Thrashers, Atlanta were never given a chance
Thrashers fans tried hard to keep hope, season after season. But the deck was stacked against them. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
(Updated: 12:30 p.m.)
This is how it ends: With the weasel of a commissioner not stepping foot in the city, with another season passing without a playoff game, with a lying ownership group maintaining it did all it could to save a franchise that in reality it spent most of seven years wrecking.
Atlanta has lost an NHL expansion team to a Canadian outpost for the second time. The Thrashers are going to Winnipeg just like the Flames went to Calgary in 1980. A press conference was held in Winnipeg, while the Thrashers sent out this warm-and-fuzzy news release: “The Atlanta Thrashers announced today that they have entered into an asset purchase agreement with True North Sports and Entertainment …”
This isn’t about the fans or the market or certainly Gary Bettman’s fictional “covenant” with fans, which I believe he left in the same sock drawer with his conscience. It’s about greed and abandonment, plain and simple. It’s about a disingenuous ownership group, which had long lost any semblance of credibility, serving up fans swill and gruel and then wondering why the turnstiles sleep at night.
They’ll tell you they care. They don’t. They’re walking away with a fat check. While you mourn the loss of a franchise, they’re waving goodbye with one middle finger.
The NHL is leaving a city that never really was given a chance. It’s going back to a city that it left 15 years ago and that has grown by about 60,000 people and a couple of doughnut shops since. They will be discussing this decision one day at business schools, right after the sections on Charles Ponzi and Enron.
Atlanta didn’t fail. The franchise failed. But the NHL doesn’t care about that. This is a league that survives on franchise fees and relocation fees. It collected $80 million from Ted Turner for an expansion fee in 1997. (He joked in the Board of Governors meeting that followed that he could’ve saved $70 million by purchasing the Flames from Tom Cousins for $10 million. Nobody laughed.) The league reportedly will collect another $60 million for permission to move the Thrashers to Manitoba.
In five years, when another failing franchise wants to move into Philips Arena, Bettman will be happy to collect another fat relocation fee, and he’ll deliver the same canned, phony speech about how he always believed in this market. The guy has told so many lies, it’s a wonder he’s not an Atlanta Spirit partner. (One postscript: Bettman referred to them as the “Atlantic” Spirit on Tuesday.)
Now living in Calgary.
There are hockey teams in Tampa and San Jose and Raleigh, and I could go on. There’s still one inexplicably in Phoenix, which the NHL is floating for another year, maybe because Bettman plans to retire and open up a pawn shop there one day. Is Atlanta an inferior market to any of those cities? Or does product have something to do with it?
There was no reason to do this now. When the Phoenix-to-Winnipeg deal fell apart, the NHL (which owns the Coyotes) was out $170 million. Bettman panicked. So he crossed out Phoenix and wrote in Atlanta. But why couldn’t he have waited a year to see if another owner for the team
Now living in Winnipeg.
emerged? Winnipeg wasn’t going anywhere. Was Bettman that desperate for the $60 million?
“I have absolutely no doubt that this market can support an NHL team,” said Bob Hartley, a native Canadian, a Stanley Cup winner in Colorado and the only coach to get the Thrashers to the playoffs. “It’s a huge disappointment to see the Atlanta franchise leave before so many other cities in the league. I loved it there. My last two years in Atlanta were as exciting as what I went through in Colorado. We had only two [home] playoffs games but it was a Stanley Cup atmosphere. But Hoss [Marian Hossa] left, Kovy [llya Kovalchuk] left, I was gone. It felt like the organization was drained of its energy.”
First player: Damian Rhodes. First draft pick: Patrik Stefan. First coach: Curt Fraser. First general manager: Don Waddell. That was only the beginning. Eleven seasons: one playoff berth, no wins.
Turner was followed by AOL/Time Warner, a bad marriage that was followed by an even worse one: Atlanta Spirit, LLC. Hossa saw no future here. Kovalchuk, given so many misdirections by part-owner Bruce Levenson in negotiations, wasn’t even sure the team would stay. Both wanted out.
