Cowardly Bettman ignoring evidence of Thrashers fans
Gary Bettman is blaming Atlanta hockey fans for not supporting a bad product. (AP photo)
In his most recent spoken example of the Wile E. Coyote/Acme explosives/NHL public relations disaster, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman somewhat admonished Thrashers fans for not buying tickets to what has been a crummy product for most of their 11 seasons.
Quoting here: “Demonstrating your dissatisfaction by not going to games is an interesting strategy. It’s your absolute right. But if it becomes a turnoff for anybody who might want to buy the franchise, the long-term consequences could be severe.”
Imagine if we applied this philosophy to other aspects in our life.
Buy a new car. If the doors fall off two blocks down the street, that’s OK. Just make sure you support that dealership by buying another one next year. Eat at a new restaurant. If dinner makes your stomach feel like there are a thousand screaming piranhas in it, that’s OK. Eat there the following week, because you wouldn’t want that restaurant to go out of business. And this time, bring friends!
Bettman doesn’t want to leave the impression that the NHL is on the verge of abandoning Atlanta again (which it is). So he is trying to lay the ground work for the Thrashers’ exit to Winnipeg. He’ll point to attendance and stupid stuff like only a few hundred fans showing up at a rally. He’ll do everything possible to try to convince you that this mugging wasn’t his fault and he had no choice.
Don’t fall for it.
All aboard for Winnipeg . . .
Let me tell you a story. The Braves averaged about 10,000 fans per game in 1988, which they finished 54-106. In one late-season game, attendance was announced at 3,017. Ex-Brave Gerald Perry mused, “Sometimes, we look up from the dugout and say, ‘This’d be another good day to paint the seats.’”
Let me tell you a story. In 1989, 7,792 fans showed up for an NFL game, or at least one between the Falcons and Detroit Lions at old Atlanta-Fulton Stadium. When one fan was asked why he purchased a ticket, he responded, “It was a Christmas present, and I didn’t want to let my brother down. He could be here, but he said he’d rather go to grandma’s.” The Falcons finished 3-13 that season.
Postscript: The Braves started winning in 1991 and attendance doubled. It tripled by 1992 and quadrupled by 1993. Falcons’ attendance spiked under Jerry Glanville, dropped again when the team lost, then returned after Arthur Blank, Michael Vick and success arrived (38 straight sellouts).
Most of you probably understand where I’m going with this. The cowardly Bettman is in the corner with his eyes closed, ears covered and loudly humming, pretending not to notice.
If a team wins, it draws fans. If a team does the right thing – or sometimes even just leaves the impression it’s trying really hard to do the right things – it draws fans. Atlanta losing an NHL team isn’t about Atlanta not having enough hockey fans to support a franchise. It’s about the fact that people grew fed up with supporting a bad product run by bad ownership.
Let me tell you a story. In their inaugural season, the Thrashers sold out 14 games and averaged 17,205 fans per game in a 61-loss season. A year later, they averaged 15,265 in a 47-loss season. In three year, the team got worse and attendance dropped even more.
The Thrashers made the playoffs in 2006-07 for the first (and only) time in their history. Funny thing happened. They sold out more games (11) and averaged more fans (16,239) than in any season since the first.
Millions of Braves fans didn’t suddenly move here in 1991. Blank didn’t hand out $500 bills across state borders to get people to come to Falcons games. Thrashers fans didn’t move after two seasons, then come for the playoffs, then move again. This isn’t about a market. It’s about a fan base that has seen too many car doors fall off.
In 2003-04, Chicago, an “Original 6” team, had the second-worst record in the league and ranked 27th in attendance at 13,253 (2,000 less than the Thrashers). Six years later, when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, they drew 21,356.
Could it be there’s a connection?
Bettman will try to convince you Atlanta just didn’t want hockey bad enough. He’ll ignore the reasons. He’ll grab millions in a relocation fee from a city that he moved a team from 15 years earlier.
