Hello/goodbye? Byfuglien stays, but the Thrashers could leave
You make the call: A salute to fans or a gesture of farewell? (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
On Tuesday we witnessed that rarity: A big-time hockey player who actually wants to stay a Thrasher. Unlike Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk, Dustin Byfuglien was willing to re-up with the local hockey club. But now we ask: How much longer will the local hockey club be local?
The Thrashers’ corporate brother is having a a lousy year at the box office: The Hawks are 24th among 30 NBA teams in average attendance, down nearly 2,000 paying customers a game over last season. And still that beats the Thrashers, who until lately were positioned to make the playoffs for only the second time in their existence; they’re 28th in the 30-team NHL in attendance.
As if on cue, co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. told esteemed colleague Chris Vivlamore on Tuesday night that the Thrashers could indeed sold and moved if the Spirit doesn’t find additional investors/cash soon. “A sense of urgency,” was Gearon’s phrase, and when you hear that from ownership … well, that’s pretty close to “see you later,” is it not?
And there you had it, just another addled day in the life of the Spirit: Hours after Byfuglien re-signs for $26 million over five seasons, Gearon says his group needs money in the worst way. And we imagine, not for the first time, just how it must feel to be a Thrashers fan. The team finally upgrades at general manager and coach and finds a star willing to stick around, and then, from Gearon …
“The reality is we need fans showing up and we need investors, or a primary investor.”
The wonder isn’t that this club draws so few fans but that it still has so many. The wonder is that 13,056 folks (on average) keep supporting this forlorn franchise. Bless their soon-to-be-broken hearts.
By Mark Bradley
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136 comments Add your comment
heartofdarkness
February 16th, 2011
3:17 pm
Look on the bright side. If the Thrashers leave, Phipps would be a great venue for a top tier minor league hockey team. That would mean lower ticket prices and, most likely, new ownership. The Knights were a solid attraction until Turner pushed them out of the downtown to promote the financing of Philips Arena. Atlanta isn’t a major league hockey town, although motocross and chicken fights could fill the sports vacuum.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
3:17 pm
Old Time Hockey – No offense, but I’m not willing to entertain the idea that us fans understand the legal ramifications with moving. First off the F.A.S., LLC sounds like they are selling to a potential buyer RIGHT NOW (Buff re-upping may be telling) which is almost certainly a Cannuck that doesn’t want this market. Second of all Bettman shows no signs of giving 2 rosy red (bleeeep). The NHL has fought long and hard over Phoenix, but years of mediocrity and scandal KILLED that market even after they had a nice year, the league may not want to keep doing this for another market.
Dawg A
February 16th, 2011
3:31 pm
Mark…. is this ASG not just the Rankin Smith story all over again? Someone with money and clueless how to run a sports team!! So sad….. we won’t get another chance with a NHL team!!!
And as far as supporting them………… I have paid my last dollar to these clowns!!! And I understand they read these blogs so please listen closely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sale the teams… heck give them away but quit destroying them!
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
3:33 pm
Teddy – I can’t stand Teddy Striker whining about people whining. But what I really hate is the self-reliant puffy chested bravado about buying the team ourselves. SHOVE IT AND GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF NEAL BOORTZ’S A$$!!! Oh and yes, you’re that easy to see through.
Tom
February 16th, 2011
3:35 pm
Ha Ha there not moving within Buffs contract one thanks for stirring the pot a little. The Hawks still have a contract with Atlanta. The NHL has already said the Thrashers are not moving till there’s an owner who cares and tries to be successful and salvage the market and proves he cant. That all takes a long while and the NHL has to authorize the sell and move of the franchise and there in no way going to do that. That’s exactly why the Coyotes are still in Phenox. Also all the awsome fans in Winnepeg and the other small Canadian markets be quite even if they did move the commissioner has already said there are going to be no small market Canadian teams. Can we get some facts on some news rather than just he said she said gossip thanks.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
3:36 pm
Agreed on that one too, Mr. Bradley. We love NHL hockey, I really do think the fact that they average above 10k is telling of fans commitment.
