NBA BOG Approves Hawks Transfer To Atlanta Spirit; NHL Next
The NBA BOG Friday approved the transfer of ownership of the Hawks to Atlanta Spirit LLC, the nine-member partnership featuring Steve Belkin, Todd Foreman, J. Michael Gearon Sr., J. Michael Gearon Jr., Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz, Bud Seretean, J. Rutherford Seydel II and Beau Turner. Gearon Jr. said in a statement, "We can now focus our full attention on obtaining the approvals from the NHL, which we are optimistic will occur soon" (Hawks). FINAL STEPS: In Atlanta, Tim Tucker noted that approval came exactly six months from the day that Time Warner and Atlanta Spirit "signed a binding agreement on the main terms of the deal" for the Hawks and Thrashers. In the months since, Atlanta Spirit has "negotiated dozens of details with Time Warner, ranging from TV commercials to parking spots, slightly modified their own partnership arrangement and navigated the parallel NBA and NHL approval processes." Atlanta Spirit cannot "take over either team until both leagues have approved." As of Friday, attorneys for Atlanta Spirit and the NHL "were exchanging documents and working on the wording of at least one legal point." An NHL official said that it is "`likely' the sale will be ready for a vote of NHL owners by the end" of the week (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/13). Levenson said, "I wouldn't have thought it would have taken this long, but it did. I guess there is no par for this course." The AP's Paul Newberry noted that Belkin owns 33% of Atlanta Spirit and will concentrate on the Hawks, while Levenson, Peskowitz and Foreman, along with Seydel "will work with the Thrashers" (AP, 3/12).
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