Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed dropped some odd hints while speaking to reporters about the future of the Atlanta Hawks following racially-charged comments that resulted in owner Bruce Levenson’s departure and president Danny Ferry’s leave of absence. Most notably, he suggested that it’s “highly unlikely” the Hawks will move, as if that was ever really a question.
Mayor says Atlanta needs ‘assistance’ keeping the Hawks, whatever that means
Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed suggested the city may need to sell Turner Field to ensure the Hawks stay in Atlanta, but why is that necessary?
Reed: 'Highly unlikely" Hawks will move. Assistance from city will be needed.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) September 16, 2014 Reed says new owner should keep team and franchise inside City of Atlanta.
— Katie Leslie (@katieleslienews) September 16, 2014 The Hawks are tied to Phillips Arena through a lease that doesn’t expire until 2028. Even if they wanted to break that -- and they can by 2018 -- the cost would be very expensive. They need to pay off the arena’s bonds in their entirety, and there’s a $75 million fee attached on top of that. The cherry on the sundae: there’s yet another NBA relocation fee. So, moving is very expensive and likely a big headache.
Why mention it, then. Well...
Reed says one of the prospective buyers is from China.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) September 16, 2014 Reed: We can sell Turner Field as an asset to help keep Hawks in ATL.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) September 16, 2014 Reed calls again for Braves to give exit date. Says city wants to sell Turner Field for $ that could be applied to Hawks.
— Katie Leslie (@katieleslienews) September 16, 2014 I asked Mayor Reed if there's any chance of new Hawks arena. He joked that he just got back from China. So...Didn't rule it out.
— Katie Leslie (@katieleslienews) September 16, 2014 So we’re clear: the Braves are staying at Turner Field until 2017. However, they can decide by 2015 to stay downtown until their new Cobb County stadium is done in the event that it’s behind schedule. It’s supposed to be finished by Jan. 2017, but that’s cutting it very close to the start of the season. The city supposedly has interest from developers in buying the land, but any deal is likely on hold until the Braves actually leave.
But what’s the exact threat here? How would the money gained by selling Turner Field actually benefit the Hawks directly? Short of the city buying a piece of the team with it, the most logical explanation is to build a new arena, even though Phillips Arena is in perfectly fine shape. At the very least, maybe this money would be needed to upgrade Phillips ... but for what?
Hawks Ownership
As of now, it feels like there’s a “Keep the Hawks” fund that Reed conjured out of thin air. The city of Atlanta is being told that the best way they can keep their team is to lobby for the Braves to get moving. Otherwise, they need to chip in to help this faceless new majority owner ... but for what? A new stadium? Upgrades? Something else.
It’s all very confusing. Then again, Atlanta has a history of trying these tactics
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