There never was a commitment. There never was hope. There never was a plan — at least not one that worked.
A city just lost a franchise. While you mourn, they laugh. It’s nothing less than shameful.
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
1,115 comments Add your comment
playmeortrademe
May 31st, 2011
11:05 pm
Anyone ever had a Tim Horton’s donut and coffee? Is it any good? That might be the only reason I would want to visit English-speaking Canada.
Robert Esquire
May 31st, 2011
11:10 pm
Look…I come from Buffalo, whose population is even lower than Winnipeg’s. We have the Sabres. We support the Sabres. We love the Sabres. A number of years ago our ownership turned out to be a couple of criminals who went to jail. During that unsettling time Bettman stuck by us and kept the franchise afloat while we waited for new ownership to arrive. And it did.
The reason Bettman stuck by us is because Buffalo is a Hockey City. We LOVE the sport. Here is the truth: Atlanta is NOT a sports town…at least not a professional sports town. Even today your sports airwaves are filled with some story about Ohio State football instead of losing your hockey team. If it wasn’t for transplants, you wouldn’t even have filled half of the arena. In fact when the Sabres played down there there were more Sabre jerseys in the crowd than Thrasher.
I think those of you who posted here and said that you were giving up on the NHL because of this move says it all. You’re not hockey fans and obviously don’t know what we here in Buffalo and those fans in Winnipeg realize – that hockey is the greatest sport on the planet. Good riddance to you!
jojo
May 31st, 2011
11:10 pm
MEMBERS OF THE ATLANTA SPIRIT AND DON WADDELL SHOULD BE RUN OUT OF TOWN. EVERYONE OF THEM ARE LOSERS. DON WADDELL MAYBE THE WORST. HE SCREW UP THE TEAM FROM DAY ONE.
Dogham
May 31st, 2011
11:11 pm
To be honest – the AJC never gave the Thrashers the coverage they deserved. All Atlanta really cares about is the always overrated and underperforming Georgia Bulldogs.
HistoricalFail
May 31st, 2011
11:11 pm
English speaking Canada, like French speaking Canada, is fantastic. Explore a little, mate.
bad dawg
May 31st, 2011
11:12 pm
Thanks to the Atlanta spirit. we’ll never see NHL Hockey in Atlanta in our lifetime. They should never have been sold, much less purchased this team. Maybe if Joe Johnson wasn’t brought here to miss 15 shots a night there could have been a different outcome. At least Belkin was from the north. I hope this is the last time the NHL sells to a bunch of rubes that had a few drinks one night and ruined any hopes for hockey in this town for the forseeable future. God forbid they ever want a baseball franchise,I hope it isn’t the Braves. Oh, and before I forget, LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE!
The Truth
May 31st, 2011
11:12 pm
HistoricalFail
I completely agree with you about the fudged numbers on attendance. I travel several times a year to year to Atlanta.
I usually go to games when I’m there and I’ve never seen the announced attendance match the reality. Additionally I’m never paid more than $20 for a lower bowl ticket. (Way below the value on the ticket)
Thrashers Fan
May 31st, 2011
11:13 pm
“HistoricalFail
May 31st, 2011
10:40 pm
ThrashersFan, Phoenix has (inexplicably) at least had bites of new ownership interest from groups initially willing to keep the team there, I also believe their tv market is bigger, though I’m not sure on that one. Thoe would be two answers, though.”
Take out this $60 mill. relocation fee (which is the SAME AMOUNT owners were forking out for Phoenix), the price drops back to $110 mill.. There were @ least a few groups who had that amount.
So, goes back to my argument: The whole $ issue comes from Phoenix. Give Winnipeg back Phoenix. Phoenix population not having to pay for failures. Winnipeg fans are happy to get THEIR team back. NHL owners happy they’re not forking out $60 mill.. Thrashers for sale for $110 mill.. Plenty of groups willing to pay that to keep our team in Atlanta & make it into a better item than it was by prior owners.
Sounds like a win-win situation for all, no?
