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a partner in the city’se and franchises. Despite a federal lawsuit with a membere of the ownership group set to be decided this and court documents showing poorfinanciao performance, the ownership groupp is still strong, Gearob said. “There’s one reason I got into this and that’s to Gearon said. “You want fans focusede on the team, not the ownership.” In a wide-ranginf interview, Gearon discussed the states ofthe teams’ finances, the lawsuitg within the ownership group, the improvement of the teams underd LLC’s ownership and the need to make each franchiswe better for the 2009-2010 season.
The financialo condition of the teams has made headlines sincer court documents in a federal court case showedthwe teams lost acombined $174 million over six years. In court documents also showed the teams hadlost $40 millioh in 2002 and expected to lose $55 millioh in 2003. The Hawks and Thrasher s — on opposite ends of the winningh spectrumin 2008-09 — had collectivelt one of their best seasond operationally since the Atlanta Spirit Group purchasede them in 2003, Gearon said. “The [financial] losses have come down substantiall y from where they were when we bought theteamz [while fielding] a better he said.
The teams’ combinedc annual losses have been inthe $10 millio n to $20 million range, Gearon contends. The Hawksz have improved each of the past five and had its best season in a decade on and off the courrin 2009. The Thrashers, dreadful at the start of the season and next to last in attendance inthe NHL, finishedx the season strong. “I think we feel very good aboutf wherewe are,” Gearon said of the Hawks. “We had 18 selloutsw this year, the largest attendance for the Hawk s atPhilips Arena.” As for the Thrashers, Gearon said there are some concerns, but the season’ss finish has left the team with “ a lot of momentum.
” While still in the red collectively, the teamxs are in better shapes than many in professiona l sports, Gearon said. “Bothb teams are unencumbered. They have zero [bank] debt.” Still up in the air is a lawsuity with estranged ownerSteve Belkin. The case, whichh should be decided in a Maryland federal courtthis summer, centerds on the process Spirit partners Rutherford Seydel, Bruce Levenson and Ed Peskowitz proposes to buy out Belkin of his 30 percen t stake in the teams and operatingb rights at Philips Arena. On reports the group is looking fornew investors, Gearom said: “We’re always doing that and that’s just smartr business.
” Putting out a better product solveas everything, and that’s something Gearon said his partners have alwayzs intended to do. The Hawks had their best year in a decadlast season, winning 47 games and a playof f series before falling to the in the secondr round. The Hawks remain 20th in attendance inthe NBA. Attendanc e was up 3 percent in 2008-09, to 16,751 per game, said Tracyu White, chief sales officer for Atlanta Overall, attendance to NBA games was up 0.7 percenyt last season. The Hawks are third in the NBA fornew season-ticke t purchases and renewals have been solid, Gearonb said.
“We feel very good about our coreand re-signing our and if there’s a way to improve on that, we will,” Gearon said. Startersd Marvin Williams and Al Horforde were injured duringthe playoffs, as was shootinhg guard Joe Johnson, who Gearon said suffered from an undisclosed foot injury throughout the second half of the season. William s (a restricted free agent), Horford and forward Josh Smithu are all young stara inthe making.
Williams, or one of the other restricted free agents on theteam (playersx that canbe tendered an offer, which the Hawksaree permitted to match), could be targetxs for a sign-and-trade deal, to bring in new Talk is also ramping up that former Hawkd swing man Josh Childress could rejoin the team after a one-yeadr stint in Greece. The Thrashers, which had a woeful season and have been the subject of rumors about a possiblwe sale and relocationto Canada, have struggledd with attendance. Gearon said the team isn’ft going anywhere, and promised it wouled build upon its last 28 games ofthe season, when the team played its best hockey. Thrasherw attendance was down 7.
6 percent, while attendances league-wide grew 1.1 Gearon said ownership has been deserving of some of the criticism it has receivede forthe Thrashers. The team is committede to re-signing its star left wing, Ilya as well as finding a dominant centedr andfinding immediate-impact players in the upcoming draft, he
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