Thrashers Bombshell: Owners have wanted to sell since 2005

[Finlandia WOAT]

Interesting.

Several Points.

1. This finally proves that the ownership did not care. As stated in the OP, and restated here because of its significance.

2. I don't see it said anywhere that the Thrashers had garnered no interest in potential ownership. In fact, it is stated in the article that they had interest, but could not sell due to the court case. The timing of the article coinciding with the end of the court case means that one way or another, Atlanta Spirit is going to sell soon.

3. To the doomsayers, Atlanta Spirit could not sell because of the court case. Hence why this is coming out now with that resolved.

4. I feel for you Thrashers fans. You guys are just now getting an actual hockey team that you can be proud of, one that can actually compete in the market, and then this shtick happens. Any ideas on who may be locally interested?

Also of note, but it is interesting that a much more competent owner (IIRC, please correct me if I am wrong) was shunted aside for these clowns at the last minute in 2003.

 

[MaskedSonja]

As I posted in a Phoenix thread, the answer seems rather obvious. The NHL owns the Coyotes, not the Thrashers. They have a clear motivation for juicing the Phoenix market because they are trying to sell the team they own there.

Thanks Whileee-that makes sense, they currently aren't "paying the bills" as it were as they are with Phoenix.

 

[Ashe]

they signed the agreement, but if there are no local buyers, then it will sell out of market & the team would be relocated. There are no local buyers & have not been so for 5 years. That alone drops franchise value to the floor. One of Bettman's responsibilities is to ensure franchise value is kept high. The only way to do so is to make it portable.

The NHL will not wait around on this nor will they goose step around. If they did, they would face a massive lawsuit from the Spirit Group. This will not be a repeat of the Phoenix fiasco either. I have a feeling the league will act quickly on this. So much so, next year will see Phoenix in Winnipeg & Atlanta in Quebec.

There has not? How do we know? The team has been in court for 6 years. So that is not true at all. You can't sell a business when you are fighting with an owner.

LOL. Phoenix AND Atlanta moving? Not a chance. PHX will stay as will ATL. New court case = cannot sell.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

There has not? How do we know? The team has been in court for 6 years. So that is not true at all. You can't sell a business when you are fighting with an owner.

LOL. Phoenix AND Atlanta moving? Not a chance. PHX will stay as will ATL. New court case = cannot sell.

What's funny is, it actually said in the article that there was local interest, but the court battle/ screw up by the law firm scared them away.

In fact, one could get the implication that Atlanta Spirit was very close to selling the team, and that is why they are now going into court (again).

 

[Ashe]

What's funny is, it actually said in the article that there was local interest, but the court battle/ screw up by the law firm scared them away.

In fact, one could get the implication that Atlanta Spirit was very close to selling the team, and that is why they are now going into court (again).

Exactly, Thats the thing. You can't do anything when you are in court, ESPECIALLY if you are with an owner of the company.

I believe they were close to selling it, But Belkin didn't want to take a loss on his new investment, and wanted his money back."

The Owners are now taking the steps to get the money they lost due to Belkin not putting any in like he should of. Those losses of 15-25 per person, could drop by 7 mil a person. Which is huge. Why wouldn't you want to try and recoup that if you think you have a case.

 

[peter sullivan]

Thanks. Not this one, nor the majority Orr. Not a nasty Xenophobic outbreak of collective/group Schadenfreude going on up here either. Some of us genuinely care about the health of teams in the south & want them to succeed. Of the lot, in my book, Atlanta tops that list. Its the beach head to the Carolinas & south. A 2nd retreat puts paid to the lie that the NHL could give a Tinkers about "growing the game", and has been telling porkies along with SG for obviously years. The situation couldve' been avoided years ago had the league intervened in what is clearly an untenable lease situation. Instead, they sat on their hands in the backseat while SG & Don Waddell drove the franchise over Raven Cliff Falls.

i dont actually know many canadians with a warm fuzzy for the southern teams....admittedly, people in winnipeg may not be the most balanceD cross section for this hypothesis.

anyways...all the excuses in the world dont change the fact that the owners want out and nobody else wants in....its a business, not a charity....