The ASG does fluffing for Gay Porn on weekends
February 16th, 2011
3:47 pm
The sooner these carpetbaggers are out of Atl the better. They prove that money does not exempt you from being douche bags.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
3:51 pm
Well, Rawhide sys Gearon may be on 680am in a bit, we should listen to hear what kind sputem comes from his mouth. DON’T TRUST THIS F.A.S., LLC (BLEEEP),still maybe you should check it out, sometimes you can find the truth in the way a person lies.
JMT21
February 16th, 2011
3:51 pm
Full disclosure. I am from Winnipeg. I want an NHL team back in Winnipeg as much as anyone but NOT at the expense where fans in another city lose their team. I went thru that back in 1996 and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
I just want to clarify a few things regarding the Canadian markets. Quebec City will not get a team because they currently do not have an arena. There is one planned but won’t be ready until at least 2015. They also do not have an ownership group whatsoever.
Here in Winnipeg we have an NHL ready (bought and paid for) arena. It is small by NHL standards seating just over 15,000. It has been approved by Gary Bettman as a more than suitable venue for a market of our size.
We have an ownership group consisting of Mark Chipman (a local Winnipeg resident) and David Thomson. Mr. Thomson is the richest man in Canada with a net worth of approx. 20 billion.
To reiterate….. I hope the Thrashers stay in Atlanta and that you find better than the owners you currently have.
Thanks.
SAVE THE THRASHERS WEBSITE
February 16th, 2011
3:53 pm
We have de-Blanked our website – now that the story has been broken, we are moving to a general plea to Atlanta leaders and fans. How Fans Can Help;
http://www.arthurblankbuythethrashers.com/fans.html
Home Page:
http://www.arthurblankbuythethrashers.com/
CBS is running our story at 5 and 6 today – please support the Thrashers!
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
3:54 pm
Tom, I like your optimism, but I think that’s wrong. I already addressed this issue with Old Time Hockey, we shouldn’t be so confident. Bettman hasn’t shown any fight yet and their PHX efforts are kind of a bust aren’t they? Why do this twice.
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
3:54 pm
? (rather)
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
3:55 pm
JMT21 – That’s very insightful and thoughtful, thanks.
UGASlobberknocker
February 16th, 2011
3:57 pm
I wonder if Arthur Blank would be interested
Iron League 13
February 16th, 2011
3:58 pm
woops typos and spelling error galore…I should go back to grade school
Atlanta Fanatic
February 16th, 2011
4:03 pm
F ind
U s
A
S avior
G ary Bettman
Caleb
February 16th, 2011
4:07 pm
It says the hawks are 24 th in the NHL in standings?????uhhh they r in the NBA
cheshire
February 16th, 2011
4:15 pm
This sucks so much. If the Thrashers leave town, the ASG better be doing everything they can to sell the Hawks, because NO ONE will support them anymore.
And i can’t believe that an owner would actually have the nerve to say “we need the fans to show up”… as it’s our responsibility to blindly support the ownership and not their responsibility to put a quality product out there. 11 years and not a single playoff win… i mean you’ve got to be kidding me.
David McDavid
February 16th, 2011
4:30 pm
I still have some loose change from the $200mil settlement with AOL TimeWarner- maybe I will buy the Thrashers again, this time for a lot less than in 1999!