The Winnipeg Jets averaged 11,316 fans in their final season — 2,000 less than the Thrashers drew this year. Don’t expect to read that in the news release.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
Earlier: Countdown: Bettman, Spirit on Facebook, angry beaver, Monta’s tattoo
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455 comments Add your comment
Let NONE in
May 24th, 2011
5:56 pm
Bettman is sitting on his face.
David B.
May 24th, 2011
5:57 pm
Nicely said Jeff, and right on the money. For those of us who feel like a doormat lately, it’s nice to read a piece like this, even if it ultimately only serves to make us feel better (temporarily).
ATL Observer
May 24th, 2011
5:58 pm
I posted it once but it didn’t appear to show up so here it is again:
Another myth that needs to be exploded is this “Atlanta is losing hockey because there are no interested buyers.”
Baloney!
The Spirit rigged the game. Once interested buyers turned up (Carter & co., Glavine & co.), the Spirit had put conditions on a sale that made it clear: “you don’t need to pay a lease for the Hawks, but you DO need to pay one to get the Thrashers? Why? Because we don’t just want to sell this team, we FLAT OUT DON’T WANT ANYONE LOCAL TO HAVE THEM!”
Now that we all know the sale’s a done deal, we mysteriously simultaneously discover that the exclusivity clause re: the Hawks has been removed. How convenient.
I feel dirty saying “Go Hawks!” in the coming year but I do want them to do well for the city; even if they were used by the Spirit to send another sport spiraling out of the city.
Jets Fan
May 24th, 2011
5:58 pm
gtbeak – “Again I ask, why the lack of support from the great people of Winnipeg.”
Again, concessions/parking, etc. were not controlled by the owners. Thus, even at 12,000 people at $20 xtra per game X 41 games brings in an extra $7.3 M in yearly revenue back in the 90’s. Compare that to today’s inflation and the team would have stayed had the owners had that revenue stream. It’s like losing $20+ M today. Plus, Winnipeg had competitive teams in one of the best Divisions in hockey. If the ASG owns the team and controls the amenities to boot, and they still lose money with one of the lowest (if not the lowest) payrolls, then it says a lot about fan support and willingness to pay to support the product.
Florida jacket
May 24th, 2011
5:59 pm
How about a dose of reality here, Atlanta is a top seven media market, Winnipeg is approximately half the size of greater West Palm Beach Florida. The NHL knows this, they also know that the Winnipeg New Jets will fail and move. I wonder what the relocation fee will be for that transaction.
Joebank
May 24th, 2011
5:59 pm
Anyone coming on here talking about how Winnipeg is a superior hockey city to Atlanta is a total dolt. You just lost a friggin team 15 years ago! Shut up!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 24th, 2011
6:01 pm
Even the Hawks drew well in the ’80s, the last time they had what seemed like a legitimate shot at a title, when Dominique was in a Hawks uniform.
Fantastic article. I’m not a hockey fan but there are surely enough hockey fans in this city to fill up Philips Arena if there was a quality product for them to watch.
done
May 24th, 2011
6:02 pm
The ASG is going to have a hard time getting people to support the Hawks after all of this nonsense. I know I won’t be giving them anymore of my money.
Ron
May 24th, 2011
6:04 pm
Greetings from Canada. I played hockey for most of my life. I have followed the NHL all of that time also. I have no use for Gary Bettman. he has almost destroyed the game I have loved since birth. I see a lot of finger pointing . Fans blame ownership for not caring and icing a lousy team, Bettman blames fans etc. Well you can all blame each other because you all have something to do with the Demise of this team. How many chances does a city need. Bettman has teams in Markets they have no business being in . 2 Teams in Fla 1 almost bankrupt and the other who would be if not in the 3rd round of this years play offs. Dallas Stars for sale, St Louis Blues for sale, New York Islanders Bleeding tons of money.
Considering the old Winnipeg arena had a capacity of 15565 and drew almost 12000 was not bad.
Fact is Winnipeg needed a new arena 18000 + seats and boxes to sustain life.
Times have now changed with the salary cap and MTS Center. less seats but no more 75-80 + million payroll. Winnipeg ownership also 26th richest man in the world.