HistoricalFail
May 31st, 2011
11:14 pm
You speak the truth, umm, The Truth.
playmeortrademe
May 31st, 2011
11:20 pm
Last point. The NHL really does need to contract. Nine teams: Winnipeg, Columbus, Carolina, Phoenix, Miami, Nashville, Tampa, the third NY team the Islanders, and a second Los Angeles team are unsustainable. Two more of these teams will likely relocate soon, likely Phoenix and the Islanders, six others need to go bye-bye. Have two 12-team conferences with three four-team divisions. NHL product gets better with a smaller player pools, familiarity breeds rivalries, etc., etc. (and yes, it the BOG didn’t vote that down, the players union surely would with dozens of lost jobs.)
BW
May 31st, 2011
11:23 pm
They may as well sell the Hawks too because it’s going to be the same song about the fans not showing up….absolutely worse ownership group in the history of the four major sports.
UFFan
May 31st, 2011
11:24 pm
Do not support the hawks. Let’s see what Reed does then. We need a new mayor too.
Thrashers Fan
May 31st, 2011
11:26 pm
“The Truth
May 31st, 2011
11:12 pm
HistoricalFail
I completely agree with you about the fudged numbers on attendance. I travel several times a year to year to Atlanta.
I usually go to games when I’m there and I’ve never seen the announced attendance match the reality. Additionally I’m never paid more than $20 for a lower bowl ticket. (Way below the value on the ticket)”
& I’ve been to several NY Mets games where they claim the attendance was HIGHER than what it should have been since only 1/2 the stadium was filled. Case in point, EVERYBODY fudges the #’s.
& how many times has NY Yankess done $5 tickets?
Thrashers Fan
May 31st, 2011
11:29 pm
“Robert Esquire
May 31st, 2011
11:10 pm
Look…I come from Buffalo, whose population is even lower than Winnipeg’s. We have the Sabres. We support the Sabres. We love the Sabres. A number of years ago our ownership turned out to be a couple of criminals who went to jail. During that unsettling time Bettman stuck by us and kept the franchise afloat while we waited for new ownership to arrive. And it did.”
& where was Mr. Bettman seen in Atlanta trying to help us stay afloat?
The Truth
May 31st, 2011
11:30 pm
The NHL now has to turn its focus on 2 of their biggest issues.
1)Ny
The Truth
May 31st, 2011
11:31 pm
Ny Islanders and the Phoenix coyotes
Chris
May 31st, 2011
11:33 pm
Sorry Atlanta fans lost their team, but this article wasn’t very illuminating. I followed a link that asked, what kind of team is Wpg getting, and I still don’t know.
By the way, where are you getting this outpost crap?
Winnipeg sports fan
May 31st, 2011
11:36 pm
Have you ever been in Winnipeg, Yes it gets cold in the winter, that is when hockey is played. Every local community club in our province & city supports hockey at all ages. We live and breath hockey, and that is why so many players come from Canada. When it was anounced that the team was coming to Winnipeg ten’s of thousands of people showed up at Portage and Main, the Forks and the MTS centre to celebrate.
In response to Winnipeg=Poverty, how many cities do you know of that can boast that we have a world renowned Ballet, have you heard of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. We are a cultured city, and deserve to have a NHL team. It is small minded people like yourself, who do not deserve to have a NHL team or make unfounded comments about others.
Yes, we are Canadians, and very proud of that. We are respectful of other people and yes we do have manners. WE are not all Eskimos, and we do not live in igloos. Perhaps instead of being so negative you should come and visit Winnipeg, and see for yourself what a great city we have
Wpg/Pvrty = Without Hockey
May 31st, 2011
11:37 pm
@playmeortrademe
The NHL in Winnipeg is unsustainable. We’ll see… the 19th wealthiest man in the world doesn’t think so. But what would he know? I am sure you could give him some valuable business lessons. I am sure you know of a lot of reasons Winnipeg will fail that David Thomson and Mark Chipman just never thought of.