drajax
February 16th, 2011
4:46 pm
I’m a season ticket holder. I’ve enjoyed hockey and remember what its like to have and then not have a NHL team. I’m not sure why this ownership group never connected with hockey. Although we can go thru the past and tear up Waddell, at one time this team had Kovachuk, Heatley, then Savard and Hossa. Now we have Kane, Bfuylin, and Ladd. Other players have left the team to have good careers elsewhere. Chalk it up to bad luck or whatever, the Spirit has not been able to put it together. Now the owners are desperate and I guess so are hockey lovers. The team has dropped ticket prices so that you can sit in the lower rink at one end for $33 a game. Plus, there are a number of marketing gimicks going on and a lot of people brag about buying seats under face value on the internet. Yet people aren’t coming. The team is trying to market itself in the African American community, which it should considering the stars we have. It’s had some success. It won’t happen quick enough, however. I don’t think the paper has helped as sometimes the Thrashers get no coverage although I feel Vivalmore is trying. More articles good or bad from Bradley and Shultz would help. So would a little more discussion on radio. Its a sad state of affairs. I don’t see any hope unless someone with a lot of money appears and decides to keep the team here. Hopefully the Spirit will be realistic and not ask for the moon for a franchise that is worth less.
UGADawg83
February 16th, 2011
4:46 pm
I’ve been to a few games and always enjoyed them. That said, a Saturday in Athens cost me a hundred bucks a seat if I factor in my donation. A Thrasher’s game cost about $50 a seat that isn’t a great seat. An SEC regular season game means more than one game out of 82 with the Thrashers. The product and value aren’t there for the casual fan.
Tweets that mention Hello/goodbye? Byfuglien stays, but the Thrashers could leave | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
February 16th, 2011
4:47 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Johnson , ne dris50. ne dris50 said: Hello/goodbye? Byfuglien stays, but the #Thrashers could leave | Mark Bradley http://t.co/LB3RfNN [...]
Sherry Taylor
February 16th, 2011
4:56 pm
Who in their right mind would get in to bed with this current group of owners? Why would you? As much as I don’t want to see the Thrashers leave the city, I cannot for the life of me see how anyone would willingly sign on with these owners (I gag every time I call them the Atlanta Spirit, so I refuse to refer to them as that again). They have proven that not only are they incredibly inept at business and beyond being ‘fans’ of sports they have no idea what goes into (besides money) the growing of a franchise. Atlanta was ripe, absolutely ripe, for hockey back eleven/twelve years ago and by all rights this franchise should prospering on and off the ice by now. And, no, owners are everything, it requires a good GM and a good coach and good to great players, not one GM who allowed a coach to stay well beyond his time (a couple, actually) and not owners and management who are willing to shell out far too much money on one tantrum prone player who will never live up to his hype just to be able to say, hey, we did everything we could.
Finally, at the end of last season, I–we all–thought that maybe the owners had finally put their big boy underwear on and were serious about growing this team and this sport when they hired Rick Dudley who then turned around and hired Craig Ramsey and pulled off some pretty amazing trades considering what he had to offer. We were giddy with excitement every game, because we had our hope back. We saw someone in charge who looked like they knew what they were doing. Finally, we all believed, finally! As disgusted as I am with the owners mediocrity and inabilities, I am that much more saddened. Every week, game after game, we have driven down from Gainesville to watch ‘our Thrashers’ and every year said, at the end of yet another disappointing season, ‘next year’.
It could have been fun. It could have been great! It could have been a lot of things. Still could be all those things. If only . . .
Gwinnett Fred
February 16th, 2011
4:56 pm
Of course, it speaks volumes that they resigned their best player – but to compare Big Buff to Hossa or Kovy is a ridiculous comparison to say they “finally” locked up their best player.
I have a crappy feeling that Buff was signed, if for no other reason, to make this pitiful team at least a little more attractive to a buyer. I just don’t see that buyer being local.
Screw the Mets Mr. Trump – buy the Thrashers (it would be cheaper) and throw some enthusiam at the franchise and you will do what Steinbrenner did with the Devils back in 1995, buy cheap, invest wisely & win a championship!