As for the Black Hawks. Original 6 with a long history in the NHL, went through a down swing in attendance for 4 yrs because of the re build . No money lost as they are #2 in merchandise sold. and Look what happened.
Atlanta has only been a drain on the NHL, Everyone is to blame. 11 years , 1 Play off appearance.
No One wants to play their either.
Been to peg, bored out of my skull
May 24th, 2011
6:04 pm
“Also, as was pointed out, Winnipeg pop. 700,000+; Atlanta region 5,000,000+. Only 2,000 more people???? Should have been sold out consistently and ownership wouldn’t be looking to sell.”
That’s because in Atlanta, people have choices for their sports/entertainment dollar. In the fall, a mismanaged hockey team is competing with several well run college football and a very well run NFL team. In the fall, if the hockey team is terrible, it’s easy to start thinking about the braves. And let’s face it, the last five games for the thrashers were terrible (with the exception of the NYR game).
Let NONE in
May 24th, 2011
6:07 pm
All ASG is doing is using potential local buyers to leverage the Canadian buyers to pay more. Canadians are willing to overpay for this “product”.
gtbeak
May 24th, 2011
6:08 pm
Jets Fan, for accounting purposes the Thrashers have no control over the concessions/parking either. That goes in the books under Philips Arena. Yes, they are owned by the same group. That is why we call foul when ASG says they have lost $20M/year. That is most likely a paper loss only, although the books have never been opened to show this conclusively.
R. Stroz
May 24th, 2011
6:10 pm
Add Gary Bettman to the list of individuals who have inhaled the ASG’s appendage of procreation.
Adam
May 24th, 2011
6:11 pm
Charlie “charie”–Winnipeg sounds like a great place…great about your unemployment rate and great about your housing market…what about your literacy rates…you misspelled your own name…
you can keep winnipeg…you dont deserve our thrashers
Reality
May 24th, 2011
6:19 pm
Florida jacket ….. How about a dose of reality here, Atlanta is a top seven media market.
So What! Atlanta could be the top media market in the world, there is STILL NO LOCAL buyer.
Canadians for Reality
May 24th, 2011
6:22 pm
I understand the vitriol to the situation from Atlanta fans, but don’t put that on Canadians with ignorant posts about our country. Also, don’t paint Winnipeg as a dwindling economy when the exact opposite is true. When the world was hit by the major recession, Manitoba was one of the steadiest financial places on the continent and continues to be financially upward. And Mr. Schultz, I can’t agree with making a point about Winnipeg in 1996 and Winnipeg in 2011 when it comes to the economy of the NHL with respect to attendance. It’s specious reasoning at best.
Reality
May 24th, 2011
6:22 pm
Chris V. is now on Sports Radio 1290.
Says its over but the signing of the papers. The ASG does not want the team, and nobody in Atlanta wants to own it.
Joe Smoe
May 24th, 2011
6:28 pm
Being a Trashers fan has been like racing a go-cart at a Nascar race, then being trash talked for not trying hard enough or staying involved.
If the owners cared about the product.. then maybe the fans would have dished out their hard earned cash. I just feel sorry to the fans who tried to believe. NHL failed Atlanta.. not the other way around. Atlanta never got a chance to try. Starting with Dan Heatly.
Joey
May 24th, 2011
6:32 pm
@Canada . . . Really
Your point about Winnipeg makes no sense as Atlanta has lost a team once before too.
Maxximus
May 24th, 2011
6:36 pm
The problem is that Winnipeg, a city of 725,000 WILL outdraw Atlanta with 5 million. Winnipeg will care about the team like an American team embraces football or baseball. Winnpieg had a poor, outdated building in 1996 and the exchange rate was -40%. No business could survive that. Now it has a new building which is amonsgt the most busiest in North America ensuring non hockey related profit to flow, private boxes the old building did not have, and the Canadian Dollar is worth more than the US. So yes, a smaller city will make it work because the infrastructure is in place, the finances are in place and an owner who is worth BILLIONS of dollars running one of the largest companies in North America – Atlanta had none of this for hockey.
