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Old 08-07-2011, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Originally from Cali relocated to Inman Park/Old 4th Ward/Westside Atlanta
987 posts, read 3,911,846 times
Reputation: 352

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Atlanta Hawks to be sold to California businessman, reports say - ESPN

Hawks owners selling team, reports say

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena will be sold to California developer and pizza chain owner Alex Meruelo, but the NBA team will remain in Atlanta, a person familiar with the deal said Sunday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because no official announcement has been made. The deal, subject to the approval of the NBA, is to be announced on Monday.

Meruelo confirmed the deal to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saying "I'm a person who doesn't give up. I want to bring a championship to the city of Atlanta."

The Hawks ownership group, led by Michael Gearon Jr. and Bruce Levenson, also recently sold the NHL Atlanta Thrashers to a group that has moved the team to Winnipeg. The Thrashers deal was for a reported $170 million.

Meruelo would become the first Hispanic owner of an NBA team, according to the Journal-Constitution. He will have controlling interest of more than 50 percent of the Hawks. He founded La Pizza Loca, which has more than 50 franchised and company-owned restaurants in Southern California.

Meruelo also heads The Meruelo Group, a Downey, Calif.-based investment firm, which recently acquired the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nev., for a reported $42.45 million.

A tearful Gearon said at the news conference to announce the sale of the Thrashers on May 31 that the owners failed in attempts to find someone to keep the hockey team in Atlanta. Gearon said no local buyer emerged with a serious offer for the Thrashers.

The ownership group, called the Atlanta Spirit, also had to look outside of Atlanta to find a buyer for the Hawks. This time, there was no threat of moving the team.

The group bought the Hawks, Thrashers and operating rights to Philips Arena, where the teams play, in 2004. There was almost immediate dissension among the owners.


The ownership split began in 2005 over Boston-based co-owner Steve Belkin's objection to the Hawks' trade of Boris Diaw, two first-round draft picks and a $4.9 million trade exception to the Phoenix Suns for guard Joe Johnson in 2005.

The dispute led to a long legal battle that ended when Levenson and Gearon announced on Dec. 22, 2010, they had bought out Belkin's 30-percent share.

Gearon, the son of former Hawks executive Michael Gearon Sr., grew up with the team and has said he would like to retain a minority share of the ownership if the team was sold. Those details were not available on Sunday.

The Hawks have made the playoffs the past four seasons, including three straight second-round appearances.

While the owners were criticized for failing to keep the Thrashers' stars, including Ilya Kovalchuk, in Atlanta, the group was aggressive in re-signing Hawks stars Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford.
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Old 08-07-2011, 11:29 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
608 posts, read 1,708,499 times
Reputation: 455
I met the ownership group (Atlanta Spirit, not the new one) for the Hawks recently and admittedly, they didn't impress me too much. My problem was that they seemed to easily be able to convince themselves of BS --- like that Joe Johnson is a top 5 player in the league. JJ is good, but at best, he's probably like a top 20 guy, and he's not worth the money they're paying him.

Hope the new ownership group is better, but I'd prefer to see an ownership team that actually lives in Atlanta. Can you really pour your soul into the team if you live several hundred miles away?
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Old 08-07-2011, 11:34 AM
 
876 posts, read 2,278,549 times
Reputation: 266
My first thought of their selling the Hawks is I hope the team doesn't move. My second thought with this news is I really hope the management for the Hawks is much better than what we know about the Spirit. Like many of us, I'd like to see the Hawks do better, I don't know much about these buyers.
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Old 08-07-2011, 11:45 AM
 
Location: Metro Atlanta, GA
562 posts, read 1,126,688 times
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As long as they go all out in trying to attract the best free agents, management, and coaching, that's all I ask. Atlanta has the potential to become a great NBA city if the ownership can put a good product on the court.
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Old 08-07-2011, 11:59 AM
 
32,026 posts, read 36,788,671 times
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$170 million -- that's pretty cheap! The Hawks have long been on the lower end for an NBA franchise but that still seems like quite a bargain.
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Old 08-07-2011, 01:12 PM
 
357 posts, read 783,545 times
Reputation: 180
Quote:
Originally Posted by GRS86 View Post
As long as they go all out in trying to attract the best free agents, management, and coaching, that's all I ask. Atlanta has the potential to become a great NBA city if the ownership can put a good product on the court.
hawks finished 3rd in the east, but 22nd in attendence. Atlanta is not a good sports city... for a variety of reasons.
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Old 08-07-2011, 01:55 PM
 
