Atlanta 3.0: Three local ownership groups emerge

[LadyStanley]

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2011-03-08/atlanta-thrashers-have-three-potential-buyers

[T]hree groups have emerged as potential buyers to keep the team in Georgia. Bruce Levenson, one of the Thrashers owners, told Sporting News on Tuesday that discussions with these groups are ongoing.

“There are three that have gotten to the point where we’re comfortable enough to provide them information,†Levenson said. “We’ve been in the process of providing them the information that they have requested. We are having open dialogue.â€
...
The Atlanta Spirit closed on the refinancing of Philips Arena in December and there have been conflicting reports as to how much money ownership would lose in the naming rights deal with Philips if the Thrashers leave town.

Levenson cleared that up.

“There really is no link between the Philips naming rights and the teams. There are obligations we have to fulfill as the naming rights partner to Philips,†Levenson said. “There’s no link between Philips and the teams.â€

According to Levenson, the three potential buyers are currently only interested in buying the Thrashers and not the NBA’s Hawks — and all would keep the NHL team in Atlanta.

And there will be no looking for ownership interested in relocation until all local angles have been exhausted.


Mod Note: Please do not bash "Southern" markets, Atlanta attendance, lack of marketing, etc.

Let's keep this focused on these three potential local owners and the sale process.

Click to read more...

 

[Telfo]

i am a little confused because the AJC and John Kincade(local sports radio guy with connections) are both saying that there are at least 2 groups looking to buy the whole package and not just the Thrashers. Both hinted that there could be an exclusive negotiating period for one of them very soon(mid-March was the timeframe given).

I dont know who to believe but at least all of the news coming out is all positive and not going the other way.

 

[ThrasherMinion]

Don't screw this up Septotards!

Custance is a local Atlantan and was the beat writer for the Thrashers before C-Viv. I believe him, he does good research and has lines of communication.

We have another iron in the fire....oh well. I guess Atlanta must be a better option than people think.

Could always be the going public to talk about breaking things up because the other two groups either haven't offerred for everything yet, or have lowballed the 'Tards.

Wait and see. I renewed my season tix.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

About a week ago, this video was posted on SI about the interest. In it, Kincade says that the potential buyer he speaks of, heard the interview with Gearon on the radio, and contacted him to get in touch with ASG.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vid...ted/index.html

 

[tarheelhockey]

“There really is no link between the Philips naming rights and the teams. There are obligations we have to fulfill as the naming rights partner to Philips,” Levenson said. “There’s no link between Philips and the teams.”

Can anyone clarify this? I thought it was well established that their deal was premised on having two tenants.

 

[Telfo]

Can anyone clarify this? I thought it was well established that their deal was premised on having two tenants.

as i understand it, it WAS that way but had been renegotiated at some point and that is no longer the case.

 

[ThrasherMinion]

READ peeps! The posted article (and thanks for posting it) says lots of stuff!!!

Hulsizer is NOT involved or interested in Atlanta and Dallas is close to being sold with more guys in line behind.

This article sucks if there are only the three that the Septotards are talking to because it would mean they still will have their tentacles around.

C-Viv did report that he knew that someone has spoken to the NBA and NHL and 2 groups were interested in all. Perhaps, they have now found out all isn't for sale and so they are talking about just the team and hope to get other perks from the Arena.

Like I said, I do trust Custance 100%. I HATE the Septotards!

And before getting off on this .... no one's been interested because there was a 6 yr. lawsuit that said they COULDN'T sell until just 2 months ago. Now the owners are suing their own lawyers that wrote the contracts that enabled the mayhem that's dragged on that long.

Hopefully Levenson isn't working from Washington with the NY investment group while Gearon is holed up in Atlanta talking to someone else, but then again, that's why they have become known so solidly as the Atlanta Septotard Group (ASG).

I wonder if Richard Adler is still in town????? That man knew how to market hockey to the south.

 

[headsigh]

Was that "Anson Carter Minority owner" bit ever confirmed?

