Working to make winning a tradition - Bud & Koonin in AJC

[asdogg]

Can someone pls post summary

[lethalweapon3]

I figured somebody would've beaten me to it in another post, but here it is, a "response" from Bud and Koonin, via the editorial section of today's AJC:

 

http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/working-to-make-winning-a-tradition/nm6FS/#c5724157.3815022.735804

 

Traditionally, the third Monday of June is like New Years Day in the NBA. Like many of us, we at the Hawks use this time to reflect on last year and look ahead to our future. However, things feel very different this year, even after one of the Hawks’ most successful seasons on- and off-the-court.

 

We had many firsts — winning the Southeast Division title by posting 60 regular season wins, earning the Eastern Conference’s top seed in the playoffs, posting a franchise-best 19-game winning streak, and ultimately, reaching the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The strong support from our fans this past season also set records for the club, with increases in attendance, ratings, and digital traffic.

 

In this new year, we have already gotten off to a good start by retaining existing players and adding new ones as well as the unveiling of our new uniforms and colors. Also, both of us are thrilled to have a new ownership group. Led by Tony Ressler and Grant Hill, this group consists of members with a diversity of backgrounds and experience, including a number based here in Atlanta. This group has a clear vision for the club and the enthusiasm and resources to support that vision. We have spent considerable time with ownership, and together, we are focused on building a winning tradition, running the best possible business, and being a source of civic pride and a true asset to our community.

 

To build a winning tradition, the Hawks will continue to assemble a roster with players that are high character, competitive, and committed to being team players. Our ownership group supports this effort and is committed to providing the resources necessary to retain existing players and secure free agents by making Atlanta an attractive destination, including by investing in a new practice facility and locker rooms.

 

Running the best possible business means focusing on providing the best fan experience. We are immediately working to deliver better and broader food options at Philips Arena and working with the city to improve traffic flow. In addition, we are focused on offering attractive ticket prices and season packages and securing valuable corporate sponsorships and advertising that are commensurate with a great and growing city like Atlanta. Over the long term, our owners recognize the need to either refurbish or rebuild Philips Arena, and we appreciate the city’s continued effort to improve the vibrant downtown area.

 

All of our efforts need to enhance the club as a source of civic pride by building bridges through basketball. Just this summer, we have committed to renovating five basketball courts in metro Atlanta, including Welcome All Park in South Fulton, which was dedicated this past Friday — and we have hosted basketball clinics and camps with our community partners for more than 2,000 boys and girls around the city as part of our mission to increase access for metro Atlanta’s youth to play, grow and learn life and leadership skills through basketball. We expect everyone at the Hawks, especially our players and coaches, to serve as ambassadors to the community by using their status to support our core values. This even applies on a global level, as I participate as an assistant coach next weekend at the first-ever NBA Game in Africa.

 

We are confident that if everyone at the Club does their part, Atlanta will be recognized as one of America’s great basketball cities, a fact we already know is true. Our job is to continue to build our franchise as a civic asset through instilling a winning tradition, strengthening our relationship with our fans and sponsors, and actively providing leadership in the community. We are committed to our players — a certain type of player, to a style of play, prudent business management and energetic civic involvement. These are the qualities that the entire organization is committed to and will give us our greatest chance for sustained success.

 

Steve Koonin is CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and Mike Budenholzer is president of basketball operations and head coach.

 

 

 

The editorial "response" is to the AJC Editorial Board's opinion piece, "A Season of Hope, Not Dread, Awaits", with the byline, "New ownership and a run to the conference finals give Atlantans reasons to be optimistic that more success is in the Hawks' future."

 

~lw3

[Guest]

I figured somebody would've beaten me to it in another post, but here it is, a "response" from Bud and Koonin, via the editorial section of today's AJC:

 

http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/working-to-make-winning-a-tradition/nm6FS/#c5724157.3815022.735804

 

 

 

The editorial "response" is to the AJC Editorial Board's opinion piece, "A Season of Hope, Not Dread, Awaits", with the byline, "New ownership and a run to the conference finals give Atlantans reasons to be optimistic that more success is in the Hawks' future."