 

[CC Chiefs*]

There isn't potential owner alive that would keep the team there based on current losses! If GB doesn't lighten up on his no move stuff he will own another team.

 

[Ashe]

The Owners bought both as a package with the Arena. It probably came cheaper if they bought the Thrashers. Then wanted to Sell the Thrashers. Belkin and his lawsuit theoretically could of stopped the team from selling it to a local investor. 5 Years worth of lawsuits will detract anyone interested.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

i dont actually know many canadians with a warm fuzzy for the southern teams....admittedly, people in winnipeg may not be the most balances cross section for this hypothesis.

anyways...all the excuses in the world dont change the fact that the owners want out and nobody else wants in....its a business, not a charity....

The article specifically states that other people wanted in, and the court battle/ screwup by King and Spalding kept them away.


In fact, the reason they are going back to court is because (allegedly), this screwup in the wording of the terms of sale prevented the sale of the team.

 

[Whileee]

There isn't potential owner alive that would keep the team there based on current losses! If GB doesn't lighten up on his no move stuff he will own another team.

Wouldn't a new owner have to share the arena in Atlanta with the Atlanta Spirit group (who also own the Hawks and operate the arena)? Hard to see how that would be enticing for a new local owner.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The seven owners wanted to sell the Thrashers after the 2004-05 lockout was over, the new lawsuit says. According to the document, the labor contract after the 2004-05 lockout would be to the “financial benefit of smaller market franchise such as the Thrashers and thus increase their value. Plaintiffs expected that once the new labor agreement was finalized there would be substantial interest from potential buyers and that they would be able to sell the franchise.”

The seven partners talked with potential buyers while they were entangled in litigation with Belkin, the lawsuit says. Because Belkin still owned 30 percent of the teams, the seven other partners “could not convey free and clear title to the franchise and thus were not in a position to sell,” the lawsuit says.

Levenson told the AJC in an April 2010 interview that when the Spirit bought the teams, the group signed an agreement with the NHL that they not be moved.

“Even if we wanted to talk to somebody who wanted to move it, it's clearly stated in our agreements. We are forbidden from doing that. We've never had those discussions,” Levenson told the AJC.

Just wanted to post that part of the article since a lot of folks apparently only read the headline.


I'm not surprised AT ALL that they have wanted out of their investment since 2005. They've acted like it, and have been frequently accused of acting like it on this board.

The big question is simply, who will the buyer be when the conflict is finally resolved? Given the no-move agreement, it'll have to be either a local or an outside group interested in Atlanta.

Call me crazy, but this actually seems like a good opportunity for someone in Atlanta who wants to own a franchise. The value is already depressed as much as it could possibly be, and the ownership group is highly motivated to sell immediately. That's a buyer's market if there ever was one.

 

[Dado]

Atlanta Spirit has been trying to sell the team since 2005. Now they are suing the law firm that drew the contract that made it impossible for them to sell.

You know, that explains quite a few of the NHL's otherwise-incomprehensible actions. The ludicrosity they've engaged in in Phoenix makes more sense if they knew they had an "immediate" relocation situation in Atlanta that could go off at any moment.

 

[blues10]

I feel awful for Atlanta fans. You are absolutely right that Spirit is being classless (literally) by doing this now in the middle of a the season and completely sticking it to the fans (however few!) that have been loyal to this franchise.

I sincerely hope you guys make the playoffs and have at least one, good, last run to show em what...

Doing this now, although classless may have something to do with the upcoming BOG meetings.

 

[peter sullivan]

I am from the cold, and i sure love to see them succeed.

