Hawks To Be Sold

[Guest]

Now don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic that the A$G will be gone in terms of controlling this team. This means I will make it back to Philips this year, which is nice. But for all you that are claiming its great to have "one owner" you should reread these articles. The Meruelo Group is buying the Hawks, not just Alex Meruelo. Alex is the president, but the group is at least 12 strong and they deal with a lot of different business ventures. Its nice to see that they have someone (Xavier Gutierrez) who has experience in sports (NFL), but we will not have a singular owner. The MG looks like they are a well structured group and so I don't think we will have problems like the A$G (which was really 3 different groups combined - Belkin, Levenson & Peskowitz, and the Atlanta nimrods), but don't get the idea that Alex Meruelo owns the team.Searching Alex Meruelo's net worth is going to be pointless, its the MG and their finances we should be looking at. As far as I can tell, Alex Meruelo doesn't have any personal stake in this team (although this all depends on how the MG is structured, so I could be wrong). He is certainly going to be the figurehead and is doing a great job at that right now, but don't be expecting Mark Cuban II with Alex. The MG won't just manage the Hawks but also a multitude of other business (like that pizza place). Its not quite Liberty Media status (they are publicly traded, MG is not), but distinctly different from most "groups" that purchase sports franchises. Most of these groups are separately wealthy owners who form LLC's to then move into the sports business. The MG was formed well before they decided to purchase the Hawks. This should be interesting and definitely better than the A$G (who never worked together until they took control...great idea!)

[Guest]

Here's his home... fwiw...http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/alex-meruelos-house/view/?service=1

If I am reading that right, his house is the corner lot. So the far left on the link. Its certainly got a miniature Scarface look to it.

[Yubs]

Here's his home... fwiw...http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/alex-meruelos-house/view/?service=1

He's wealthy, no doubt. I just hope he invests the money needed to make this franchise successful, billionaire or not. The last thing this team needs is a penny-pinching owner.I wonder if there were no local prospective buyers? I wish Sam Cathy, who owns Chick-Fil-A, bought the franchise. Think of the marketing opportunities they could have done with the Hawks and chicken sandwiches.

[Joker]

I hope he's more Mark Cuban and less ASG. I am actually okay with ASG, I felt they had their moments.

[Duff_Man]

He's wealthy, no doubt. I just hope he invests the money needed to make this franchise successful, billionaire or not. The last thing this team needs is a penny-pinching owner.I wonder if there were no local prospective buyers? I wish Sam Cathy, who owns Chick-Fil-A, bought the franchise. Think of the marketing opportunities they could have done with the Hawks and chicken sandwiches.

Yeah but they wouldn't be able to play on Sundays.

[capstone21]

Here's his home... fwiw...http://virtualglobet...view/?service=1

its a rough life

[sturt]

Yeah but they wouldn't be able to play on Sundays.

+1

[DrReality]

You gotta wonder being the first Hispanic owner will make him motivated like Cuban to bring home the championship. We need a breath of fresh air after all the crap with ASG.

[djmhawk]

Obviously anyone would be a gigantic improvement over the ASG. There aren't many sports owners who could possibly suck that bad, not many who have permanently damaged a city's sports like ASG has. So, I'm excited we got someone new, someone who at least claims to be excited about owning a team and winning. The big unknown with Meruelo is just how interested he really is in this team and how much money he has to burn. History has shown that owners that really want to win and can spend ridiculous sums of money to do it bring championships. The pizza business he owns is not that big - it was how he got his start but a 50-store pizza franchise is at best worth in the 10s of millions. Obviously he has leveraged that start into a lot of new projects that he has made a lot of money in and is very successful - anyone buying a NBA franchise has a lot of money. The other purchases his group (tv station, resort) has made has been also in the tens of millions - this looks like the biggest thing he's ever bought. So, the risk here is this is a guy who loves basketball, wants to win, but he's also a guy who has a net worth in the low hundreds of millions tops, and has his own investment company with a bunch of other rich investors looking to make a return on their money, and he bought just over half the Hawks from ASG to fulfill his dreams but also given how desperate the ASG were to find an investor as a shrewd business deal. He may want to win, but ultimately he thinks he is going to make money from the Hawks (and is betting on the lockout being a very positive owner outcome and instantly making his investment worth more money). The news articles I've read has said Cuban has spent/lost $150M post-buying Mavs to get them a championship, and is Meruelo a guy who has the cash to burn to that level? My hunch right now is no, he just isn't that rich that he can spend at that level. If he was, would he leave the ASG with a share of interest in the Hawks still? If he was, would his net worth and really any indication of his company have flown under the radar of the business press for the last decade (except as he tried to make deals in the 10s of millions with other businesses, except as he made purchases in the 10s of millions, which are the sort of thing that are often heavily leveraged and wouldn't require anywhere near those amounts as cash to acquire).So, I'm happy now, I'm optimistic he's going to do more with our team than we've seen in the past, but I don't think this is the kind of game changing owner who will transform our Hawks to a championship level.