ATL Observer
May 24th, 2011
6:37 pm
@Reality, see my above post. The Atlanta Spirit is using trickery to try to put over this myth that there are no local buyers. Actually, you know what? They’re right. There aren’t……..there WERE before the Spirit shooed them away with their restrictions (that have now mysteriously disappeared now that the deal is done).
Patricia Knowlton
May 24th, 2011
6:38 pm
Does he really think anyone buys his crap about it being the fans fault for not showing up at the game.
Bettman we did not just jump on the Thrashers Band Wagon. We are the fans. We stuck by the team before, during and after the Atlanta Spirit started selling off the players to reduce their financial obligations. It is there fault for ending up in court. The fans had nothing to do with that. It is the owners you should be blaming.
Don’t blame the fans for the owners being tied up in a court battle for the past 3 years. Don’t blame the fans because you are looking to make money off Atlanta to fund your poor decision to fund the Coyotes for the next year.
If you and your Owners protected your investment or as you put it your “Financial Vehicle”, you would be able to find a buyer for the team, because of the loyal thousands of fans in Atlanta. In the end it is not the fans who need to take care of the team it is the owners. Did you ask the fans who you should trade?Even when we blogged,sent email and posted on line about the poor choices the A.S was making in the trades you turned a deaf ear. If you did listen we would definitely still have Kovy, Armstrong, Hedberg, Exelby, Lehtonen, to name a few.Atlanta Spirit did it to save money until they could DUMP the team. That is what you are doing to the team and to the fans.
Stop pointing fingers. Show you have at least a little bit of common sense and admit that you are doing this for the financial benefit of the NHL and the Atlanta Spirit and you don’t give a S**T about the fans. Wake you NHL fans in the end you are not a fan you are a source of money for a poorly run organization, you are one sale away from your team leaving too!
glovesave29
May 24th, 2011
6:39 pm
First of all – the Green Bay argument holds no water as the team is owned by the city. Citizens buy shares in the Packers.
I am tired of hearing about this huge rally in WPG. You planned it ahead for MONTHS. The Atlanta one was planned 3 days in advance AFTER we had been told the team was sold. It’s apples to oranges.
The simple fact of the matter is we don’t know who is right. If TNSE shows a total lack of caring for the quality of the product for over a decade…then we will know.
Atlantans are a laid back type of fan. The Falcons could announce they want to leave and we would not get a rally of 35K. In the 1980’s, Falcon owner Rankin Smith negotiated the move of the team to Jacksonville, only to have the city build the dome to get them to stay. A popular bumper sticker was “Go Falcons, and take the Braves with you”. Bulldogs dont like Gators around here – but when you go to the Landing for the annual game, you find those in Red/ Black partying with those in Blue/Orange. We realize it is entertainment, and while we hope like hell to win, we know the world isn’t over if we dont.
mbjets
May 24th, 2011
6:42 pm
ATL Observer: never did proclaim myself an expert on Atlanta. Just stating an opinion. I can do that can’t I? No offense intended. I spent a couple of weeks in Atlanta a couple of years ago and enjoyed myself thoroughly. No intent to insult. I just don’t think that a city of 5 million plus should have anything less than a sell-out every night. I hope that Winnipeg sells out every night as well and as we all know, there is only about 750,000 people there. It is the percentaqe of hockey fans that makes the difference. Another thing I have seen mentioned. Location. If the arena is built in a less than desirable location(Phoenix Coyotes is perfect example), then it does make it hard for people to get to on a regular basis. Anyway, no offense intended. I just want hockey back in my hometown, that’s all.
blazerdawg
May 24th, 2011
6:43 pm
JS – Thank you for defending Thraser fans and Atlanta as a sports city. The argument that many sports writers and media frequently make that Atlanta does not support its pro sports teams is often framed by folks with a bias against the city, IMO mainly by transplants and neighbors that are jealous of the city’s success. Rarely are attendance, media ratings, and other participation measures applied fairly against many of the markets from which the criticisms originate. Again, thank you!