RichieRich
February 16th, 2011
5:02 pm
Thrashers fans must face facts. Gary Bettman and the NHL will NOT step in and save the franchise like they did in Pheonix. There is far too much money in places like Winnipeg, Quebec and Hamilton to continue to deny these places a team. The NHL BOG won’t put up with subsidizing another failing market…. The ASG, I’m sure, has already been notified about prospective owner up north, and the price they are willing to pay, and they realize that’s the only way to make any sort of money back. Remember, the Coyotes ownership situation was supposed to cleared up months ago, and the NHL is losing money that they won’t get back. Atlanta is minor league hockey city, and everyone knows it.
Jim in Dahlonega
February 16th, 2011
5:21 pm
A recent article in the NYTimes:
http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/coveting-n-h-l-club-quebec-builds-from-the-ground-up/?scp=1&sq=nhl%20quebec%20city&st=cse
Please notice the sentence thatthe NHL has a policy for the last 10 years of not moving teams.
AND, remember last year when the owner of Blackberry said he was going to buy the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton. It didn’t happen.
What are they going to fill those extra 45 nights with at Philips?
It MIGHT happen. And if it does, don’t we all have more important things to worry about?
Ted Striker
February 16th, 2011
7:47 pm
Iron League 13 — You sound like a loyal fan with reasonable expectations. I can appreciate that. I just happen to get the ownership side of things too. If whining makes you feel frisky, do it.
MVN » Thrasher’s Owner: ‘Sense of urgency’ to keep Thrashers from moving
February 16th, 2011
8:01 pm
[...] interesting story that could affect hockey fans that live close to Winnipeg Manitoba. Roseau native Dustin Byfuglien has a new contract with the Atlanta Trasher but will he be playing closer to home? According to the [...]
who cares
February 16th, 2011
8:31 pm
let the bumbling millionaire owners take the team to canada—they’ll screw it up there too. The team is a joke—I hope they leave next week. atlanta doesn’t need a mediocre hockey team.
JR1967
February 16th, 2011
8:43 pm
Matt-it wouldn’t be a racist issue if the “Second round” Hawks ever relocated (Seattle?) This city still would have the Falcons, and last time I checked, the NFL has a strong and loyal African-American following.
Thrasher?s Owner: ?Sense of urgency? to keep Thrashers from moving | Basket my ball up
February 16th, 2011
11:31 pm
[...] interesting story that could affect hockey fans that live close to Winnipeg Manitoba. Roseau native Dustin Byfuglien has a new contract with the Atlanta Trasher but will he be playing closer to home? According to the [...]
Daren
February 17th, 2011
12:50 am
I live in Quebec City, and our mayor just made an annoucement about a new arena in our town, some investors showed up with the goal of buying an NHL team….and relocate it. Looks like the Atlanta Thrashers will be renamed The Quebec Nordiques !
joe
February 17th, 2011
7:38 pm
dont sell the thrashers, they are a good team besides those Canadians have too many hockey teams. if they sell the franchise to canada then we will have to wait another ten years for a hockey team in the atl. start coming to the games so we can enjoy hockey in atlanta
Brendan
February 18th, 2011
1:42 am
Byfuglien’s contract was important. It’s important to finalize Andrew Ladd’s, too. I’m still not sold that this team is leaving. This incarnation of the NHL in our city … NEVER, EVER, EVVVVVVER had ‘committed ownership.’ Therefore, hockey has not YET started in Atlanta. This market wasn’t given a fair chance. It got Turner, Time-Warner, and AS,LLC as owners. Would you describe any of that as ‘committed ownership?’ None of it figured out that Don Waddell couldn’t really manage an NHL team.
The first and next order of business .. is to find an owner who loves hockey and wants the Thrashers to win. If that happens, hockey will finally BEGIN in Atlanta.
Brendan
February 18th, 2011
1:44 am
I’m in SPAM filters, again.
The Monday Melange 02.21.11: Atlanta Spirit, Roger Goodell « Everyone's Entitled to Joe's Opinion
February 20th, 2011
11:06 pm
[...] this for ironic: One of the Thrashers’ key players just re-signed and will be staying here. But how much long… That’s right, the Thrashers are probably about to be sold and moved to Canada somewhere. [...]