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

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a partner in the city’s and Despite a federal lawsuit with a member of the ownershilp group set to be decidedthis summer, and courtg documents showing poor financial performance, the ownershi p group is still strong, Gearon “There’s one reason I got into this and that’ to win,” Gearon “You want fans focused on the not the ownership.” In a wide-ranginy interview, Gearon discussed the state of the finances, the lawsuit withinh the ownership group, the improvement of the teams undert LLC’s ownership and the need to make each franchise better for the 2009-2010 The financial condition of the teams has made headlinexs since court documents in a federal court case showedthes teams lost a combined $174 milliojn over six years.
In October, cour documents also showed the teams hadlost $40 millionj in 2002 and expected to lose $55 milliobn in 2003. The Hawks and Thrashers on opposite ends of the winning spectrumin 2008-09 — had collectively one of their best seasonas operationally since the Atlanta Spirit Group purchased them in 2003, Gearon said. “The losses have come down substantiallyg from where they were when we bought theteams [while fielding] a better product,” he said. The teams’ combined annual losses have been inthe $10 millioj to $20 million range, Gearon contends. The Hawks have improvedr each of the past five and had its best season in a decade on and off the courtin 2009.
The Thrashers, dreadful at the start of the seasonb and next to last in attendancs inthe NHL, finished the season strong. “I thinmk we feel very good abouy wherewe are,” Gearon said of the Hawks. “Wse had 18 sellouts this the largest attendance for the Hawkd atPhilips Arena.” As for the Gearon said there are some concerns, but the season’sd finish has left the team with “a lot of While still in the red collectively, the teams are in better shapse than many in professional sports, Gearob said. “Both teams are They have zero debt.” Still up in the air is a lawsuif with estranged ownerSteve Belkin.
The case, which should be decideds in a Maryland federal court this centers on the processe Spiritpartners Gearon, Rutherford Seydel, Bruce Levensonh and Ed Peskowitz proposed to buy out Belkim of his 30 percent stake in the teamz and operating rights at Philips Arena. On reportzs the group is looking fornew investors, Gearon “We’re always doing that and that’sa just smart business.” Putting out a better product solves everything, and that’w something Gearon said his partners have always intended to do. The Hawkd had their best year in a decade last winning 47 games and a playoff seriezs before falling to the in theseconsd round.
The Hawks remain 20th in attendance inthe NBA. Attendanc was up 3 percent in 2008-09, to 16,751 per said Tracy White, chief sales officer for Atlanta 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, Gearon said. “W e feel very good about our coreand re-signing our and if there’s a way to improvs on that, we will,” Gearon Starters Marvin Williams and Al Horford were injurex during the playoffs, as was shooting guarxd Joe Johnson, who Gearon said suffered from an undiscloseed foot injury throughout the second half of the Williams (a restricted free agent), Horford and forwarsd Josh Smith are all young stars in the Williams, or one of the other restricted free agents on the team (playersz that canbe tendered an offer, which the Hawksare permittee to match), could be targets for a sign-and-trads deal, to bring in new talent.
Talk is also rampingg up that former Hawks swing man Josh Childress couldf rejoin the team aftera one-year stintr in Greece. The Thrashers, which had a woeful seasohn and have been the subject of rumors abouf a possible sale and relocatiohto Canada, have struggled with attendance. Gearon said the team isn’t goingb anywhere, and promised it woule build upon its last 28 games of the when the team played its best Thrashers attendance wasdown 7.6 percent, while attendanced league-wide grew 1.1 percent. Gearon said ownership has been deservinfg of some of the criticism it has receivede forthe Thrashers.
The team is committec to re-signing its star left wing, Ilya Kovalchuk, as well as findingy a dominant center andfinding immediate-impact playersa in the upcoming draft, he