Hawks hire investment bank to sell equity

[pimp]

http://m.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2013/06/11/hawks-hire-investment-bank-to-sell.html?r=full Jun 11, 2013, 2:29pm EDT UPDATED: Jun 11, 2013, 4:46pm EDT Hawks hire investment bank to sell equity The Atlanta Hawks have hired investment bank Inner Circle Sports to try to raise tens of millions of dollars from new limited partners to pay for projects that could include a new practice facility, scoreboards at Philips Arena and a branding campaign, sources said.

The Hawks have only just begun scouting locations for a new practice facility, and team officials dont yet have a projected cost for a venue. But according to one of the sources, considering what other teams have spent recently on new practice venues, the project could cost the Hawks roughly $16 million.

The activity comes on the heels of the record-breaking, $534 million price paid last month for the Sacramento Kings. It also comes ahead of the NBA this summer planning to start informal negotiations on its next media rights deal. Its contracts with ESPN and Turner Sports run through the 2015-16 season, but with the bullish state of the market for live sports and new digital rights opportunities, a rights increase is expected.

As a result, the valuation assigned to the Hawks for selling the equity may show whether the record price paid for the Kings is a new minimum NBA franchise price or if, instead, that amount was unique to that situation.

Atlanta is a totally different market, said Michael Rapkoch, owner of advisory firm Sports Value Consulting. He cautioned against reading too much into the Kings price. [Atlanta] has a lot of teams, a lot of competing sources for dollars, he said.

The Kings, by comparison, are the only big league team in Sacramento, and a competing purchase offer from a Seattle group helped boost the sale price as well.The Hawks practice at Philips Arena. The source who commented on possible pricing said the team is considering a few sites and is having initial talks with advisers for the project but would only say additionally, We are exploring the possibility of a practice facility. The team, which is owned by a group led by Bruce Levenson, has had no meetings with banks or with any local public entities in addressing any financing needs.

We have consistently communicated that we will look for strategic partners for our organization as we look to raise the bar in every way that we operate, Hawks spokesman Garin Narain said via e-mail Monday afternoon. That does not impact how we are currently approaching our own potential investment in resources, such as a practice facility or in Philips Arena, that can positively impact our basketball team and our fan experience. These are projects that may naturally take time to evolve, but it is critical that we currently discern the best way to approach these opportunities.

The Hawks have had an uneven history in Atlanta, frequently viewed as a distant third in fan support to the NFL Falcons and MLB Braves. However, after recent years marked by relative instability including legal battles with former partner Steve Belkin, the sale of the jointly owned NHL Atlanta Thrashers, and a failed deal in 2011 to sell the team to Alex Meruelo the current ownership group is taking a long-term, stable approach in running the franchise. Adding a practice facility could send a message of upgrade to free agents and to fans.

Philips Arena opened in 1999. Its center-hung board is the facilitys original board, dating to the opening. Details on what the branding campaign would be were not available.

Atlanta finished the 2012-13 regular season with an average attendance of 15,126, ranking the Hawks 26th in the 30-team NBA. They advanced to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season before losing in the first round to Indiana this year.

[Chinky_eyed_hawk]

http://m.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2013/06/11/hawks-hire-investment-bank-to-sell.html?r=full

Atlanta finished the 2012-13 regular season with an average attendance of 15,126, ranking the Hawks 26th in the 30-team NBA. They advanced to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season before losing in the first round to Indiana this year.

C'mon man!!!! Even with the roster we have a better quality team than this people.

Looks like they are going all in this year. Another good sign. Another good read.

[Admin]

Thank you thank you thank you. Now let's see how the A$G end up screwing this up.

Branding campaign AND a fancy new scoreboard? Maybe they'll get those cameras or whatever it was that you've whined about several times that helps track advanced metrics more effectively as well.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Branding campaign AND a fancy new scoreboard? Maybe they'll get those cameras or whatever it was that you've whined about several times that helps track advanced metrics more effectively as well.

I would support this decision. Also, shine new things is a plus when attracting FA's. It's so nice having a competent FO now...

[Admin]

Then next year they will hire someone to actually work with SportVU! I can see it now, a well oiled machine pumping out highlights in the factory. We are so close to doing it.

Highlights in The Highlight Factory from now on will be passes whipping around the court while an incessant loop of "I whip my hair" modified to say "pass" instead of "hair" plays over and over in a similar fashion to the Indy cars that they play at Conseco / Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

[DrReality]

Lets hope they do things right to the same extent they did things wrong for years

[NBASupes]

They look they are going all in for D12 and CP3 and will sell the team in a year once we land them for top dollar. The Gunn and Smith family model.

