
if Canadians are so dumb, then why are we the ones that realize that a first rate team might make the playoffs every now and then…seems to me that you are the dumb one. That may be how YOU negotiate, but that’s why YOU’RE BROKE-ASS IS AT ON AND CAN’T BY THE TEAM. Because you don’t understand business. Spirit can pay the debt…it’s their debt. Twice in 31 years…thank you Atlanta for proving that you are not a hockey city. See, here at home, you dumbass, my neighbors are buying the Thrashers and moving them to a place where people aren’t too dumb to understand hockey. And if that makes us dumbasses, then cool. We’ll be the dumbasses with the hockey team that the bigger dumbasses lost. Have a nice day…dumbass
Video: Pavelec's Dogs Say "Tailgate"
May 21st, 2011
7:51 am
Go have a beer and a laugh with some Thrashers fans today at the Glutch……Pavelec’s Dogs get the fans fired up one last time:
Video: http://www.keepthethrashers.com/thrasherstailgateglutch.html
GO THRASHERS!
Tito
May 21st, 2011
8:06 am
The sad thing is that college football is all that matters in the south.
Believe it our not for you out-of-towners Atlanta has 2 sports stations (why, I have no idea) and neither one of them would devote any amount of time to this situation.
The flagship station of the Thrashers (680 The Fan) had little if any talk of this at all which is shocking to me. But they sure were talking up the SEC and the upcoming football schedule.
Meanwhile I was listening to Sports Radio 1290 in Winnipeg (the internet is a beautiful thing) and it was obviously the complete opposite. I have to mention that more so than not most of the people were calling in and expressing sadness for the Atlanta fans that are truly going to miss hockey here in Atlanta. Too bad our 2, count em 2, so-called sports stations couldn’t be bothered to host such discussions.
Can you guys in Canada please take them as well?? Sorry, I had to try.
Scott
May 21st, 2011
8:13 am
Exactly how disingenuous is this season ticket holder event the ASG is putting on today. It really is like rubbing salt in the wounds is it not?
Gotechtom
May 21st, 2011
8:38 am
Dont forget that only half of this ASG team even has any ties to Atlanta itself. And 2 of the 3 Atlanta stooges borrowed their money from dad/dad-in-law. In other words, this is a financial transaction, has always been so, and there’s no allegiance at all to this city. ASG has lied to us for years, and the NHL has admitted that they were scheming with the team to find a new buyer for at least the last 2 years.
A pox on them all. If there were a way to just vaporize the franchise and make all value disappear, so that neither the NHL or ASG sees a dime, that would be a fitting end. Of course, that seems to be how Waddell and Company have been running the organization dorm Day One.
Supes
May 21st, 2011
8:39 am
The Atlanta Spirit Group will never see another dollar from me, ever for anything…Hawks, any event in Phillips…etc. Merchandise.
My wish is that they get RUN OUT of this state.
It’s unforgivable what they did…managed to lose our hockey team to Canada due to multiple reasons.
DO NOT BLAME the fans. We were all there during the playoff run and the season after…but in a tough economy I will not support an organization who doesn’t have the COMMITMENT to putting a winning product on the ice!
R. Stroz
May 21st, 2011
8:52 am
Satan has standards, I’m sure Satan finds the ASG to be beneath him.
Matt from MN
May 21st, 2011
8:55 am
Die Atlanta Spirit, DIE!!
Kris Y.
May 21st, 2011
9:31 am
I entered Jeff’s league attendance numbers into a spreadsheet, and I find the numbers very telling. Many of the top tier teams had years with numbers worse than Atlanta, but their owners were apparently able to make changes and get the attendance back up. What did the ASG do to boost Atlanta’s attendance, which although low, has actually been quite steady?
http://www.gizmowatt.com/nhl/nhl%20attendance.html (web viewable data and graph)
http://www.gizmowatt.com/nhl/nhl%20attendance.xls (Excel)
http://www.gizmowatt.com/nhl/nhl%20attendance.ods (Open Office)
thrasherdawg
May 21st, 2011
9:47 am
The ASG couldn’t run a popsicle stand.
Why does the NHL allow a sale (ASG) to incompetent business people. The NHL is as much to blame as the ASG..
If they would have required the sale to someone who had a work ethic and a clue to what they were doing we wouldn’t be here today.
However, when you sale to “Trust Fund” brats with no work ethic…well you get exactly what you see today.
