For What It's Worth, We're #28

[lethalweapon3]

Merge if it's already mentioned somewhere, but Forbes' annual team valuations are out, and...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/01/25/the-nbas-most-valuable-teams/

The Atlanta Hawks are in search of a buyer after a deal fell apart in November for Los Angeles businessman Alex Meruelo to buy the team. The Hawks have made the second round of the playoffs for three straight years, yet ratings for Hawks games fell 39% on SportSouth last year and the team lost $15 million. The Hawks are worth $270 million, down 8%.

The value dropped 8% from the previous year (tied for the largest among NBA teams for a one-year drop, with the Pistons), but the current value still represents an annualized growth of 4% from 2003.

http://www.forbes.com/teams/atlanta-hawks/

At $270 million, the Hawks rank 28th out of 30 teams. Hey, Grizzlies ($269 million) and Bucks ($268 million), get your weight up! The full list is below, with the Lakers gaining from a new 20-year cable deal and surging past the Knicks for That Numba One Spot.

http://www.forbes.com/nba-valuations/list/

~lw3

[yungsta]

wow... i knew the management was bad but 28th?????? every team in the nba except grizzles and bucks are worth more. I cant fathom thought of that.

Edited January 27, 2012 by yungsta

[DJlaysitup]

Hard to believe.

[Sothron]

How can anyone be surprised? We have an ownership that literally betrayed Atlanta and all of Georgia by selling out the Thrashers and they refuse to ever spend a penny on the luxury tax. They already had the humiliating Belkin fiasco under their belt BEFORE the fiasco with the Thrashers and THEN they added the fiaco with the Pizza Man not having enough dinero to buy the team. LOL these clowns are the worst excuse of a sports ownership any sports has ever seen.

[yungsta]

debt/value 90% wow only team that is worst is the New orleans hornets at 105%

[Eddielives]

If this is a surprise to anybody they are suffering from a serious case of denial. Do you see the empty seats at Phillips? We may hate it but there is a legit reason shots are taken at the fans of this city.

[Jody23]

The fans want champions or want to see a legitimate attempt to be a champion. All the Hawks have done is strive for mediocrity. That's why the fans won't support them and I can blame them.

[benhillboy]

Damn, we might be contracted!

Nothing new though. We've all known for years now that this is a team only a hardcore basketball fan could love. I wouldn't expect a city as lively as Atlanta to follow this sometimes boring and inconsistent team, but the SportsSouth viewership dip is drastic and troubling. We're twenty years removed from a bona fide, unquestionable star. That can't continue for much longer. When potential fans think of the faces of our franchise, they equate Joe with "overpaid" and "boring", and Josh, "dumb". Who has 2 1/2 hours to watch or $60-$100 to pay for that product unless you're a NBA junkie?

Edited January 27, 2012 by benhillboy

[macdaddy]

The Raptors at #12. How many years removed from a bona fide star are they? Infinity? This is just in over your head at its worst. Here is the Raptors descriptoin

Owner:

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Huh?????)

Telecom giants Rogers Communications and Bell Canada announced plans in December to buy 75% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Raptors, the Maple Leafs of the NHL, the Air Canada Centre and other assets. The deal, which still requires regulatory approval by the NBA and NHL, values MLS&E at $2 billion. After seeing their attendance drop 7% during the 2010-11 season to an average of

just 16,500 at the Air Canada Centre, the Raptors cut ticket prices significantly prior to this season. Lower bowl season tickets were cut between 5% and 30% and upper bowl prices reduced from 10% to 40%.

[AHF]

Talk about a great investment opportunity. The Hawks have motivated sellers as owners and the team has now been valued as one of the three cheapest in the NBA. Yet, the market is a top 10 market with a demonstrated interest in watching the NBA. An owner who could bridge the disconnect between the high numbers watching NBA basketball in Atlanta and the low numbers attending games could do great things with this team.

List of NBA Teams and Regular Season Records by Market Size

# Market # of TV Homes Teams Record (as of Mar. 9)

1

New York

7.515M

Knicks

34-29

Nets

20-43

2

Los Angeles

5.667M

Lakers

46-19

Clippers

25-40

3

Chicago

3.503M

Bulls

45-18

4

Philadelphia

3.016M

Sixers

33-31

5

Dallas-Ft. Worth

2.595M

Mavericks

46-18

6

SF/Oak/SJ

2.524M

Warriors

28-36

7

Boston

2.460M

Celtics

46-18

8

Atlanta

2.407M

Hawks

37-27

9

Washington, DC

2.390M

Wizards

16-47

10

Houston

2.177M

Rockets

33-33

11

Detroit

1.884M

Pistons

23-42

12

Phoenix

1.881M

Suns

33-29

15

Minneapolis-St. Paul

1.754M

Timberwolves

16-50

16

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale

1.581M

Heat

43-21

17

Denver

1.573M

Nuggets

37-27

18

Cleveland-Akron

1.526M

Cavaliers

12-52

19

Orlando-Daytona

1.453M

Magic

41-24

20

Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto

1.409M

Kings

15-47

22

Portland

1.198M

Trail Blazers

37-27

23

Charlotte

1.166M

Bobcats

26-38

27

Indianapolis

1.106M

Pacers

27-37

32

Salt Lake City

954K

Jazz

34-31

35

Milwaukee

901K

Bucks

25-38

37

San Antonio

845K

Spurs

52-12

45

Oklahoma City

705K

Thunder

40-23

48

Memphis

694K

Grizzlies

36-30

52

New Orleans

636K

Hornets

38-29

[Guest]

Until Forbes describes how they calculate these values, these numbers are useless. Good for talk, but anyone wanting to get serious knowledge on the value of a franchise would be a fool to take Forbes seriously.