[ATLSmith]

Pretty excited about the new practice facility and branding campaign. Based on the pictures I've seen of the facility in the Arena, it just looks bit like a gloomy cave with no natural light, which doesn't promote a great work ethic in the players. I'm sure they'd rather work out somewhere else.

New scoreboard is just a nice bonus.

[Diesel]

This is the guy we need to be an owner:

Jimmy W. Hayes.

or this guy:

Jim Kennedy.

[Dragitoff]

This is the guy we need to be an owner:

Jimmy W. Hayes.

or this guy:

Jim Kennedy.

We already have a couple of dicks for owners. Now you want Jimmies?

[Diesel]

We already have a couple of dicks for owners. Now you want Jimmies?

Strategically speaking, Kennedy is a Cox and Hayes is the CEO and President of Cox Communication. Those guys own all the media around Atlanta. I put Hayes first because he's more likely to be interested in Sports. Still, strategically, it just makes more sense if you have a co-owner who can control whatever press comes out about his team.

[Dragitoff]

Strategically speaking, Kennedy is a Cox and Hayes is the CEO and President of Cox Communication. Those guys own all the media around Atlanta. I put Hayes first because he's more likely to be interested in Sports. Still, strategically, it just makes more sense if you have a co-owner who can control whatever press comes out about his team.

No worries. I wasn't really questioning your suggestion. I was just being silly. It's kinda' my thing.

[Admin]

I think the ASG are doing a pretty damn good job the past 12 months or so, getting Ferry, now getting Budz, trying to get a new practice facility, new scoreboard, marketing campaign for the team, etc. Maybe it's time to cut them a little slack and see what happens over the next 2 years and not try and replace guys that very well respected men like Ferry and Budz obviously liked enough to leave what they had in San Antonio to join them after turning down overtures in numerous other places.

[Guest]

I think the ASG are doing a pretty damn good job the past 12 months or so, getting Ferry, now getting Budz, trying to get a new practice facility, new scoreboard, marketing campaign for the team, etc. Maybe it's time to cut them a little slack and see what happens over the next 2 years and not try and replace guys that very well respected men like Ferry and Budz obviously liked enough to leave what they had in San Antonio to join them after turning down overtures in numerous other places.

Agreed - I think they've realized they made a LOT of mistakes and have taken a step back and are allowing basketball people to make basketball decisions.

[Dragitoff]

I think the ASG are doing a pretty damn good job the past 12 months or so, getting Ferry, now getting Budz, trying to get a new practice facility, new scoreboard, marketing campaign for the team, etc. Maybe it's time to cut them a little slack and see what happens over the next 2 years and not try and replace guys that very well respected men like Ferry and Budz obviously liked enough to leave what they had in San Antonio to join them after turning down overtures in numerous other places.

I'd have to agree. I was honestly joking with my comment. I've questioned this group in the past, but people can change and it seems like they've wised up over the past year or so.

[Admin]

I'd have to agree. I was honestly joking with my comment. I've questioned this group in the past, but people can change and it seems like they've wised up over the past year or so.

You're not one of the people who've been overly hard on them. I know some guys are butthurt about what they did with the hockey team and that's all fine and well, but for those who aren't hockey fans let's all realize that while the ASG made lots of mistakes in the past they are at least trying to learn from them and become better owners now. Heck when was the last time we heard anything from one of them?

[NekiEcko]

I think this happen to Mr. Blank as well. The Falcons turned itself around and now is one of the elite teams in the league. They learned their lesson hopefully.

[NBASupes]

Whoever buys the team if we land CP3 and Dwight will be committed. But if that doesn't happen, we will get a lot of people who are not good enough owners to buy a NBA team.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I could've sworn that we had a practice facility in the past. If we didn't, that just goes to show how much this ownership has cut corners.

The ASG finally did something right last year, when they replaced the stats scoreboard with the big LED-like stat board on both ends. But that scoreboard is kind of outdated.

I can't speak enough about the visual show that they put on in Memphis. They use their scoreboard and the advertising boards that separate each level in fantastic fashion.

This is the type of visual atmosphere I want to see at Philips. Kiss Cam should not be the highlight of the fan experience, other than the game.

[Admin]

I could've sworn that we had a practice facility in the past. If we didn't, that just goes to show how much this ownership has cut corners.

The ASG finally did something right last year, when they replaced the stats scoreboard with the big LED-like stat board on both ends. But that scoreboard is kind of outdated.

I can't speak enough about the visual show that they put on in Memphis. They use their scoreboard and the advertising boards that separate each level in fantastic fashion.

This is the type of visual atmosphere I want to see at Philips. Kiss Cam should not be the highlight of the fan experience, other than the game.

Uhh if they didn't feature the kiss cam, what would girls who go to see the Hawks have to get excited about? Surely they don't understand what's happening on the court.