Ultimately, ice hockey is not sustainable where very very few people care about hockey. Want proof that nobody cares about hockey in Atlanta? Check out the home page of AJC right now. Almost nothing about Thrashers – on the day they are leaving your city. Check out the home page of almost any media outlet in Canada – lots and lots about hockey returning to Winnipeg. Hockey is banished to page 5 of the sports section of the newspaper in cities like Atlanta and Phoenix because very very few people care.
Thrashers Fan
May 31st, 2011
11:38 pm
playmeortrademe
May 31st, 2011
11:20 pm
Last point. The NHL really does need to contract. Nine teams: Winnipeg, Columbus, Carolina, Phoenix, Miami, Nashville, Tampa, the third NY team the Islanders, and a second Los Angeles team are unsustainable. Two more of these teams will likely relocate soon, likely Phoenix and the Islanders, six others need to go bye-bye.”
So, you’re saying that Dallas is the ONLY Southern location hockey should be found @? To me, the only way to get people interested in a pro sport is to put it where it can grow.
Let me ask you this: Would people complain more if you took all those Southern teams you mentioned, moved them all to the North, & see what happens because of overcrowding? Or would you spread the teams all across the country to expand the interest in a sport not too commonly found there?
& yes, I agree in that LA & NY should ONLY HAVE ONE team in each sport. Everywhere else does that & it’s accepted by all.
The Truth
May 31st, 2011
11:39 pm
I think the Islanders will turn things around next week, they seem to have a team on the cusp of someting better on the ice.
The Coyotes however will be the team to watch, ticket giveaways , no cash down Hulsizer as potential make the off ice drama more entertaining that the on-ice. Hopefully Quebec or Kansas City will get their ducks in a row and end the Phoenix follies
Good Riddance?
May 31st, 2011
11:49 pm
To those of you saying “good riddance”, you people are clueless. Professional sports teams do a lot for a community, and losing the Thrashers is truly a blow to the city. (Just ask the employees and local business owners)
Love the article Schultz!
gt23
May 31st, 2011
11:50 pm
I wonder how long “Phillips” will want their name attached to such a floundering bunch of incompetents before they pull their naming rights to the arena? I’m not a hockey loyalist, but I enjoyed every Thrashers game I attended. I don’t know the game very well, but it was fun watching!
I have attended a few Gladiators games as well and enjoyed them too. I know enough to say that minor league hockey is not the same as the the real NHL product. So sad today!
ASG failed this fan base and the NHL did nothing to help.
North of the 49th
May 31st, 2011
11:51 pm
To the comments about Winnipeg = poverty, I had to laugh at that one. The man who now owns the Winnipeg team is David Thomson, and Forbes Magazine rates him as the 17th richest man in the world with something like $17 Billion. I think the team will be well looked after. As for Winnipeg being a hole, it’s far from it with the province boasting over 100 000 freshwater lakes, and no slums, I’ll say again NO SLUMS! get it. Not like a certain city that looks like it’s full of guests from the Jerry Springer show.
Winnipeg = Poverty
May 31st, 2011
11:55 pm
Think about this little fact. After whatever happens with the money losing Phoenix Coyotes then you have the new arena situations on Long Island and Edmonton (both are close to being fixed) the NHL should be clear of any problem teams that is until the True North owners of the Thrashers/Winnipeg get tired of losing money in a 15,015 seat arena with an ever increasing salary cap. That is why I believe the Thrashers/Winnipeg won’t even last until 2020 before this little backwards step ends for the NHL. Atlanta might be through with NHL forever but the Thrashers relocating and failing in Winnipeg will probably kill it in Winnipeg forever as well. It will be nice cheering against Winnipeg/Thrashers hoping they will fail on the ice and off it as well.
rooster
May 31st, 2011
11:56 pm
1. Anyone “looking down” on Atlanta because the ice hockey team left town is a flannel-headed doofus. No one looked down on Los Angeles when the NFL left that city FOR THE SECOND TIME. New York lost two baseball teams in a couple of years’ time. The nation’s capital had no baseball for 40 years.