dave
May 24th, 2011
6:43 pm
Nobody really hates Winnipeg; they hate that the Thrashers are apparently moving to Winnipeg, and the fact that Canadians (and Yankos) are gloating about it. The Thrashers were doomed from Day One, when they passed over Ron Hextall for Damian Rhodes. They could have had a solid goalie who could also mentor the younger guys and get them ready to replace him when he retired. Instead, they got a guy who’d get hurt just waking up in the morning, and four guys named Scott (how’d that happen?) tending goal in the NHL, with only ECHL experience, if that. Their “great white hopes” all bombed big time, and the ownership let it happen, thanks to a GM who either was incompetent, was constrained to a certain budget, or both. They also raised the ire of the fans by allowing the fan favorites to get away as free agents, or trading them for practically nothing. It sucks when any team moves or folds, and I was sorry for Oakland, KC, Denver, Cleveland, Quebec, Winnipeg, Hartford, Minnesota (Minn.-St. Paul), et al, when they lost their teams. Call it an excuse if you want to, but that’s the facts, Jack.
JRY
May 24th, 2011
6:45 pm
I’ll admit I haven’t read through all the post in this blog, but I’d like to call out another topic Bettman and the NHL blows smoke about…. Diversity. Annually they have Willie O’Ree day to “celebrate” diversity in the NHL. If they really cared about diversity, Atlanta would be a priority location. We have great players who happen to be of African decent in a city that is the most diverse percentage wise in the NHL. Half of the 5.5 million people in Atlanta have only started to become interested in hockey from the influence of these great players, who have been here three or less years… Winnipeg will never grow a diverse demographic, but this isn’t who deserves a team more it should be about how to grow the league and that takes leadership and a long range plan. I guess I just answered my own rant… I expected leadership from the league. I apologize for my naivete. Next year I hope Willie O’Ree declines the ONE DAY the NHL pretends to be interested in diversity.
John
May 24th, 2011
6:46 pm
Can I ask a question?
Why is all there this Canadian bashing going on? I find it disrepectful and in some sense repulsive.
I don’t live in Winnipeg, but I do live in Calgary, home of your old Flames…remember them your first NHL hockey team.
I wonder why this is happening? Please listen to me…I am not a fan of the Thrashers going to Winnipeg, because I don’t believe that it is the most viable option for them. There is a whole lot of other options…Houston, Seattle (Tacoma), and Kansas City, but why have they not come forward as of yet?
Regretfully Winnipeg in their myopic mind is only thinking of a hockey team that allows them to continue living in the past. I am sure that many of you have not been to Winnipeg, and as far I have been reading here how much you bad mouth it….it actually is a wonderful city and it is just gorgeous in the summer….but STAY out of it in the winter….it’s not pretty at all….just very very cold.
I have become quite upset watching reports and seeing pictures of Winnipeg Jets flags getting burned…and constant rants about Canada this…and Canada that. If that make you feel better …so be it.
If you really wish to berate someone…talk to Mr. Bettman, providing you can find him, or even have any contact information for him. This is a man who had bend overbackwards to save Phoenix….but has NOT said a word about Atlanta. Think about it, he hasn’t said or done a thing to save your franchise….PS…neither has your owners.
Next time you wish to bad mouth Winnipeg, or Canada in general….remember when you hosted the Toronto Blue Jays in a playoff game…you flew our wonderful and proud Canadian flag upside down. Perhaps that was just a premonition about the general population not knowing anything about Canada.
I worked for Home Depot for many years and I have visited Atlanta on many occasions, each time staying in Vinnings. I love your city and respect your way of life, please allow yourself to do that to us.
Florida jacket
May 24th, 2011
6:48 pm
Reality, Maximus and your other friends from the frozen North: the argument that the Jets will succeed this time because a billionaire owns the team ignores the central point. One of the richest families in the world lives in Arkansas but they are smart enough to avoid moving a major sports franchise to Little Rock Arkansas which by the way is approximately the same size as Metropolitan Winnipeg, your franchise didn’t fail because of a bad building, it failed because Winnipeg Canada is tiny and is surrounded by lots and lots of empty.