[AHF]

Forbes has the team valued at $270 million. Meruelo agreed to pay $300M for an 80% share of the team so those things don't connect very well.

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2011/10/26/atlanta-hawks-snag-in-asg-sale-to-meruelo/?cxntfid=blogs_hawks

[Joker]

Talk about a great investment opportunity. The Hawks have motivated sellers as owners and the team has now been valued as one of the three cheapest in the NBA. Yet, the market is a top 10 market with a demonstrated interest in watching the NBA. An owner who could bridge the disconnect between the high numbers watching NBA basketball in Atlanta and the low numbers attending games could do great things with this team.

List of NBA Teams and Regular Season Records by Market Size

# Market # of TV Homes Teams Record (as of Mar. 9)

1

New York

7.515M

Knicks

34-29

Nets

20-43

2

Los Angeles

5.667M

Lakers

46-19

Clippers

25-40

3

Chicago

3.503M

Bulls

45-18

4

Philadelphia

3.016M

Sixers

33-31

5

Dallas-Ft. Worth

2.595M

Mavericks

46-18

6

SF/Oak/SJ

2.524M

Warriors

28-36

7

Boston

2.460M

Celtics

46-18

8

Atlanta

2.407M

Hawks

37-27

9

Washington, DC

2.390M

Wizards

16-47

10

Houston

2.177M

Rockets

33-33

11

Detroit

1.884M

Pistons

23-42

12

Phoenix

1.881M

Suns

33-29

15

Minneapolis-St. Paul

1.754M

Timberwolves

16-50

16

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale

1.581M

Heat

43-21

17

Denver

1.573M

Nuggets

37-27

18

Cleveland-Akron

1.526M

Cavaliers

12-52

19

Orlando-Daytona

1.453M

Magic

41-24

20

Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto

1.409M

Kings

15-47

22

Portland

1.198M

Trail Blazers

37-27

23

Charlotte

1.166M

Bobcats

26-38

27

Indianapolis

1.106M

Pacers

27-37

32

Salt Lake City

954K

Jazz

34-31

35

Milwaukee

901K

Bucks

25-38

37

San Antonio

845K

Spurs

52-12

45

Oklahoma City

705K

Thunder

40-23

48

Memphis

694K

Grizzlies

36-30

52

New Orleans

636K

Hornets

38-29

I live in DC, when I lived in Atlanta, most people were fans of other teams and didn't really like the Hawks. In DC, they like the Wizards but cheer for other teams till the Wizards get it together. That's the problem with the Hawks. People don't like them. Atlanta is only like LA. People want to be entertained by stars, not C list actors. Atlanta needs a star. Dwight, Lebron, Wade. Not Smith or Johnson.

[AHF]

I live in DC, when I lived in Atlanta, most people were fans of other teams and didn't really like the Hawks. In DC, they like the Wizards but cheer for other teams till the Wizards get it together. That's the problem with the Hawks. People don't like them. Atlanta is only like LA. People want to be entertained by stars, not C list actors. Atlanta needs a star. Dwight, Lebron, Wade. Not Smith or Johnson.

This is why I think Atlanta is a ripe market for someone to come in and make a big splash. You'd have to change the mentality here and get people excited about the team but it can happen. Look at the Falcons. The Nets ownership situation would be ideal for Atlanta - big Russian mogul paired with Jay Z...tell me that wouldn't rally a lot of interest among Atlanta celebs and free agents.

[Joker]

This is why I think Atlanta is a ripe market for someone to come in and make a big splash. You'd have to change the mentality here and get people excited about the team but it can happen. Look at the Falcons. The Nets ownership situation would be ideal for Atlanta - big Russian mogul paired with Jay Z...tell me that wouldn't rally a lot of interest among Atlanta celebs and free agents.

The Falcons still aren't popular either. They just aren't disliked. The Falcons were popular with Vick which is understandable. He was a superstar.

[DJlaysitup]

The Falcons still aren't popular either. They just aren't disliked. The Falcons were popular with Vick which is understandable. He was a superstar.

I remember back in the 80's when they actually had a bumper sticker that said: "GO BRAVES!!..and take the Falcons with ya!"

Ted Turner had the Braves on TBS all the time promoting them as "America's Team" and they were the sorriest bunch. The Falcons' claim to fame at that time was leading the league in getting punts blocked.

(of course they had many more opportunities for blocks than most teams due to their massive amount of 3-and-outs)

Edited January 27, 2012 by DJlaysitup

[MoBetta]

This franchise is almost the most worthless franchise in the League . How pathetic.

[AHF]

The Falcons still aren't popular either. They just aren't disliked. The Falcons were popular with Vick which is understandable. He was a superstar.

Atlanta is in the top half of the league - with attendance right above the New England Patriots. They are healthily popular and don't have a problem getting positive attention anymore when the team does well. They generally get respect in the media. This is so far improved from the 80's that it is hard to recognize as the same team.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/attendance

I remember back in the 80's when they actually had a bumper sticker that said: "GO BRAVES!!..and take the Falcons with ya!"

Ted Turner had the Braves on TBS all the time promoting them as "America's Team" and they were the sorriest bunch. The Falcons' claim to fame at that time was leading the league in getting punts blocked.

(of course they had many more opportunities for blocks than most teams due to their massive amount of 3-and-outs)

Exactly. It is a new (better) era for the team. The same thing can happen with the Hawks.

[Guest]

I don't give a poop where they rank, it aint my money tied up in the franchise...I watch on TV and go to games for entertainment and to get away from my regular life for 3 hours (changing diapers, cooking and cleaning).

Edited January 27, 2012 by JayBirdHawk