The Owners bought both as a package with the Arena. It probably came cheaper if they bought the Thrashers. Then wanted to Sell the Thrashers. Belkin and his lawsuit theoretically could of stopped the team from selling it to a local investor. 5 Years worth of lawsuits will detract anyone interested.

yeah, the lawsuit is one possible reason that they have not been able to find a buyer in 5 years....miniscule revenues, low attendance figures, low ticket prices might be others.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Maybe someone can fill me in...

The apparently "lack" of care about the Atlanta franchise by the NHL, but absolute obsession with keeping the Yotes in Phoenix.

Why the disparity? If the NHL wants to keep the Yotes in PHX, shouldn't they want just as badly to keep the team in Atlanta(and Daly's comments seem to go against that idea)?

Unfortunately, once again, its bureaucracy/paperwork that's at issue with an NHL franchise. In this case, with claims of wanting to sell the franchise for 5 plus years.

How are Atlanta fans supposed to be feel about this? Mind you if the Yotes situation is any example-they don't matter, "It's just business"-sad but true.

I am extremely out of my league when getting into the business/bureaucratic side of things...but I wonder if the NHL's passive efforts with respect to Atlanta vs. their dogged determination to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix is tied quite simply to Jim Balsillie?

Balsillie was performing the NHL equivalent of a hostile takeover bid with the Coyotes which forced the NHL to dig its heels in and do whatever was necessary to protect the franchise in the interest of their own league rules.

The Thrashers, currently, have no such "renegade" trying to purchase them and therefore the NHL is allowing the franchise to crumble to pieces with the eventual intent of selling it to an owner and moving it on their terms, per the league constitution.

Or am I just wearing a tinfoil hat?

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

I am extremely out of my league when getting into the business/bureaucratic side of things...but I wonder if the NHL's passive efforts with respect to Atlanta vs. their dogged determination to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix is tied quite simply to Jim Balsillie?

Balsillie was performing the NHL equivalent of a hostile takeover bid with the Coyotes which forced the NHL to dig its heels in and do whatever was necessary to protect the franchise in the interest of their own league rules.

The Thrashers, currently, have no such "renegade" trying to purchase them and therefore the NHL is allowing the franchise to crumble to pieces with the eventual intent of selling it to an owner and moving it on their terms, per the league constitution.

Or am I just wearing a tinfoil hat?

This is what I think too, actually.

Though my vote of confidence does not help the plausibility of this argument.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

yeah, the lawsuit is one possible reason that they have not been able to find a buyer in 5 years....miniscule revenues, low attendance figures, low ticket prices might be others.

Considering that the article states that PEOPLE WANTED TO BUY IN, I think that you're grasping at straws.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

yeah, the lawsuit is one possible reason that they have not been able to find a buyer in 5 years....miniscule revenues, low attendance figures, low ticket prices might be others.

Except the article specifically says that they could not sell the team because of the court battles and lawyer screw ups.

EDIT: Doctor No beat me to it.

 

[blues10]

There isn't potential owner alive that would keep the team there based on current losses! If GB doesn't lighten up on his no move stuff he will own another team.

Don't be so sure, don't the Ice Edge holdings guys still want a team?

 

[MaskedSonja]

I am extremely out of my league when getting into the business/bureaucratic side of things...but I wonder if the NHL's passive efforts with respect to Atlanta vs. their dogged determination to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix is tied quite simply to Jim Balsillie?

Balsillie was performing the NHL equivalent of a hostile takeover bid with the Coyotes which forced the NHL to dig its heels in and do whatever was necessary to protect the franchise in the interest of their own league rules.

The Thrashers, currently, have no such "renegade" trying to purchase them and therefore the NHL is allowing the franchise to crumble to pieces with the eventual intent of selling it to an owner and moving it on their terms, per the league constitution.

Or am I just wearing a tinfoil hat?

As Whileee pointed out to me, they don't "own" the Thrashers like the do the Yotes. And as you say, the potential owners for the Thrashers cannot move the team with the NHL say so, so the NHL is in control of it. It also explains Daly's heavy handedness-the NHL has leverage here-they have control of this situation, unlike Phoenix.