DW's 15 yr plan....
May 24th, 2011
6:50 pm
Jeff,
Jeff,
Great work as always. As an Atlanta resident since the mid 70’s I would like to compare the two franchise losses. The Flames had good attendance with management that had a clue. Cliff Fletcher & David Poile were the architects of the franchise. They knew the market. They built a tough, talented team that went toe to toe with the likes of Philly & Boston. No team looked forward to playing at The Omni. Win or lose, they knew they were in for a battle.They made the playoffs 6 of 8
years but never had post season success. Some of that was due to best of three series. Fans
actually went to the airport to welcome the team home after huge wins. There was a
bonding/connection with the team & the city. The owner, Tom Cousins has received a bad rep on these message boards. He is one of the classiest men to ever to live in Atlanta. He actually tried to find a local buyer(Ted Turner turned down an offer as well as Coke, Delta & other local corporations. The team was sold due to a terrible real estate market where Cousins made his living. It broke his heart to sell the team. As for the Thrashers, mistakes were made from day one. First mistake was building Philips downtown instead of at 400 & Abernathy. There was a verbal contract on a parcel of land at that intersection but Turner wanted the arena downtown & Kasten rolled over and agreed to build it downtown. Kasten preferred the 400/Abernathy location. Now on to the esteemef Dr. Harvey Schiller, the man responsible for the hiring of Don Waddell. Plenty of candidates were available including Brian Burke, Cliff Fletcher & Pat Quinn to name a few. All three understood the market. In fact during Burke’s interview he laid out his blueprint. Start off as the toughest team in the league with a roster dominated by North Americans and continually draft talented players with the plan to compete by year 5(sounds like someone else but this plan would actually work) but never lose the team’s toughness. It would remmain the team’s identity. Instead, our GM built the team around Damien Rhodes, Patrick Stefan, Uwe Krupp, etc… with no identity still to date. I do like the work of Dudley & Ramsey but unfortunately Winnepeg will enjoy their work. As for ownership, it’s been poor from day one but the ASG really takes the cake. Levenson deserves most of the blame since he is “the hockey guy” of the ownership. His treatment of the fans, media, loyalty to Waddell has doomed the franchise. If Waddell was fired years ago, this franchise would not be moving due to the fact the team would be a competitive playoff team with more fan support and better attendance which would create more revenue for the owners. It’s a shame because the fat lady just grabbed the microphone.
Media mogul, car dealer seek deal for Winnipeg - Reuters
May 24th, 2011
6:54 pm
[...] Post (blog)Atlanta mayor says city “will get through it”Vancouver SunHockey HearsaySportsnet.caAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -Globe and Mail (blog) -Winnipeg Free Pressall 369 news [...]
Chuck
May 24th, 2011
6:59 pm
The next owner that invests money to make the franchise competitive will be the first.
Hope it happens for the Winnipeg hockey fans, because it never happened here.
Rock bottom payroll – literally thanks for nothing ASG, and gary Bettman, I hope you lose your shirt in Arizona.
glovesave29
May 24th, 2011
7:00 pm
John – this “bashing” never was EVER a part of this blog until the Trolls started showing up, trashing Atlanta, calling us rednecks (and the like) and to gloat about taking our team away to a country that “deserves” it.
I was at the WS game when your flag was upside down. I was embarrassed. I do not think it was intentional, but still embarassing nonetheless.
Simple fact is, this is a blog for THRASHERS fans. There is the Winnipeg Free Press, and I am sure they would be quite happy to get the traffic the AJC is getting. While there are a few Winnipeggers here that are kind and sharing in our misery…the fact is that most are here to feel superior having taken our team.
We can also do without the condescension. We are all aware of the Flames. The passion for that team still burns here. The current owners and management went out of their way not to include Flames fans and players in the Thrashers plans. Just shows more of what we had to endure down here…
Yea
May 24th, 2011
7:01 pm
WELL SAID!!!!!!!!