2. In this part of the country, young folks play football, baseball, and basketball on playgrounds and lawns and streets and pastures. They do not play hockey. While living in New England, I knew guys who had played hockey on ponds in the winters as kids. They were natural hockey fans, and the sport was well-attended in Boston (though a local joke was that there are only 25,000 Bruins fans but they all go to every game). Anyway, there is a correspondence between games ordinary people in a locale play, and games they will pay to see played at the professional level. The warm-weather cities which have NHL teams are either much more transplant-heavy than Atlanta (Miami, Tampa, L.A., San Jose), or smaller markets with no other, or only one other pro, team (Nashville, San Jose), or smaller markets with far fewer diversions than Atlanta (Nashville, Charlotte), or just truly generic cities (Dallas, Phoenix – one where the most famous landmark is a murder scene, the other best known for being very, um, hot).
3. Atlanta is the home of the nation’s fourth largest concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters, the world’s biggest or second-biggest airline depending on what measure is applied, the world’s busiest airport (and the nation’s second-busiest and world’s fifth-busiest aviation hub when multiple airports in other cities are accounted for), the world’s most famous brand name, the best-selling novel in history, and two Nobel Peace Prize winners. It is the birthplace of the world’s first truly global news network. It was the headquarters of the civil rights movement. It is one of only two American cities to host the summer Olympics in the last 100 years. Not even the President of the United States could influence the IOC to make his hometown the third. Nikita Kruschev once demonstrated his knowledge of things American to then-Vice President Nixon by singing the “Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech.” The Atlanta Constitution, back when, received letters from overseas addressed to “Peachtree St., USA.” What other main streets are so widely identified with their cities? The Ginza, the Champs-Elysee, Broadway, Pennsylvania Ave, maybe Michigan Ave – and what others? So, hell no, the departure of a hockey team does not hurt Atlanta’s brand, image, cachet, mojo, chi, or je-ne-sais-quoi. Atlanta’s claims to fame were well-established before the NHL got here, and are not diminished because we didn’t fall in love with hockey. In fact, what would really hurt our image would be if more than a handful of people made a big deal out of it.
By the way, the post about ticket prices is not mine. Don’t know how it ended up with my handle.
The Truth
June 1st, 2011
12:01 am
Thrashers Fan
The cheap tickets wouldn’t be an issue if the team wasn’t losing boat loads of money. It seems that the cheapies were more of a rule than an exception.
From my experience cheap ticket deals are usually confined to the nose bleeds.
The tickets that I was getting were top seats(lower bowl near center ice) and paid between $15-20 for them, Phoenix was the only other city where I found a similiar experience.
In San Jose I paid $150 for similiar seats, awesome arena by the way.
I’m not too sure of the NY Mets current status, are they moving?
And I’m just assuming that $5 seats at Yankee stadium weren’t for top seats.
Lou
June 1st, 2011
12:05 am
As a 47 year old, I cannot believe how depressed I am over this news, even though for weeks we knew it was coming. I was 17 when the Flames left and remember clearly how I felt and I feel the same today. Only now, I have two sons who when they heard this official news today were just distraught over their favorite team leaving. I will miss the bonding we shared over going to games. There have been so many great comments to read and you can clearly feel the pain felt by the fans of hockey and the Thrashers. I will miss seeing the other teams as well such as the Pens, Caps, Flyers etc. I, for one, agree about not spending a dime on the Hawks or at Philips but we all know that will fade and people will not stick to that. If we all did, maybe something would change, but it is an easy thing to say and tougher to follow. For years I followed the Flames after they left, but I don’t think I will be able to follow hockey anymore or the Thrashers. I can’t see the point. The thought of driving 45 minutes to see minor league hockey doesn’t appeal to me either. What a sad day for Atlanta sports.
Hugh Jardon
June 1st, 2011
12:08 am
At least us Canadians don’t shut a city down when it snows or gets cold. Bunch of whiny crybabies!!! All you care about is your crappy SEC, wrasslin’, and NASCRAP….ooops, NASCAR. Lol!!!! You didn’t support the team? No problem, we’ll take care of that no problem!