 

[Telfo]

Was that "Anson Carter Minority owner" bit ever confirmed?

no, i dont think anybody has given it too much thought

 

[cbcwpg]

Interesting comment from the article:


According to Levenson, the three potential buyers are currently only interested in buying the Thrashers and not the NBA’s Hawks — and all would keep the NHL team in Atlanta.

Before we were told that 2 buyers wanted the whole package.

Good news I guess in that they want to keep the team in Atlanta, but anyone looking at buying just the team, will have to work out a favorable lease with the owners of the building. That could be difficult. Might be better to buy the whole thing.

 

[headsigh]

Interesting comment from the article:


According to Levenson, the three potential buyers are currently only iterested in buying the Thrashers and not the NBA’s Hawks — and all would keep the NHL team in Atlanta.

Before we were told that 2 buyers wanted the whole package.

Good news I guess in that they want to keep the team in Atlanta, but anyone looking at buying just the team, will have to work out a favorable lease with the owners of the building. That could be difficult. Might be better to buy the whole thing.

Yeah, I think the most common outcome of all this is that, if someone purchases the team, they're purchasing the Hawks as well. I can't see them not involved in the deal somehow.

On the other hand it's another bag of worms, does anyone want to take the hawks? They're horrifically average and just gave a 100m contract to Joe freakin' Johnson. They do alright... but that's about it. It's not a hot asset.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

To paraphrase (there was a bunch of tweets back-and-forth), this is Kincade's reaction to the article:

Much like mine for @ajcthrashers, HUGE respect for the talents of @CraigCustance , despite that my reporting on story is not changing

Full list here: http://twitter.com/JohnKincade

 

[codswallop]

Interesting comment from the article:


According to Levenson, the three potential buyers are currently only interested in buying the Thrashers and not the NBA’s Hawks — and all would keep the NHL team in Atlanta.

Before we were told that 2 buyers wanted the whole package.

Good news I guess in that they want to keep the team in Atlanta, but anyone looking at buying just the team, will have to work out a favorable lease with the owners of the building. That could be difficult. Might be better to buy the whole thing.

Kincade is still reporting that at least one group wants all three. Hard to tell right now, not too many details are coming out on who is talking to the NHL (and NBA) about the teams and which parts they are interested in. Which is probably how it should be right now.

I'm with you, it's good that there are buyers wanting to keep the team in Atlanta. And it's more probable that a deal will include all three entities. But it's too early in the process to speculate on the specifics of a potential sale; much more work to be done for everyone involved.

 

[btn]

Custance has better connections in the Thrashers org than Vivlamore( the current beat writer) IMO. The only other national guy with any Thrashers pull IMO is Kevin Allen who I think Waddell directly leaks stuff to when he wants to get the organizations view out there.

I am not surprised he is the first guy outside Atlanta to break this.

 

[ThrasherMinion]

I'm disappointed that this thread is falling down the page. I guess it won't be popular until the "other" hotbutton cools back to "Coyote Ugly"

OK, OK! I'm joking!!!

I thought Custance still lived in north Atlanta. Did he move? But ya, he has connections for sure. Still an Atlanta guy.

Kevin Allen is the voice you want to pay attention to. He seems to have direct lines inside.

We kinda did this last night on the home page, but I wonder how many of the now-reported "3" are straight off of Bettman's speed dial.

I would also like to know if Levenson is in Atlanta or not.
And, how many of the original 8 are still making cash calls.

I am sure that Hulsizer probably was one of Bettman's guys. That's got to be why Bettman is fighting so hard out west.

Dallas has a line of buyers and Tampa and Nashville got snapped up in a hurry. Tampa had 2 owners in like 3 years and Gary himself brokered the second purchase.

I hope it works out that someone puts the screws to ASG and forces them out of everything. How close are Bettman and Stern? Could they work together to get rid of the Septotards?

 

[Ernie]

I'd be curious as to what the sale price being discussed is, and whether there's any guarantee of staying in Atlanta attached.