Atlfan
May 24th, 2011
7:02 pm
The idea that the whole metropolitan area of Atlanta has to put hockey first for it to be successful is crap. It can come 4th or 5th here just like it does in general in the USA and still be well supported. The whole city of Philadelphia doesn’t like hockey but they have a very loyal and hardcore hockey base. In terms of popularity its probably Phillies first, then Eagles, and Flyers third since the Sixers have been so awful. Is Philly a bad hockey market because they don’t put hockey first like Canada, no.
The Thrashers were never given a chance to grow here and be successful. Thorburn, a Canadian himself sees a reason for a franchise to be here because he gets it. Unfortunately, most of Canada doesn’t. Its not a bad thing to grow your sport and a lot of players enjoyed showcasing the game and bringing in new fans. They honestly have probably had just as big an impact on the sport as any one playing in a traditional market because they are part of the reason for the growth of youth hockey in this region.
Canadians would be pissed if Americans said Toronto, a metropolitan area about the size of Atlanta doesn’t deserve the Blue Jays because although they have won 2 world series they have been at the bottom of the league in attendance for a while so we should put them in an American city the size of a Minor League city just because they already love the sport. Why can’t Toronto sell out every MLB game for a not so great team, maybe because in Toronto they have options just like Atlanta and it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a team or they don’t love their blue jays.
K-Town Dawg
May 24th, 2011
7:03 pm
I say the fine people of Atlanta destroy ASG financially.
I propose that people quit attending Hawks games as well as any other events held at Philips Arena. Since the Hawks are tied to Philips until the bonds are paid off, this will force ASG to either eat the losses of sell the team and arena rights to a local buyer since the Hawks and Philips can’t be relocated.
If ASG wants losses, I say we give them losses!
glovesave29
May 24th, 2011
7:04 pm
Oh, and John – I cannot EVER recall the Canadian national anthem being booed in the USA. The same cannot be said for ours during some games in Canada…
Respect is a two way street.
Reality
May 24th, 2011
7:04 pm
So why is it that in 1995, when Ted Turner was seriously kicking the tires on the Winnipeg Jets and looking at buying the team and bringing it to Atlanta, everybody in Atlanta was O.K. with that. Yet now in 2011, when TNSE was kicking the tires on the Atlanta Thrashers to bring them to Winnipeg, everyone is in an uproar?
The bottom line is that the average hockey fan has no say in any of this. 1995 nobody wants to own a team in Winnipeg. 2011 nobody wants to own a team in Atlanta. Now of course when I say “nobody” thats true, but there are valid reasons why nobody was buying in either cities case, but lets skip the details.
This is a transaction that was started years ago and was given the approval of the NHL Board of Governors. Today we are seeing the end of that transaction. The fans are the last people the NHL cares about.
Atlfan
May 24th, 2011
7:07 pm
John, I have nothing against Canada but you should read what some of the Canadian newspapers and some of your fellow Canadians have said on this very blog about Atlanta, the South. and etc. I don’t condone it but the insults are flying both ways so don’t just lecture the Americans, look at some of the comments of your countrymen.
man rainbow
May 24th, 2011
7:08 pm
The NHL’s business model: take a franchise from an emerging market with 5.3M people and move it to a city of 725k with a dwindling economic presence who couldn’t hold onto a franchise a few years ago. And you wonder why the NHL is the least profitable of the big 4 sports.
the person who posted this is a moron, Winnipeg only lost the team because of Canadian dollar, Atlanta’s games werent selling out, they lost the team there fault. Winnipeg will be able sell out almost all off the games in comparison and not lose money.
thrasher fans r retards, why would any1 want to buy this team in keep it in Atlanta to lose money, its easy to talk the talk when its not ur millions ur losing.
Chuck
May 24th, 2011
7:09 pm
Good point about the BlueJays – Canadian fans would, correctly, consider it condescending and insulting of the things being said about Atlanta hockey fans were leveled against Canadian baseball fans based on the attendance numbers for an underfunded franchise.