Bettman the moron
June 1st, 2011
12:12 am
A city of 6 million people was prime for success…despite what these Winnipeg trolls on here are saying, those of us who live in Atlanta know that this city backs teams that are owned by passionate owners who at least attempt to get a good product on the field. The Falcons….laughing stocks for 40 years…..now, passionate fan base with every game sold out. Braves……when they were owned by Ted Turner, you could not find more passionate fans…..since the ownership moved to a corporation (AOL Time Warner and now Liberty Media), the passion has waned a bit, but there is still solid fan support. The NHL had a golden opportunity here that they never understood and never supported. And Bettman the Moron simply refused to try to understand or support this market Atlanta fans are decicated yet discerning…..you cannot have dysfunctional owners and you have to show then you are at least trying…..using the Thrashers as a minor league team for the rest of the league simply would not fly here.
So the NHL moves back to Winnipeg…I wish them well. But don’t think for a moment that Gary Bettman or anyone else in the NHL gives one hoot for you…they don’t. You are merely the latest paycheck in their coffers. As soon as the romance wears off and the Winnipeg team becomes unsustainable, Bettman the Moron will be looking for his next relocation payout.
Andrew
June 1st, 2011
12:13 am
We need to invest in a honey badger to hunt down that snake of an NHL Commissioner.
Thrashers Fan
June 1st, 2011
12:14 am
Want a real kick out of this situation, read this article:
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/05/31/sports/doc4de5abafcde4b694389470.txt
Punch Shots: Bettman deserves Thrashing for Winnipeg move
Published: Tuesday, May 31, 2011
By ANTHONY J. SANFILIPPO
anthonysan37@gmail.com
Here’s an admission: The fingers definitely begin to tingle every time NHL commissioner Gary Bettman does something or says something disingenuous.
Like Tuesday.
The Atlanta Thrashers are relocating to Winnipeg, where they will presumably become the Jets while the old Jets still toil away on league money as the Phoenix Coyotes — at least for one more season.
Which is where Bettman is exposed as the fraud that he is.
Instead of standing up for the alleged “covenant” that he claims to have with NHL fans, Bettman — who went to the wall to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix to save face after he personally nixed the sale of the team to Canadian Billionaire Jim Balsille — never once intervened to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta.
Not that the team should have ever been there in the first place, but since Bettman shoved it down our throats in 1999, you’d think he’d try to defend his miscalculation.
Nope. The commish instead shrugged his shoulders and blamed the fans: “Demonstrating your dissatisfaction by not going to games is an interesting strategy,” Bettman said of Atlanta fans. “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.” Jerk.
The elephant in the room, though, is Bettman has won the league $60 million as a relocation fee as part of this move to Winnipeg. This will go a long way toward covering the loses the league is taking by keeping Phoenix unnecessarily afloat.
Instead, he’ll spearhead the move of a team into the smallest market in the league that couldn’t sustain one 15 years ago when the Jets averaged 2,000 fewer fans per game than the Thrashers did this past season.
Brilliant.
Bettman the moron
June 1st, 2011
12:17 am
Hugh…relax….go shoot a moose or something. We’ll be fine down here with our Nascar (a more popular and lucrative sport then the NHL by the way), our fantastic weather, our beautiful women, and our cosmopolitan city where you can do whatever you want whenever you want. We all realize that with nothing else to do in your burg, the return of the NHL must be quite a thrill. Enjoy!!
Winnipeg = Poverty
June 1st, 2011
12:18 am
@ Hugh Jardon But Canadians are scared of Muslims isn’t that right? Have the Muslim immigrants started Sharia Law in Toronto yet? I also completely forgot about all the native people’s of Canada who have their own little countries inside Canada and don’t consider themselves Canadians. Scared of them as well? I bet that where all the Canadian phone call scams come from that target the U.S.A. elderly.
The Truth
June 1st, 2011
12:25 am
Wow
Winnipeg=proverty’s posts keep reaching new lows. He is a little ball of hate.
He is an embarassment to all us Americans.
Up Yours ASG
June 1st, 2011
12:25 am
If Bruce Levenson’s father had just used a condom, the world would have one less scumbag.