 

~lw3

This newfound partnership with the Hawks and AJC is strange. Not sure how I feel about it.

[lethalweapon3]

This newfound partnership with the Hawks and AJC is strange. Not sure how I feel about it.

 

I wanted one of the Anne Chambers Cox/Barbara Cox Anthony heirs to buy the Hawks around this time last year. It seems we've got the same side-effect even without the Cox family running the show.

 

~lw3

[Guest]

I wonder if this means that Bark Madly no longer "covers" the Hawks? He's always a putz, very predictable in hating any and everything the Hawks have done without actually knowing who is on the team. That type of journalism is just awful, might as well be talk radio. I just hope the AJC doesn't do a total 180 and only puts out praise and positive vibes even in the face of bad moves...wait scratch that because I actually hope the new ownership isn't making the same doofus moves as the last.

[lethalweapon3]

I wonder if this means that Bark Madly no longer "covers" the Hawks? He's always a putz, very predictable in hating any and everything the Hawks have done without actually knowing who is on the team. That type of journalism is just awful, might as well be talk radio. I just hope the AJC doesn't do a total 180 and only puts out praise and positive vibes even in the face of bad moves...wait scratch that because I actually hope the new ownership isn't making the same doofus moves as the last.

 

 

Actually, Madly's scribble has the prime-time spot on today's Sunday sports section. ("Hawks' location is right on target: New arena or not, site downtown is perfect fit.") Smoltzie's HOF gets second-billing on the left side. So we may indeed be in the Sunny-Side-Up phase of editorializing for now.

 

~lw3

[Guest]

Actually, Madly's scribble has the prime-time spot on today's Sunday sports section. ("Hawks' location is right on target: New arena or not, site downtown is perfect fit.") Smoltzie's HOF gets second-billing on the left side. So we may indeed be in the Sunny-Side-Up phase of editorializing for now.

~lw3

Lol ...Madly :-)

[Guest]

Actually, Madly's scribble has the prime-time spot on today's Sunday sports section. ("Hawks' location is right on target: New arena or not, site downtown is perfect fit.") Smoltzie's HOF gets second-billing on the left side. So we may indeed be in the Sunny-Side-Up phase of editorializing for now.

 

~lw3

Wait...are you serious? Bark put down a positive article? What in the world is happening with this partnership I can't even comprehend this. It certainly doesn't bode well for my cynical attitude towards the media, they aren't there to inform but are there to just make a big stink about something or enhance the political prowess of a group or say whatever the f*** they want without much knowledge/truth behind it.

Argh. I guess this makes me wonder what it was that the A$G did to piss off the AJC before...I hope it was all because of the Gearons being total dickheads.

[atlhawks1]

REBUILD Phillips Arena......thats the ONLY part i didnt like..........lmao. Move the location of arena to a new area, dont rebuild PHILLIPS, make a new arena.

[hazer]

A Phillips renovation would be ideal. The place is only 15 years old, right next to the new Falcs stadium, is in the same spot as the famed Omni, is on the doorstep of Centennial Park, and essentially has MARTA in the basement. The Civic Center site is an AWESOME alternative in my opinion, however. The 3rd unnamed site, according to Reed, is also in the city limits. So good news all around, this ownership group seems to "get it." Is anyone as excited as I am to have Grant Hill as the new face of Hawks ownership?

[AHF]

I'm about 10000000x happier than if it was Laettner. Does that count?

[lethalweapon3]

A Phillips renovation would be ideal. The place is only 15 years old, right next to the new Falcs stadium, is in the same spot as the famed Omni, is on the doorstep of Centennial Park, and essentially has MARTA in the basement. The Civic Center site is an AWESOME alternative in my opinion, however. The 3rd unnamed site, according to Reed, is also in the city limits. So good news all around, this ownership group seems to "get it." Is anyone as excited as I am to have Grant Hill as the new face of Hawks ownership?