[niremetal]

Now don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic that the A$G will be gone in terms of controlling this team. This means I will make it back to Philips this year, which is nice. But for all you that are claiming its great to have "one owner" you should reread these articles. The Meruelo Group is buying the Hawks, not just Alex Meruelo. Alex is the president, but the group is at least 12 strong and they deal with a lot of different business ventures. Its nice to see that they have someone (Xavier Gutierrez) who has experience in sports (NFL), but we will not have a singular owner. The MG looks like they are a well structured group and so I don't think we will have problems like the A$G (which was really 3 different groups combined - Belkin, Levenson & Peskowitz, and the Atlanta nimrods), but don't get the idea that Alex Meruelo owns the team.

The thing that first jumped out at me was "oh, single owner - that's good." Disappointed it's not. Ah well. As long as the owners don't meddle in basketball personnel decisions, they can put the team on the NYSE for all I care.Gutsy to buy the team in the middle of a lockout of unknown duration and with an unknown endgame.

[Sothron]

Maybe he doesn't care much for Hockey (like me) :biggrin: Screw the Thrashers...this is the ATL and no kid ever grew up around here knocking a rock around a frozen pond with sticks. :kickcan:

Actually youth hockey in Atlanta and across the state has been steadily increasing and shows no signs of slowing. Your ignorance about hockey is your own mistake by not watching the best sport in the world. The thousands of hockey fans that got screwed by the A$G can at least hope this new pizza guy will either want a hockey team or at least allow one to use the arena.

[niremetal]

Actually youth hockey in Atlanta and across the state has been steadily increasing and shows no signs of slowing. Your ignorance about hockey is your own mistake by not watching the best sport in the world. The thousands of hockey fans that got screwed by the A$G can at least hope this new pizza guy will either want a hockey team or at least allow one to use the arena.

Considering youth hockey was damned close to non-existent in Atlanta during the Flames/Thrashers interregnum, it's not surprising that it was steadily increasing.Dude, I'm sorry but you gotta let it go. The NHL is not stupid enough to set up another franchise in the south. They lost billions of dollars on their Southern Strategy. It's over.[/hockey]Go Hawks!

[Sothron]

Considering youth hockey was damned close to non-existent in Atlanta during the Flames/Thrashers interregnum, it's not surprising that it was steadily increasing.Dude, I'm sorry but you gotta let it go. The NHL is not stupid enough to set up another franchise in the south. They lost billions of dollars on their Southern Strategy. It's over.[/hockey]Go Hawks!

We've had this argument before and you are still wrong, no offense. There are several Southern teams doing fine in the NHL. It only took one horrible ownership in the A$G to kill one franchise but not the sport in the location. Bettman already said they consider Atlanta a hockey market after that fiasco and he blamed the owners not the fans. As for "letting it go"? Not in a million years. I had my team stolen from me and my family by deadbeat owners who are finally out of the sports business but managed to steal an Atlanta franchise in the meantime and refuse to sell it to local buyers. Unforgivable.

[NJHAWK]

Couldn't be happier. Yes, we don't what will happen until he gets in charge. However, he is saying the right things, like wanting to win a championship in Atlanta. Having a house in Atlanta, so he will be there to support the franchise. Sounds like he is committed to building a winner. I think one thing we can all agree on he is not going to be worse that the ASG. Good Riddance A-Holes!

I wonder if after he buys the house 25 of his relatives will move in. Edited August 8, 2011 by NJHAWK

[Swatguy]

I wonder if after he buys the house 25 of his relatives will move in.

:derisive: :derisive: :derisive:

[lethalweapon3]

I wonder if Muruelo previously tried to pry the Clippers from Sterling's slippery hands... and if he had designs on moving the Clips to The O.C.~lw3

Edited August 8, 2011 by lethalweapon3

[APE]

"The perception is we don't spend money," Gearon Jr. said recently about the Hawks. "Yet you look at our roster and the core assets, we've kept all of them."

[Guest]

The thing that first jumped out at me was "oh, single owner - that's good." Disappointed it's not. Ah well. As long as the owners don't meddle in basketball personnel decisions, they can put the team on the NYSE for all I care.Gutsy to buy the team in the middle of a lockout of unknown duration and with an unknown endgame.

Someone needs to reiterate this to the folks over at peachtree hoops blog because they have about 3 posts mentioning singular owner (hell even jason walker got this wrong!).As for this being gutsy during a lockout, I'm not that certain about that. They do retain control over Philips which probably generates more money per concert than game (ignoring a pro rated TV contract deal which is the big money maker). But if you are referring more to not knowing what the CBA structure is like (which I think you are), well owning a franchise was a profitable venture before and it will only improve more towards the owners after the negotiations. This is looking like the prime time to buy in my opinion, now if I could only raise enough capital...

[KB21]

My only request to the new ownership:Let the basketball people make basketball decisions.

[Vol4ever]

My only request to the new ownership:Let the basketball people make basketball decisions.

I agree......................the problem I see is we may not have basketball people in charge.I dont think Rick Sund is a decent GM, heck I dont think we have ever had a decent GMI'm not sure about Larry Drew as a head coach. He never got Josh Smith under control this year.