Shame on You Gary Bettman…Shame on you.
thrasherdawg
May 21st, 2011
10:35 am
I think the argument should be made that the NHL should give the fans of Atlanta “one” more year to prove that we are a hockey town.
Bettman should address the Atlanta fans and tell them where the acceptable attendance number needs to be. Give Atlanta fans an ultimatum. Reach this specific number or we move the team.
Then it’s not about how bad the ownership is anymore.
Todd
May 21st, 2011
10:47 am
Not much different attendance wise as 1/3 of the league. they have ups and downs. if you build a winner, fans will come. look at braves attendance after they started winning in 91 and through 2000. look at falcons the past 2 years. it’s that simple. thrashers stunk on the ice. who wants to watch losers. not me
M Tuck
May 21st, 2011
11:23 am
Attendance since 2000: Atlanta Hawks 14,808 Atlanta Thrashers 14,690. If there had been no lockout Thrashers attendance would have been higher over the last 10 years.
todd827
May 21st, 2011
11:48 am
any NHL team that gets moved from now on will have to pay a relocation fee, not just the Thrashers. Remember, this is something that Balsillie would have had to do had he won the Coyotes in bankruptcy court. I know they didn’t do it in the past but the relocation fee is something the NHL feels entitled to now as a team moving to an open market is depriving the NHL of a potentially very lucrative future expansion fee giving them a nice excuse to take this money. If the Thrashers were moving to say Kansas City I’m sure the relocation fee would be much lower as the market is less valuable to the NHL than Winnipeg, just like Balsillie taking the Coyotes to S. Ontario would have been somewhere around or even north of $100 million due to the potential value of that market. People in Winnipeg are starting to complain over this fee but I feel it’s worth it for them to just shut up and take it. As much as people hate Bettman he knows what he is doing – you can’t beat him, even if he’s wrong in the beginning he will find a way to make money for the league out of a bad situation in the end. It’s better than paying $90-100 million for an expansion team and starting from scratch as far as team building goes. Plus with the state of the NHL I don’t see them expanding any time soon so getting the Thrashers is probably Winnipeg best chance of ever having a team. I’m sure the NHL will use this money to help cover the situation in Phoenix but rest assured Thrasher fans they would be charging this fee relocation regardless, even if the Coyotes already had new ownership.
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 21st, 2011
1:52 pm
@ Les Habitants You’re right people are just flocking to Winnipeg for the riches. Portage and Main is a street paved in gold that’s needs to be replaced constantly for the amount of new inhabitants flocking to Winnipeg for the good life. I’ll bet Les Habitants that you think Winnipeg is the Paris of Canada isn’t that right?
Jon
May 21st, 2011
2:12 pm
wow, can’t believe the pounding us Winnipegers are taking because of this. We lost our team in 96 and we know how you feel, only hockey to us is like college football to you. Believe me, nobody is celebrating the fact that Atlanta is losing its team here…..why would we? In fact almost everybody I have spoken to has expressed sympathy to Atlanta’s hockey fans. I go back to the 70’s with the Jets and when we joined the league in 79 I remember we played the Flames b4 they went to Calgary and there was a bench clearing brawl…I remember that because we were an expansion team and the Flames as recall were a big, tough team who weren’t intimated by anyone, even Philly. And that night they pretty much tore the Jets a new one.
The point is, I was a fan and I hated when they moved to Calgary and they took on the Flames name, if I was an Atlanta fan I would have been outraged. But I remember those games from the Omni, along with CBS games of the Hawks. Good memories. I definatley think Atlanta is 100% NHL material, you just got screwed by your lack of good ownership. I’d be totally pissed off to. It should have been Phoenix (OUR TEAM).
Dogham
May 21st, 2011
2:16 pm
Does Seattle miss the Sonics? Yes Has Seattle moved on? Yes Did they replace it with MLS? Yes Have they since been putting 36,000+ for each home game for the Sounders? Yes. Is youth Soccer growing in Georgia and the south in general? Yes Is Arthur Blank trying to get a new stadium for the Falcons that would also potentially host an MLS team? Yes Would all this be good for Atlanta? Yes Will Atlanta have the chance to see the World’s game again in the fastest growing and more stable league of MLS? Yes Will loosing the mismanaged Thrashers suck? Yes Will it be the end of the world? No
God Bless America
May 21st, 2011
2:51 pm
Winnipeg = Poverty
Give it up, go back to school or something man – you sound like you have a 5th grade education. Why are you so pissed off at Winnipeg? We didn’t take your team – YOUR ownership didn’t give a damn for 11 years. Love your response to Les Habs – he slaughtered you with facts yet you had no response other than “you think Winnipeg is Paris – ` like I say, 5th grade education – So you guys only make on average 45 grand – thats pathetic – talk about poverty – oh yeah, thanks for the team, make sure you follow closley because we’re gonna dump that loser GM and coach and have a playoff team in YEAR 1. So besides being poor and riddled with uneducated losers like yourself, the so-called Great City of Atlanta is also a 2 TIME LOSER in the NHL. But you keep slamming Winnipeg little boy.
