NHL Hockey in Atlanta? Again....? (Dallas, Nashville: transplants, for sale, home)

[Psykomonkee]

With the recent loss of the Atlanta Thrashers (to Winnipeg), the question is raised: Will NHL Hockey ever return to Atlanta?
Should it ever return to Atlanta?

The Thrashers are the 2nd NHL team to have left its home in Atlanta (1st was the former Atlanta Flames, now Calgary. And now the Atlanta Thrashers will become the resurrected Winnipeg Jets).
So, I'm asking what do you think?


If you think NHL SHOULD return to Atlanta someday, what would you name the team (logo, colors, theme)?


Would you do anything different to market the team different than the Thrashers and Flames were marketed? How would you ensure the team remains in town?

How important is hockey to Atlanta (to remain a 4 sport city), if at all?
Should hockey return to Atlanta and make Atlanta a 4 sport city again? Is the 3rd time a charm, or should we give up after past failed attempts?
And lastly, why does hockey survive in other Southern and warm cities (such as: Tampa, Raleigh, Nashville, Phoenix, Miami and Dallas), but it doesn't survive in Atlanta?

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by Psykomonkee

With the recent loss of the Atlanta Thrashers (to Winnipeg), the question is raised: Will NHL Hockey ever return to Atlanta?
Should it ever return to Atlanta?

The Thrashers are the 2nd NHL team to have left its home in Atlanta (1st was the former Atlanta Flames, now Calgary. And now the Atlanta Thrashers will become the resurrected Winnipeg Jets).
So, I'm asking what do you think?


If you think NHL SHOULD return to Atlanta someday, what would you name the team (logo, colors, theme)?


Would you do anything different to market the team different than the Thrashers and Flames were marketed? How would you ensure the team remains in town?

How important is hockey to Atlanta (to remain a 4 sport city), if at all?
Should hockey return to Atlanta and make Atlanta a 4 sport city again? Is the 3rd time a charm, or should we give up after past failed attempts?
And lastly, why does hockey survive in other Southern and warm cities (such as: Tampa, Raleigh, Nashville, Phoenix, Miami and Dallas), but it doesn't survive in Atlanta?

Give it a decade or two. We need to build a stronger base for pro sports before we take on a fourth team again. But if and when the NHL returns, please may our owners actually be competent!

[Stars&StripesForever]

The following is what I posted in the hockey forum.

As a former Thrashers fan, I can tell you that very few were even aware that the franchise was in trouble until it was nearly too late. This is because the sale of the Thrashers wasn't possible until last December due to contractual and legal obligations.

If you were like me, you only began to notice problems with attendance starting around January or February, namely for weekday games. This was the time when the public was being let in on the fact that Atlanta Spirit was looking to sell the team, and when much of the incompetency of Atlanta Spirit was coming to light. Of course, when a city realizes that its ownership is terrible, who has no interest in the team, you're going to find more apathy.

Up until early last season, you could expect a decent draw to the vast majority of Thrashers games. During most years of their existence, they outdrew the Hawks. That is, the arena looked mostly full. There might be a couple thousand empty seats, but the arena was at at least eighty percent capacity most of the time. During their lone playoff season, there were a number of sellouts.

The difference I noticed from the early years of the franchise (1999-2005) under Time Warner, and just shortly after Atlanta Spirit acquired the team, compared to just up to the present was easily noticeable. Under Time-Warner ownership, you saw billboards all over the city talking about "BlueLand". Under Atlanta Spirit, you never saw that, exceptions being one billboard on the downtown connector (I-75/I-85). I'm not saying that they didn't exist in other parts of the metropolitan area, but you rarely saw it. In fact, I don't remember any outside of the midtown/downtown area. How many hockey franchises do you think are that horrible when it comes to advertising? On the other hand, Atlanta Spirit seemed to have no problem spending dollars on advertising for the Hawks, as I'd see billboards all over the metro area.

People, if you honestly think that hockey can exist in markets like Nashville and Raleigh, but not Atlanta, then you are seriously deceived. Metro Atlanta has about 5.5 million people. The Nashville area has about 1.5 million, and the Raleigh-Durham has a similar population to Nashville. The Atlanta metro area has about as many transplants as those other metros have people. The difference, though? Their owners advertised. Their owners were active in the community. Their teams win, with Carolina winning a Stanley Cup. The Thrashers had mediocre or losing season, one after another, with the exception of the 2006-2007 season. The Thrashers had no playoff wins and only one post season appearance.

