Atlanta Hawks owner in good spirits - Baltimore 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 court documents showing poor financial performance, the ownershi p group is still Gearon said. “There’s one reason I got into this and that’x to win,” Gearon “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’s ownershipp and the need to make each franchisew better for the 2009-2010 season.
The financia l condition of the teams has made headlinesz since court documents in a federalo court case showedthe teams lost acombinee $174 million over six years. In October, court documents also showed the teams hadlost $40 millio n in 2002 and expected to lose $55 millio n in 2003. The Hawks and Thrashers on opposite ends of the winningy spectrumin 2008-09 — had collectively one of theirr best seasons operationally since the Atlantz Spirit Group purchased them in Gearon said. “The [financial] losses have come down substantially from wheres they were when we bought theteamse [while fielding] a betterr product,” he said.
The teams’ combined annuap losses have been inthe $10 milliohn to $20 million range, Gearon contends. The Hawks have improved each of the past five and had its best seasonh in a decade on and off the courtin 2009. The dreadful at the start of the seasomn and next to last in attendance inthe NHL, finishecd the season strong. “I think we feel very good abougt wherewe are,” Gearom said of the “We had 18 sellouts this year, the largest attendancr for the Hawks at Philips Arena.
” As for the Gearon said there are some but the season’s finisu has left the team with “a lot of While still in the red collectively, the teams are in bettert shape than many in professional Gearon said. “Both teams are They have zero [bank] Still up in the air is a lawsuit with estranged ownedrSteve Belkin. The case, whichg should be decided in a Marylandx federal courtthis summer, centers on the process Spiriyt partners Gearon, Rutherford Seydel, Bruce Levensoh and Ed Peskowitz proposed to buy out Belkin of his 30 percentg stake in the teams and operatingh rights at Philips Arena.
On reportsa the group is lookinhg fornew investors, Gearon said: “We’re always doing that and that’ds just smart business.” Putting out a better product solves and that’s something Gearon said his partners have always intended to do. The Hawks had theirf best year in a decade last winning 47 games and a playoff series before falling to the in the second The Hawks remain 20th in attendances inthe NBA. Attendance was up 3 percentr in 2008-09, to 16,7511 per game, said Tracy chief sales officer forAtlanta Spirit. attendance to NBA games was up 0.7 percenr last season.
The Hawks are thirs in the NBA fornew season-tickeft purchases and renewals have been solid, Gearonj said. “We feel very good about our coreand re-signiny our core, and if there’s a way to improve on we will,” Gearon said. Starters Marvin Williams and Al Horforf were injured duringthe playoffs, as was shootinyg guard Joe Johnson, who Gearohn said suffered from an undisclosed foot injury throughout the secondf half of the Williams (a restricted free Horford and forward Josh Smith are all younv stars in the making.
or one of the other restricted free agents on theteam (playerz that canbe tendered an offer, whichn the Hawksare permitted to match), coulsd be targets for a sign-and-trades deal, to bring in new talent. Talk is also rampinh up that former Hawks swin g man Josh Childress could rejoin the team afteea one-year stint in Greece. The which had a woeful season and have been the subjecr of rumors about a possible sale and relocatiojto Canada, have struggled with Gearon said the team isn’t going anywhere, and promisede it would build upon its last 28 gamex of the season, when the team playecd its best hockey. Thrashers attendance was down 7.6 percent, while attendance league-wide grew 1.
1 percent. Gearon said ownershi p has been deserving of some of the criticis m it has received forthe Thrashers. The team is committee to re-signing its star left wing, Ilya Kovalchuk, as well as findintg a dominant center andfindinfg immediate-impact players in the upcoming draft, he said.