Bad news for Atlanta Hawks fans, and really sports fans in general. The Atlanta Spirit LLC, which has done nothing but prove they are the worst ownership group in all of sports, may have been able to unload the Atlanta Thrashers but the sale of the Hawks is now off.
Last August Los Angeles businessman Alex Meruelo entered into an agreement with Atlanta Spirit to buy the Hawks and the operating rights to their home Philips Arena. It looks like the sticking point in this deal was some economic conditions placed on it by the NBA itself. There were also some rumors that Meruelo did not have the finances available to swing such a deal.
The Atlanta Spirit group has pulled the team off the market. That is likely due to the current NBA lockout, but this troubled ownership group may decide to keep the team and make a go off it. The Hawks have made it to the second round of the playoffs the past two years, but have not made very serious noise about winning a championship.
That is likely due to the dysfunctional way this team is being operated. The guys who run the basketball side of it have done a good job, but when decisions need to be made they have to sell enough of the owners on it to get it done. It is terribly inefficient way to operate a sports franchise. Currently there are seven owners comprising the group.
Comments