God Bless America
May 21st, 2011
3:13 pm
Winnipeg = Poverty
One more thing, I suggest you read the post from Tito – from Hotlanta by the way.
God Bless America
May 21st, 2011
3:29 pm
Hey builder dawg
Thats great, its gonna average about 75 here for the next 4-5 months. Not quite HOTlanta, but not bad.
Then after that you know what? IT’S HOCKEY TIME! Can’t wait to start reaping baby. Suck on that Dawg
oregonguy
May 21st, 2011
4:00 pm
I haven’t followed this closely, but has anybody contacted Ted Turner to see if he has an interest in buying the Thrashers? He used to get a real kick from owning pro sports franchises, he certainly knows how to put a winning product on the ice, and $150 million is chump change for him.
God Bless America
May 21st, 2011
4:23 pm
Hey David
OK, I guess you haven’t been reading all the Atlanta geniuses posts. By the way – You just lost your 2nd NHL team, how does that feel? Has that ever happened to any city in any sport anywhere on the planet? Probably not – Atlanta = Poverty = Losers – Now get back to that gas pumping job boy.
God Bless America
May 21st, 2011
4:49 pm
Hey Dawg
Don’t worry I won’t bitch slap you as hard this time (I just re-read your post and I see now your not exactly playin with a full deck) – But anywho, you kill me… in your post your going on about Winnipeg you reap what you sow and all that other insane crap- then the very next sentence you say Atlanta should build a new barn and go after Carolina’s team?! – again I know your elevator doesn’t go all the way up, but I have to ask – How have you made it this far in life? I mean you are one dumb MFKR. Hey thanks for the laughs Dawg.
Ready to See Them GO!!!!
May 21st, 2011
5:51 pm
I am ready for this whoopla death throes movement to be over…..this rally had about as much believeability as the Harold Camping Rapture Date story. Get over it! The THRASHERS are gone – it is going to happen today, tomorrow, next week. Hockey is not a Southern interest…..By and large nobody down here cares….so just get over it……..
Brendan
May 21st, 2011
6:29 pm
Just got back from the “event.” It was fun, for a somber occassion.
Kevin
May 21st, 2011
7:10 pm
na, na, na, na – na, na, na, na – hey, hey, hey – goodbye
Nate
May 22nd, 2011
9:37 am
If Winnipeg is going to take our team, they should have to take the sh!tty Atlanta Spirit Group as well…
As it is, they’ll still have to deal with the incompetence Don Waddell.
Good luck with that, Peggers…
Nasty Nester
May 23rd, 2011
1:09 am
So if Winnipeg gets the Thrashers, can we then get the Coyotes? Hell, I think the NHL might pay us to take them off their hands. We can always rename them once they’re here. And hell, they even have good players and playoff chances unlike the ragtag drain circling salary toilet that is the ASG Thrashers.
Winnipeg Jets Name Won’t Return Even If Atlanta Thrashers Relocate, Says Mayor - SB Nation Atlanta
May 23rd, 2011
8:10 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
bobh
May 24th, 2011
12:26 am
Lots of emotional comments here from the Thrashers fans. But the problem seems to be that there just were not enough of them. The owners needed bums in the seats. Same problem in Phoenix/Glendale.
Even in San Jose yesterday, there were 4000 unsold tickets (for a Conference final!!!) until fans in Vancouver bought them all and filled the available flights to the Bay Area.They made more noise than did the Sharks’ fans.
WAR EAGLE
May 25th, 2011
9:21 am
So, when are all the temas with under 14k avg attendance going to move? Build an arena in cobb or a new arena in Gwinnett with 15-16K and it will be filled-offer free parking and watch the fans come- if it is reasonably priced ticket wise.