Random thoughts
June 1st, 2011
12:25 am
This is one of the most dishonest transactions in the history of pro sports…..I want to know more
Thrashers Fan
June 1st, 2011
12:26 am
“Hugh Jardon
June 1st, 2011
12:08 am
At least us Canadians don’t shut a city down when it snows or gets cold. Bunch of whiny crybabies!!! Lol!!!! You didn’t support the team? No problem, we’ll take care of that no problem!”
#1 – Show me ANY city that can function when their streets are coated in ice.
#2 – I have already posted attendance records on here. 5/10 times Atlanta finished AHEAD of such places as Chicago, NY, NJ, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, etc. 7/10 times Atlanta finished AHEAD of Phoenix. So, who’s not supporting their team?
bobh
June 1st, 2011
12:27 am
What a bunch of BS. That has to be the worst example of homer journalism I have read in a long time. All that Atlanta has proved is that it has an enthusiastic fan base but there were too few of them. If most Atlanta fans are fair weather fans, only supporting the team in the good times then the ownership economics just do not work. Sports is all about getting bums in seats and there were not enough seats sold.
The team left town because the Atlanta owners were tired of taking on the growing losses, and could not find a local buyer. The Thrashers were goners. And you blame the owners for that. Give your head a shake my friend and take a night study course in economics. You might learn something
Thrashers Fan
June 1st, 2011
12:35 am
“The Truth
June 1st, 2011
12:01 am
Thrashers Fan
The cheap tickets wouldn’t be an issue if the team wasn’t losing boat loads of money. It seems that the cheapies were more of a rule than an exception.
From my experience cheap ticket deals are usually confined to the nose bleeds.
The tickets that I was getting were top seats(lower bowl near center ice) and paid between $15-20 for them, Phoenix was the only other city where I found a similiar experience.
In San Jose I paid $150 for similiar seats, awesome arena by the way.
I’m not too sure of the NY Mets current status, are they moving?
And I’m just assuming that $5 seats at Yankee stadium weren’t for top seats.”
When me & my roommate went, it was about $65+/ticket & we were near the back rows of the lower section.
As far as the Mets, they are in financial trouble (despite building a new stadium a few years ago).
For the Yankees, I don’t know where the $5 seats are, but have been to games where those were being sold (tix I had were already purchased).
The Truth
June 1st, 2011
12:35 am
#2 – I have already posted attendance records on here. 5/10 times Atlanta finished AHEAD of such places as Chicago, NY, NJ, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, etc. 7/10 times Atlanta finished AHEAD of Phoenix. So, who’s not supporting their team?
I am in total agreement with your statement here, there is no ryme or reason for the NHL to save Phoenix over Atlanta. I believe that Atlanta has a better chance of low term stability.
#1 – Show me ANY city that can function when their streets are coated in ice.
My wife is Canadian, she drives on roads, that I wouldn’t even go near.
illputitoncspan
June 1st, 2011
12:36 am
Hey Rooster… you forgot to mention our absolutely brutal traffic, horrible violent crime rate, soaring high school drop out rate, Atlanta Public Schools CRCT scandal (you Canadians should google that one), the rampant mortgage fraud problem, our sky-high foreclosure rate, the inability of so many Atlantans to speak proper English (i.e. – conjugate the verb to be), the reverse discrimination & racism that goes unabated in this town – see hypocrisy, how the Mayor (who has no problem going to Washington to be on Meet The Press) couldn’t be bothered to go to NYC to meet with NHL Officials…
Hey Rooster, did I miss anything? I apologize if I did.