Location: Atlanta Metro
614 posts, read 1,101,440 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tomno00 View Post
hawks finished 3rd in the east, but 22nd in attendence. Atlanta is not a good sports city... for a variety of reasons.
Let's get straight to the point. The Atlanta Hawks are going to move! Maybe not this year or next year, but they're going to leave Atlanta in the near future. Why? Because no one supports the dang team. Will they end up in Cali? Nope, too many teams there already. Will they end up in New York? Nope, Nets are moving to Brooklyn. My best guess is that the Hawks are going to end up in Texas. That's right Texas. Some may say Kansas City, and that's a good guess. The only problem is is that the Hornets are going to end up in KC first.
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Old 08-07-2011, 02:22 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
608 posts, read 1,708,499 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Magician View Post
Let's get straight to the point. The Atlanta Hawks are going to move! Maybe not this year or next year, but they're going to leave Atlanta in the near future. Why? Because no one supports the dang team. Will they end up in Cali? Nope, too many teams there already. Will they end up in New York? Nope, Nets are moving to Brooklyn. My best guess is that the Hawks are going to end up in Texas. That's right Texas. Some may say Kansas City, and that's a good guess. The only problem is is that the Hornets are going to end up in KC first.
Heh ... I doubt they're moving.

Where in Texas would they move? Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio already have teams. That only leaves Austin, but Austin's metro population is around 1.7 million while Atlanta's is closer to 5.3 million.

Atlanta's a viable city for a professional basketball franchise. The Hawks have never been run by a good ownership group, to be honest. 15 years ago, the Dallas Mavericks were in the same situation, only worse. All it took was a very dedicated owner (Mark Cuban) to turn things around and give the franchise an identity that the local populace rallied around.

With the exception of Dominique Wilkins, is there anyone or anything that the average Atlantan would associate with "the Hawks"? I can see no reason why the Hawks can't be a highly successful franchise, but there's never been any reason for Atlantans to follow the team.

I hope the new management group is better, but I have my doubts given that it seems to be based out of California, rather than Atlanta. How can a team have an identity, when even the ownership isn't dedicated to ATL?
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Old 08-07-2011, 02:31 PM
 
Location: Chisago Lakes, Minnesota
3,816 posts, read 6,447,728 times
Reputation: 6567
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomno00 View Post
hawks finished 3rd in the east, but 22nd in attendence. Atlanta is not a good sports city... for a variety of reasons.
Very true. Mix a city full of transplants with bad ownership and you will never succeed. Even the good teams there can't sell out their games on a routine basis. I remember the vast number of empty seats for Braves playoff games after the novelty of it all had worn off by '97 or so. Whenever I would go to a sporting event there the ATL fans were always drowned out by the visiting teams anyway. I never understood why someone would move to a new city and not support that towns teams.
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Old 08-07-2011, 02:58 PM
 
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
11,334 posts, read 26,086,242 times
Reputation: 3995
Quote:
Originally Posted by Northman View Post
Very true. Mix a city full of transplants with bad ownership and you will never succeed. Even the good teams there can't sell out their games on a routine basis. I remember the vast number of empty seats for Braves playoff games after the novelty of it all had worn off by '97 or so. Whenever I would go to a sporting event there the ATL fans were always drowned out by the visiting teams anyway. I never understood why someone would move to a new city and not support that towns teams.
How would you have us support them in this economy? Monetarily? Dream on...

Even though I still follow the Vikes, I love the Falcons, but I also used to root for the Falcons back in the days when Steve Bartkowski was QB and William Andrews was plowing through defenders.

The Braves? Sorry, no. The neon tomahawks and cocky fans I saw during the 91 World Series really turned me off. I respect the team (who couldn't ... look at what they've accomplished), but the brash Atlanta fans didn't impress this Minnesota boy. We don't act like that (or admit to it, anyway) in the upper midwest, and it made a lasting impression on me.

The Hawks are the NBA. Who cares about basketball? I grew up with football and hockey being the big two sports.

The Trashers situation is sad. I can relate .. we lost the North Stars, and I still haven't forgiven the league for that.

As far as supporting the teams. Not monetarily. They threaten to leave, they bicker and yammer over their slices of a huge media pie rather than entertain their fan base, and most of them make more money in a year than I will ever see in my lifetime. Let them support themselves...
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