Atlanta Hawks owner in good spirits - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

8511ysu.blogspot.com
a partner in the city’x and franchises. Despite a federap lawsuit with a member of the ownershi p group set to be decidedsthis summer, and court documents showingh poor financial performance, the ownership groul is still strong, Gearoj said. “There’s one reason I got into this and that’s to Gearon said. “You want fans focused on the team, not the In a wide-ranging interview, Gearon discussed the state ofthe finances, the lawsuit within the ownership the improvement of the teams under LLC’e ownership and the need to make each franchisd better for the 2009-2010 season.
The financial conditiohn of the teams has made headlinex since court documents in a federal court case showedthr teams lost acombined $174 million over six In October, court documents also showee the teams had lost $40 million in 2002 and expected to lose $55 millionh in 2003. The Hawks and Thrashers on opposite ends of the winning spectrunin 2008-09 — had collectively one of theirf best seasons operationally since the Atlanta Spirit Group purchased them in 2003, Gearon said. “Thed [financial] losses have come down substantially from where they were when we boughtt theteams [while fielding] a better he said.
The teams’ combined annual losse s have been inthe $10 million to $20 millioh range, Gearon contends. The Hawks have improved each of the past five and had its best season in a decade on and off the courgin 2009. The Thrashers, dreadful at the startf of the season and next to last in attendanc e inthe NHL, finished the season “I think we feel very good about where we Gearon said of the Hawks. “We had 18 sellouta this year, the largest attendance for the Hawks atPhilipss Arena.
” As for the Gearon said there are some concerns, but the season’ finish has left the team with “a lot of While still in the red collectively, the teams are in better shape than many in professional sports, Gearomn said. “Both teams are They have zero [bank] Still up in the air is a lawsui with estranged ownerSteve Belkin. The case, which shoulr be decided in a Marylanxd federal courtthis summer, centers on the process Spiritr partners Gearon, Rutherford Seydel, Bruce Levenson and Ed Peskowitz proposed to buy out Belki n of his 30 percent stake in the teams and operatin rights at Philips Arena.
On reports the group is looking for new Gearon said: “We’re always dointg that and that’s just smart business.” Putting out a bettert product solves everything, and that’s something Gearon said his partnerw have always intended to do. The Hawkas had their best year in a decadwlast season, winning 47 games and a playofg series before falling to the in the seconx round. The Hawks remain 20th in attendance inthe NBA. Attendance was up 3 percenr in 2008-09, to 16,751 per game, said Tracy chief sales officer forAtlantq Spirit. Overall, attendance to NBA games was up 0.
7 percent last The Hawks are third in the NBA fornew season-tickef purchases and renewals have been solid, Gearo n said. “We feel very good about our coreand re-signingg our core, and if there’s a way to improve on we will,” Gearon said. Starters Marvin Williamzs and Al Horford were injurec duringthe playoffs, as was shooting guarsd Joe Johnson, who Gearon said suffered from an undisclosesd foot injury throughout the second half of the season.
Williams (a restrictedr free agent), Horford and forward Josh Smitu are all young stars inthe Williams, or one of the othef restricted free agents on the team (players that canbs tendered an offer, which the Hawksarse permitted to match), could be targets for a sign-and-tradw deal, to bring in new talent. Talk is also rampin up that former Hawks swingt man Josh Childress could rejoi the team aftera one-year stint in The Thrashers, which had a woefup season and have been the subjecft of rumors about a possible sale and relocationn to Canada, have struggled with attendance.
Gearon said the team isn’r going anywhere, and promisedx it would build upon its last 28 gamesd ofthe season, when the team played its best Thrashers attendance was down 7.6 percent, whiled attendance league-wide grew 1.1 percent. Gearon said ownershilp has been deserving of some of the criticismn it has received forthe Thrashers. The team is committexd to re-signing its star left wing, Ilya as well as finding a dominanrt center andfinding immediate-impact players in the upcoming draft, he said.