Winnipeg hockey supporters cheer at a rally in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Tuesday following the announcement that the Atlanta Thrashers NHL hockey club will move to the city. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, David Lipnowski)ATLANTA - First the Flames. Now the Thrashers.
The struggling NHL franchise was sold Tuesday to a group that will move it to Winnipeg next season, making Atlanta the first city in the league's modern era to lose two teams.
The Flames left for Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers are following them to Canada three decades later.
"I want to thank all the Thrashers fans that supported us in Atlanta for my two years there. Very unfortunate there will be no NHL hockey," tweeted Evander Kane, one of the team's most promising young players. "I will miss the great people and city of Atlanta."
True North Sports and Entertainment announced the deal during a news conference at Winnipeg's MTS Centre, the 15,015-seat arena where the team will play. The news sparked a raucous celebration in Manitoba's largest city, which is rejoining the league after losing the Jets to Phoenix in 1996.
The new team could also be known as the Jets, though a decision on the name has not been reached. The Thrashers name - which was coined by former owner Ted Turner and referred to the state bird of Georgia - will surely not be going north of the border.
Thousands of fans in red, white and blue Jets jerseys cheered, waved flags and played impromptu games of street hockey. While the deal is subject to approval of the league owners, that's expected to be a mere formality when the board of governors meets June 21 in New York.
"It's nice to be back in Winnipeg after all these years," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who attended the True North news conference.
In Atlanta, there was little reaction other than a tearful news conference held by co-owner Michael Gearon. He said the group that controls the Thrashers, the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and operating rights to Philips Arena did all it could to find someone who would help keep the financially ailing team in the city.
No one made a serious offer.
"I've been focused on trying to avoid this day," said Gearon, who was glassy eyed and broke down several times as he met with a small group of media at Philips Arena. "I spent time with possible investors going back four years ago, because I was concerned this day would come. I made a desperate plea in February. Unfortunately, that didn't lead to any real prospects. To be sitting here today is just awful for me."
On the city's sports-talk stations, there was more discussion about college football and the scandal that cost Ohio State coach Jim Tressel his job than losing an NHL team that, at best, attracted a niche audience.
The Thrashers made only one playoff appearance in 11 seasons and never won a postseason game. The ownership was plagued by financial problems and attendance became a major issue in recent years. The Thrashers averaged less than 14,000 a game this season, ranking 28th out of 30 teams.
Finally, the group known as Atlanta Spirit decided to bail out of the hockey business. Three weeks ago, after Glendale, Ariz., voted to subsidize the Phoenix Coyotes for another season while that troubled team tries to secure new ownership, True North turned its attention to the Thrashers.
The deal is reportedly worth $170 million, including a $60 million relocation fee that would be split by the rest of the owners.
"Our spirit is back!" said Winnipeg's Braden Hill, decked out in a Jets jersey and hockey helmet, a Canadian flag draped on his back. "Our city lost it 15 years ago. Now it's back."
The new ownership group, which includes Canadian billionaire David Thomson, began a dogged pursuit for another NHL team when it became clear both the Coyotes and the Thrashers were in serious financial trouble.
The Coyotes are now owned by the league and likely would have returned to Winnipeg if suburban Glendale, Ariz., had not agreed to provide a $25 million subsidy for this year, then approved another for the 2011-12 season while the team tries to finalize an agreement with a prospective new owner.
In Atlanta, where the financially strapped city government is dealing with possible layoffs, there was never any consideration of bailing out the hockey team.
Bettman said the league didn't want to leave Atlanta, a metro area with more than 5 million people and a more favorable TV market than Winnipeg, a city of less than 700,000. But, he added, there was no other option.
The deal was finalized early Tuesday.
"We don't like to move a franchise," Bettman said. "We're not happy about leaving Atlanta. This was never about whether Winnipeg is better than Atlanta. The decision to come to Winnipeg was only made after the Atlanta ownership made the decision they were going to sell even if it meant the club was going to leave Atlanta."
Gearon and the rest of the Atlanta Spirit owners came under heavy criticism for the way they ran the Thrashers, especially when it was revealed in court documents they were looking to sell the team almost as soon as they acquired it in 2004.
They claim to have lost $130 million since taking over the franchise - including $20 million in 2006-07, Gearon said, the year the Thrashers won the Southeast Division and made the playoffs with the only winning record in franchise history. They were swept in four straight games by the New York Rangers.
This season, the Thrashers were in contention for a playoff spot but faded down the stretch.
Now they'll be playing in a new city.
"I'm really excited," goalie Chris Mason told The Associated Press from his hometown of Red Deer, Alberta. "I remember growing up watching the Jets and I'm just excited to know NHL hockey is coming back to a city that has always wanted hockey.
"They never wanted it to leave," he added. "But circumstances there were out of the fans' control, as they are now for fans in Atlanta. It's not their fault. They really had no say in this. You kind of feel bad for those people, but at the same time I'm excited for Winnipeg."