With

-Virtually no advertising.
-Very Little Community involvement by ownership.
-An ownership that thought of the Thrashers as a "side" to their acquisition of the Hawks and Philips arena, and who very well had the intent to sell the Thrashers once they were legally able.
-Gary Bettman who needed the cash for a re-location fee to help keep the league financially stable for a few years. In fact, the Thrashers weren't TrueNorthSports target, it was Phoenix, the original Winnipeg franchise. Only because Phoenix muncipal leaders forked over the cash to support the team did Atlanta become a target starting around the end of the season. Why? Atlanta was the only other franchise in which the owners were looking to sell.
-Short time frame for the sale of the Thrashers. The Thrashers were up for sale for a few months. Most franchises are given at least a year, or more, to find local ownership. Phoenix was given over a year before the city decided to cough up cash. Why? It was Bettman's decision to relocate the Jets to Phoenix, and by allowing TrueNorthSports to acquire them, sooner than they acquired the Thrashers, it would have looked bad on him, since he was one who was in favor of the move. The Thrashers were a release valve on Bettman.
-Mediocre or Losing Season, one after another, with no post season wins in one lone playoff appearance in the team's existence.

With that said, the Thrashers generated average/fair attendance for most of their existence, outselling the Hawks most seasons.

Those of you who say, "well, Atlanta's not a hockey city", are correct in saying it's not a traditional hockey market, but you are very incorrect in your assumption that hockey can't do well in this market, given its size and dynamics.

[Stars&StripesForever]

and this:

Atlanta's problem was ownership.

Atlanta had an IHL (AAA) hockey team from 1992-1996, known as the Atlanta Knights, that won the Turner Cup and of which outdrew the Hawks on many occasions. The only reason the Knights left was because they had nowhere to play, being that the Omni Coliseum was torn down to allow for the building of Philips Arena and the arrival of the new NHL team, the Thrashers. Atlanta had one of the highest, if not the highest, IHL attendances, in a league that featured many other big cities, such as Houston (Aeros), Chicago (Wolves), Detroit (Vipers), San Diego (Gulls), Cincinnati (Cyclones), Cleveland (Lumberjacks), Milwaukee (Admirals), Kansas City (Blades), Orlando (Solar Bears), and Denver (Grizzlies; prior to Avalanche).

Currently, the Atlanta area has an ECHL team (AA), the Gwinnett Gladiators, which plays in the northeastern suburbs. It is one of the top attendance franchises, and it supports the community. The Gladiators are very involved in the area. You continuously see the Gladiators get involved in the youth around the city. One thing is true, you do see a higher percentage of children at Gladiators games than Thrashers.

Third, the Thrashers haven't had poor attendance most of the Thrashers existence. In fact, the Thrashers have had better attendance during many years that teams like Chicago and New Jersey.



‪Atlanta Thrasher's Move To Winnipeg Could Be Worth $60M to Owners‬‏ - YouTube

Fourth, with a winning team and the arena located on the northside of the city, where most of the hockey fans live, you'd have had sellouts every game. Many people didn't want to go downtown to see a game due to the perception that it is dangerous.

[arjay57]

Wow, that video is really strong, S&SF.

We are getting the short end of the stick...again!

[Stars&StripesForever]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Wow, that video is really strong, S&SF.

We are getting the short end of the stick...again!

You're right.

The move of the Atlanta Thrashers will go down as one of the most ridiculous, irresponsible, and unnecessary moves of a professional franchise in the history of all sports.

[MathmanMathman]

Phoenix probably should have been the one to move their team as Forbes placed them as the least valuable team with big loses. But Atlanta was second from the bottom.

The Business Of Hockey, 2010

Atlanta's numbers weren't great but not horrible either in comparison with other teams. The Chicago Blackhawks however are financially solid. Even the Calgary Flames are solid financially.

That video suggests that the NHL wanted the relocation fee. Maybe...as that would help balance many teams' operating costs.

But isn't it true that all that was needed was for someone who was interested in keeping the team in Atlanta to step forward to buy them? Is it the NHL's responsibility to find a buyer to keep a team in a city?

Hockey can return to Atlanta if the Phoenix franchise doesn't get its act together, and the NHL can earn yet another "relocation fee".

[Bizurko]

Definitely, we loved our team,it was the ownership not the fans.

[SW30303]

I think it will be a while before another NHL team relocates to Atlanta, but I would like to be wrong on this one.

[tomno00]

Like others have said, probably not for a while. Poor attendence is one thing, but i cant imagine the thrashers were doing well on the TV side either. At least the braves do well with TV support, as their fan base pretty much stretches across the whole South. At the end of the day, we can blame ownership all we want, but ATL is just not a place where hockey would have been supported.