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SBD/Issue 182/Sports Industrialists
Newsmakers: Atlanta Spirit Mess Continues With Latest Ruling
Published June 16, 2006
THE DAILY each Friday offers our take on the performances over the past week of
some people and entities in sports business. Here are this week’s newsmakers:
WIN: NASCAR –- The NASCAR PR juggernaut has an impressive week in
the sports and entertainment press. It has story ties to the No. 1 ranked movie
(“Cars”) at the box office, appears in virtually every style/entertainment newspaper
section and lands pop culture-type features on the national pages of the L.A.
Times, N.Y. Times (front page of the Dining section on what drivers eat), and
the front page of USA Today.
LOSE: ATLANTA SPIRIT –- Judge’s ruling that Atlanta Spirit co-Owner STEVE BELKIN is entitled to buy out his partners and take over the Hawks, Thrashers and Philips Arena operating rights further complicates this already messy process. While the ownership group plans to appeal the decision, a final resolution will take time and could lead to additional financial losses –- the teams had already lost $20M since August and are projected to lose another $20M in the coming months due to ownership uncertainty.
DRAW: BOBCATS — Last week, they got our “Loss”; this week, they get a “Draw.” The jury is out on the impact of MICHAEL JORDAN, but it’s a bold move by ROBERT JOHNSON that he felt he needed to make. Curiously, Johnson previously complimented the basketball side of the organization and said the business side was the one that needed improvement. MJ may provide some short term-buzz in the marketplace, but the business side is still in need of work. The other issue affecting the team isn’t addressed by Chicago-based Jordan –-someone living and working in Charlotte full-time to build affinity among locals soured on the NBA.
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| The King And I: NASCAR Benefiting From Disney/Pixar’s “Cars” |
LOSE: ATLANTA SPIRIT –- Judge’s ruling that Atlanta Spirit co-Owner STEVE BELKIN is entitled to buy out his partners and take over the Hawks, Thrashers and Philips Arena operating rights further complicates this already messy process. While the ownership group plans to appeal the decision, a final resolution will take time and could lead to additional financial losses –- the teams had already lost $20M since August and are projected to lose another $20M in the coming months due to ownership uncertainty.
DRAW: BOBCATS — Last week, they got our “Loss”; this week, they get a “Draw.” The jury is out on the impact of MICHAEL JORDAN, but it’s a bold move by ROBERT JOHNSON that he felt he needed to make. Curiously, Johnson previously complimented the basketball side of the organization and said the business side was the one that needed improvement. MJ may provide some short term-buzz in the marketplace, but the business side is still in need of work. The other issue affecting the team isn’t addressed by Chicago-based Jordan –-someone living and working in Charlotte full-time to build affinity among locals soured on the NBA.