 

[ThrasherMinion]

I'd be curious as to what the sale price being discussed is, and whether there's any guarantee of staying in Atlanta attached.

The sale price won't be anything spectacularly out of the ordinary I would guess, but I too would like to know that a clause similar to the Buffalo deal is included that maintains that the team must stay in Atlanta.

If the price is low, I would guess that it's an insider job and the team might even be goners down the line with a transfer fee worked in. I don't trust any of the ASG any more today than when they lied about "wanting a hockey championship" when they walked on the ice the first night they owned the team.

 

[LadyStanley]

I'd be curious as to what the sale price being discussed is, and whether there's any guarantee of staying in Atlanta attached.

The BOG will require a 7 year "non-movement" clause in purchase agreement (as that has been standard practice).

Besides, the NHL bylaws require all options to be exhausted WRT local ownership before they'll even entertain a relocation request. We're a LONG way from relocation talk of this franchise.

 

[ThrasherMinion]

The BOG will require a 7 year "non-movement" clause in purchase agreement (as that has been standard practice).

Besides, the NHL bylaws require all options to be exhausted WRT local ownership before they'll even entertain a relocation request. We're a LONG way from relocation talk of this franchise.

great post.

One of our owners got on a local radio show about a month ago and freaked out saying the Thrashers were gone. Then came back in the newspaper and said he didn't mean "imminent" and the panic button wasn't really being pressed.....

Seemed like someone from higher up, say the NHL offices called him after the radio bit.

That seems to have been about the time everything hit the fan in the media that the Thrashers were goners. Now it's like there are roaches coming out of every corner to check out the franchise for purchase.

 

[Mike in MN]

I wonder if the new group does buy only the Thrashers if they could/would also buy half of the arena management business?

That would leave a setup like Chicago's or Dallas's. More accurately, it could end up like Washington, where the Caps controlled 49% of the arena and had first refusal to purchase the Wizards and the other 51% of the arena.

No matter what, great news guys!

 

[ThrasherMinion]

I wonder if the new group does buy only the Thrashers if they could/would also buy half of the arena management business?

That would leave a setup like Chicago's or Dallas's. More accurately, it could end up like Washington, where the Caps controlled 49% of the arena and had first refusal to purchase the Wizards and the other 51% of the arena.

No matter what, great news guys!

Being an Atlantan that has had to listen to these current owners and watch them wreck a franchise, I actually don't know that I believe anything out of Levenson's mouth.

He seems to go against everything that the local beat reporter looked up and he contradicts the reports about people who want to purchase everything, which makes so much more sense for the city in general.

Levenson is not an Atlantan, doesn't even live here. He even goes against the Atlanta based owner when talking about selling everything.

We are in total FUBAR right now. Don't know what to believe.

 

[Telfo]

http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/03/08/live-hawks-take-on-lakers-and-whos-home-is-this/

just another example of the great owners we have.

Philips Arena: now featuring the other teams gear!

 

[ThrasherMinion]

http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/03/08/live-hawks-take-on-lakers-and-whos-home-is-this/

just another example of the great owners we have.

Philips Arena: now featuring the other teams gear!

Jamaal Crawford, Hawks player finds out and asks, "What the $*)^?"

When they start selling Thrasher gear for $2.00, you will know we're gone.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/03/08/live-hawks-take-on-lakers-and-whos-home-is-this/

just another example of the great owners we have.

Philips Arena: now featuring the other teams gear!

I personally fail to see what the big deal is here. Probably 95% of the NBA merchandise in the store is still Hawks gear.

I'm sure most teams around the league do this when a more popular national team plays in the home town arena. I'm sure the Braves put out Yankees and Red Sox gear when they're in town. I'm sure the Falcons have some Cowboys jerseys in the store when they're in town.

Further, the article says they sold out of the Lakers shirts. Fans didn't seem to mind and the A$G made a few bucks.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Remarkable how fast this situation turned around. A month ago I thought they were done for.