And any owner purchasing them seems to have some contractual bending with the Spirit group as has been pointed out.

But yea, I have my collection of Tinfoil , you aren't alone. This situation isn't so much "The team is going to relocate!" as much as it is "This ownership situation is a bit of a mess, but IF the team goes anywhere, it won't be without the NHL's say so, and won't happen until the mess is cleared up(if it happens at all)

 

[ps241]

now back up to last year when the original rumours started to surface in Winnipeg that TNSE had a deal to aquire the Thrashers......most likely that was always going to be for the start of the 2011-12 season. then things heat up in Glendale and TNSE are used to back that play (plan B + gun to the head of CoG)......I think it could explain why the NHL has seemed to be interested in two markets (QC and Winnipeg)

It also explains why TNSE have been doing what they have been doing in the Winnipeg market for over 12 months......buying up real estate around the MTS centre.....putting over $2 million into press boxes to make it "NHL ready"......this stuff was not done on speculation and the Phoenix dealeo has always been a maybe deal. All of these plays make complete sense against the backdrop of having a deal with the NHL for the Thrashers while back stopping the Phoenix play

I might be wrong on this.......but i wouldn't bet against me

As someone who was part of watching the moving trucks back up to our arena and move our Jets to Phoenix and tear out our hearts in the process I feel your pain Atlanta....it is tough as a fan when your owners gives up the fight

 

[OthmarAmmann]

Interesting.

Several Points.

1. This finally proves that the ownership did not care. As stated in the OP, and restated here because of its significance.

2. I don't see it said anywhere that the Thrashers had garnered no interest in potential ownership. In fact, it is stated in the article that they had interest, but could not sell due to the court case. The timing of the article coinciding with the end of the court case means that one way or another, Atlanta Spirit is going to sell soon.

3. To the doomsayers, Atlanta Spirit could not sell because of the court case. Hence why this is coming out now with that resolved.

4. I feel for you Thrashers fans. You guys are just now getting an actual hockey team that you can be proud of, one that can actually compete in the market, and then this shtick happens. Any ideas on who may be locally interested?

Also of note, but it is interesting that a much more competent owner (IIRC, please correct me if I am wrong) was shunted aside for these clowns at the last minute in 2003.

Riesendorf?

 

[Dado]

Considering that the article states that PEOPLE WANTED TO BUY IN, I think that you're grasping at straws.

Doesn't that claim come from the same people now in court claiming damages?

If so, I personally would not consider it any more credible than Ice Edge "wanted to" buy the Coyotes.

 

[Dogbert*]

I am extremely out of my league when getting into the business/bureaucratic side of things...but I wonder if the NHL's passive efforts with respect to Atlanta vs. their dogged determination to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix is tied quite simply to Jim Balsillie?

Balsillie was performing the NHL equivalent of a hostile takeover bid with the Coyotes which forced the NHL to dig its heels in and do whatever was necessary to protect the franchise in the interest of their own league rules.

The Thrashers, currently, have no such "renegade" trying to purchase them and therefore the NHL is allowing the franchise to crumble to pieces with the eventual intent of selling it to an owner and moving it on their terms, per the league constitution.

Or am I just wearing a tinfoil hat?

The league has no intention of ever letting either team move. That much is obvious. Their mentions of Winnipeg and Quebec are little more than lip service.

The reason given for this so far has been that the NHL wants to "grow the game." That is bogus. The reason there are teams in Southern cities is that, quite simply, there's a better chance of getting a big TV contract in the U.S. when there are more Atlantas and Phoenixes and fewer Winnipegs and Quebecs. Hell, if the NHL could move all the Canadian teams (save Montreal and Toronto - someone has to keep the coffers full) down south today, they'd do it in an instant. Anything to get ESPN or NBC or whoever to sign that cheque every year.

 

[Dado]

Riesendorf?

If Reisndorf buys the Thrashers, and I was the CoG, I would immediately sue the NHL for messing with the process of the Coyotes sale.