Krach911
May 24th, 2011
7:09 pm
Edmonton is the NHL-market the most similar to Winnipeg: Western Canada, city with no other major sports, smallest city to have an NHL team. Oilers are the last one in the two last year but still have sold out at every game! This is a real hockey market.
ATL Observer
May 24th, 2011
7:09 pm
>>>I just don’t think that a city of 5 million plus should have anything less than a sell-out every night.
Fair point. But I think the portrayal of Atlanta as a city of 5 million is somewhat misleading. We are far more sprawled that Winnipeg’s population. So much so that I’m pretty sure the defined “city” area of Winnipeg actually has a greater population than does Atlanta’s.
SB
May 24th, 2011
7:14 pm
Typed in “Atlanta Thrashers” into a Google search to find out who they were and it said
Did you mean: Winnipeg Jets
Cromwell
May 24th, 2011
7:15 pm
The NHL is not profitable BECAUSE of places like Atlanta… you all keep pointing your fingers, and you all like to brag how you have over 5 million people. Wow, thats impressive. Whats more impressive is that you could never fill your arena. Spare me the sob story of “our team was never good”. Merely an excuse. And before you lecture Winnipeg on how it failed, remember you are failing for the SECOND time now. You had my sympathy until the classless display of the banner burning at your little (very little) rally. Soon, you will not have to worry about this anymore. Not that the majority of you cared in the first place. Bring on the Anti-Canada remarks, its all you have left in the world of hockey. In a year you can all pretend you never wanted it in the first place, good riddance. Dis Winnipeg all you want just keep in mind We are merely saving your abused sports team. You did this to yourselves Atlanta, stop blaming everyone else.
TheAntiMe
May 24th, 2011
7:15 pm
I understand the vitriol to the situation from Atlanta fans, but don’t put that on Canadians with ignorant posts about our country. Also, don’t paint Winnipeg as a dwindling economy when the exact opposite is true.
Just FYI, Canadians for Reality. I do believe that you could stand a dose of reality, so here goes. Absolutely no one – I repeat – no one on this entire planet, outside of the people of Winnipeg, gives a damn about Winnipeg in any way, shape or form. They never have and they never will. Get over it.
Reality
May 24th, 2011
7:20 pm
^—-
And in 2 weeks nobody in Atlanta will even remember they had a hockey team.
Khao$
May 24th, 2011
7:21 pm
Jeff, excellent blog. I’m not a hockey fan by any stretch. However, being a Hawks fan, I know what the ASG has put fans of both teams through. To the Canadian visitors to this blog, I understand your enthusiasm in terms of getting the team. However, lets be clear; the ASG is the reason the Thrashers are gone. Don Waddell would have been ran out of any other market. However, the cheap ASG didn’t want to spend money on a good GM. They allowed the Joe Johnson fiasco to cripple both teams. The Belkin saga kept both teams from making moves bigger than the Speedy Claxton types.
Economics 101…you don’t invest in a product that shows no return.
Fans would be nutty to patronize this bunch. So to those in the great up north…if you want to lay blame on someone, their names are Gearon, Levenson, Petskowitz, and Belkin (for most of the time. Thank you Jeff for telling the truth on behalf of our great city.
Atlfan
May 24th, 2011
7:25 pm
“The NHL is not profitable BECAUSE of places like Atlanta… ”
The NHL is not profitable because it’s not a popular enough sport in America, period. Because of that it has a crappy tv deal in the states and can’t get the money that the NFL, MLB, and NBA have become fat off of. In order for the NHL to become popular in America it might want to embrace these markets with these large populations because there are way more warm cities in America than cold. Moving to a market the size on Winnipeg would not be considered a win for any major sports league and the fact that people think its a win for the NHL says all you need to know about the state of the league and why it may soon find itself behind MLS soccer in this country and if you’re a fan of the NHL, trust me, that’s not a good thing.
Florida jacket
May 24th, 2011
7:25 pm
Yes Reality, and in 10 years everyone in Winnipeg will be pissed off about losing their second hockey team.