Oh wait, my bad. Our exploding gang problem. Again Rooster, please let me know.
hali79
June 1st, 2011
12:39 am
Phillps Arena, was getting crowds under 8,000 a game which was brutal. besides, Canadians are passionate and vocal about their national pastime. Hockey is a excellent sport I can’t understand why lot’s parts of the U.S. don’t expect the game? there are great NHL U.S. hockey cities in this country! like Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Phildelphila,St louis & Minnesota. it’s Too bad what has happen. but, there are so much sports going here. something has to go? Winnipeg is a great Canadian hockey city with a new arena 5 years old i think? MTS centre, holds only 15 ,600 for hockey im sure new seats will be added. good luck the province of manitoba canada. 0-2 city of Atlanta bring back the AHL semi pro league of the NHL? I guess?
hali79
June 1st, 2011
12:44 am
THE WINNIPEG HATER? PROBABLY NEVER BEEN TO CANADA? IT’S NOT A BAD COUNTRY AT ALL.
thrasherdawg
June 1st, 2011
12:47 am
I heard that Big Buff will be aked to be traded along with Evander Kane. Ladd is a FA and will not sign in Winnipeg. So I here.
Most Thrashers players are telling you they have mixed feeling about leaving Atlanta. The truth is they don’t want to leave. In Winnipeg there will be turmoil as the majority of the players do not want to play there. Plus, the stars of the league do not want to play in Winnipeg. Watch the team fall apart. And when tehy do you will look in the mirror and wonder, what was I thinking when I signed up for 3 years of season tickets.
The Truth
June 1st, 2011
12:53 am
Hey thrasherdawg
I heard that Big Buff will be aked to be traded along with Evander Kane. Ladd is a FA and will not sign in Winnipeg. So I here.
Most Thrashers players are telling you they have mixed feeling about leaving Atlanta. The truth is they don’t want to leave. In Winnipeg there will be turmoil as the majority of the players do not want to play there.
Do you have links to these quotes?
Thrashy Thrashy
June 1st, 2011
1:00 am
You cannot run a business well if you are unwilling to invest in it. ASG was unwilling to invest in the Thrashers. They were unwilling to make the effort necessary to avoid losses. They were unwilling to market the team in any serious manner. They didn’t even want the club. They’ve been trying to sell it since they got control of it, but they were in court for five freaking years and, gee, who the hell would want to negotiate with an ownership that has no clue?
The fans in Atlanta got screwed. There is no way around that. Anyone who claims otherwise should be hanged.
Chris
June 1st, 2011
1:10 am
Funny hearing people calling Calgary and Winnipeg “outposts”. To us Canucks, Atlanta is a hockey “outpost”. Calgary is one of the wealthiest cities in N. America, center of the oil business(where most of your oil comes from btw). Winnipeg is of similar size to Buffalo, Oklahoma City, Nashville and Milwaukee-all who support pro sports teams. The MTS Arena seats 15,000 and with average ticket prices of $82 will sell out and have similar revenues to other NHL teams. David Thompson, the moneyman behind the sale is worth $20billion so any losses are a drop in the bucket for him. And regarding cold winters, the climate is the same as Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc.-hot summers and cold winters-are those places “outposts”? Btw I guess Green Bay an outpost of 100,000 people. Winnipeg fans are just as passionate as Packer fans. They lost the Jets in the ’90’s because of a weak Canadian dollar, an old building and no NHL salary cap-all of which have been resolved. Welcome back Jets!!
Mike
June 1st, 2011
1:11 am
I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I am not here to bash anyone or put anyone down. I will say this… Whether it’s Atlanta or Winnipeg or anywhere else, if you don’t support your team, especially the fact that this is the highest caliber of hockey on earth, then you will lose it and deserve to lose it to somewhere else that will support it. I am not a millionaire and for the Atlanta Spirit to lose as much money as they have, I completely understand why they would bail. I don’t like losing $500 at the McPhillips Station Casino here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, nevermind losing $150 million +. Atlanta Spirit did what they had to do just like me or you would have done in these financial circumstances. The thing you have to understand is the passion Winnipeg has for hockey is the same passion that Atlanta has for football. If the Atlanta Falcons were to leave you would feel the same way we felt when we lost the Winnipeg Jets way back in the day.
Jay
June 1st, 2011
1:16 am
The Atlanta fans on HFBoards are classy – you guys are complete wastes of skin. Pathetic losers. We got more people to AHL games here in Winnipeg than you guys did at Thrashers games. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. YOUR FAULT THEY’RE GONE. Eat the blame, don’t place it on us. Enjoy. Wait, there’s nothing left to enjoy, my bad.