Hawks Sold!

[td00]

Can we now be excited in seeing this team improve without limitations or excuses.
Can we now stop using the 'Detroit' or 'San Antonio' model?

Can we now go create our own identity? Can we now promote the home team instead of who's coming to Philips?

Can we now clean house and get a real GM instead of a figure head and a coach who plays the best talent on his team?

Lots of questions going forward but anything but the ASG is an improvement.

Now its up to the rest of the owners to get these CBA issue resolved.

[HMFFL]

Thank God. I think a city like Atlanta is a tough place to sell your product if you're a pro sports franchise but it can be done with the right ownership and commitment.

The ASG's strategy of conveniently waiting until the coach or GM's contract was up before making a "bold" decision(spending as little money as possible) is exactly they had no business running a team in the 1st place. I don't expect the new owner to break the bank open but just keeping things the same for the sake of continuity doesn't bring you any closer to relevance.

I would also like to add that the legal battle over the Joe Johnson thing was pointless on the ASG's part.

It was legal battle after legal battle with the ASG. David McDavid should technically be our owner right now, but it worked out for him, because the ASG owed him a huge settlement.

I believe the fans in the city have/had no respect for the ASG. Add the fact that we traded Dominique Wilkins to the Clippers before the ASG even purchased the team and a dark cloud has been associated with the team for years. I still know people that won't attend games due to the Wilkins traded.

I looking forward to see if our attendance changes with Alex Meruelo as the owner. Changes need to be made as well and I hope he's prepared to make them.

[evildallas]

http://futurenbagm.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-ownership-should-look-for-new-home.html

I think this blogger has it right, unfortunately.

I think this blogger is ill informed. Atlanta Hawks aren't a real candidate to move for many reasons.
#1) The stadium situation is solid for now. Phillips Arena is only about 10 years old with plenty of luxury boxes and is owned with the team. (this was what hit Seattle and Sacramento)
#2) While the economy has hit everyone, the city is in a growth region. The metro area is 9th in size and only Houston grew more from 2000-2010 in the top 10. More people in the metro area here than Columbus and Cincinnati added together.
#3) Now that hockey is out of the picture and the ASG is no longer majority owner, the Hawks are operating in a new environment of less event saturation.
#4) Attendance is not the only measure of economic success. A smaller market might sell out an arena and not do as well in other revenue streams.

Let me also address the bloggers arguments. He seems to focus on the attendance of success of Portland to develop the idea that it is better to be in a market with less event saturation. That's true for attendance, but not a guarantee for success. Look at Charlotte or New Orleans before drawing conclusions. Also he seems to downplay Lebron's impact on Cleveland's attendance attributing more to winning. This is poor form because the league as a whole has spent the last 25-30 years marketing the individual stars over the team.

His conclusion is that Atlanta might move because it's attendance doesn't match it's winning. That ignores that Atlanta rebuilt without a star, had a dysfunctional ownership group that was enough of a public embarrassment that it would zap fan's hope, spent years losing which caused many to turn away, and was poorly marketed during the really seasons of on-court success. It also ignores that Atlanta while maybe underperforming at the box office wasn't at the bottom of the league. There are a lot of teams in worse positions.

You give the fans reason to hope that Atlanta will compete on the ownership level and you market the product better and Atlanta is a fine city to be in.

[HMFFL]

A letter to Hawks fans from Bob Williams, president of the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena, stating the Hawks were sold was posted on the Atlanta Hawks website. Copies were also posted at the Philips Arena ticket windows in Atlanta on Sunday, August 7, 2011.

[parson]

...had a dysfunctional ownership group that was enough of a public embarrassment that it would zap fan's hope, spent years losing which caused many to turn away ...

You're spot-on with your post but I think this is the biggest reason. I have learned that fans get excited mainly when there's a chance to win it all.

No hope in winning a championship = no ticket sales.

[azuresou1]

It also doesn't help when in any given game, you might get blown out by 30, even if it's a joke team like the Pistons.

Seriously, if I lived in ATL, I don't know how many games I'd watch live knowing just inconsistent they are. There's gotta be a better return on the ~$50 I'd spend on myself.