 

While I don't know the mystery third site, my hunch is Reed is pulling for a Civic Center option. Not necessarily the Civic Center/SciTrek site itself (I still can't pronounce "Boisfeuillet," no matter how hard I try), but some area around the MARTA station, maybe even something hovering over the Interstate. This stretch between North Avenue (Midtown) and Baker Street (Downtown)  has long been seen as an impediment to redevelopment and tourist activity along this stretch of Peachtree, and Reed would love to sow the seeds toward breaking through that dam.

 

We always used to joke that MARTA trains should include one of those bus cords whenever someone actually wants to get off at Civic Center station. But it's much busier now during peak hours. These days, it's a central bus depot for the state-authority-run suburban bus routes, as well as Megabus, however long that lasts.

 

Plus, as hazer knows, the Civic Center station area has hit a few home runs lately: the revitalization of what's now Ivan Allen Blvd. with swanky hotels and offices, an infinitely better pedestrian streetscape connection across the interstate Downtown Connector to Centennial Olympic Park and the museums, a stronger commitment by Emory University to the buildings around the former Crawford Long Hospital. Even the notorious Peachtree-Pine shelter has stabilized for now, now that the owner scrounged together enough donations to pay off that pesky half-billion dollar water bill.

 

Two big dominoes the City has to deal with to make either a station-area site or the current Civic Center site feasible include: coaxing the shelter to relocate (good luck with that now), or sustaining its stabilization so its patrons aren't hanging out in/on nearby streets; and finding a developer to renovate the Medical Arts building, a decades-long empty hulk of a historic building at Peachtree and Ivan Allen that fell victim to freeway expansion back in the 80's. A hotel developer bought it about a decade ago but it needs somebody with deep pockets and vision like the infamous Winecoff building's investors further downtown.

 

Renovating the current site sounds good to me, but there's some big variables around Philips as well. Would Ressler be willing to partner with GDOT to finally make that joint-development mirage known as the Gulch (across the street from Philips) a reality? Also, how long until Time Warner bails CNN news and web operations completely out of Atlanta (CNN's NYC relocation to Hudson Yards will be complete in 2018), and what would that do to the CNN Center property neighboring the arena? Might a casino prefer a site next to/near Philips to the one being bandied about at Underground?

 

~lw3

[hazer]

I think some (shell) form of CNN will always be at that site, being the original launching pad for the network. And I've read MGM has looked pretty intensely at the Gulch site for their casino. A refurb'd Phillips directly across from Centennial Park and a casino complex would be strong. Also, concerning the Civic Center site, like LW3 mentions I believe the Ralph McGill overpass is 1 of the 2 bridgescape enhancements about to get underway. Interested to find out what the 3rd intown site is...

[Dejay]

I wasn't surprised at all by Mayor Reed playing his Civic Center card as an option. That has been a sticking point for years, especially considering how many venues of its' size and larger have sprung up in the metro area since it was built. Come to think about it, here is how I see things going down...

Although I wouldn't mind the Hawks staying where they are, I have a sneaky feeling that a 'wink wink' deal will be done to move them to Midtown by 2018 so the Civic Center question can finally be put to bed (hosting Family Feud isn't THAT important, folks). The Hawks have their brand-new digs and City Hall will have one less albatross to bail out. But the real domino to fall won't be this deal...

That might come in 2017 after Nathan Deal leaves the Governor's mansion. If by some minor miracle gambling was ever put to a state-wide vote to help out the HOPE scholarship and the metro's grossly under-funded transportation plans, you can bet the ranch that it would pass in lieu of higher taxes and/or toll booths. And with the possibility of Time Warner taking what remnants of CNN left here to NYC, that leaves not only Philips Arena but the entire CNN complex empty. You don't really think that a casino developer would pass on those two chunks of property, do you? Two properties (with one already having a functional hotel in existence) that's within spitting distance of a brand new, billion plus-dollar NFL stadium, the world's largest aquarium, the College Football Hall of Fame, Centennial Park, the World of Coca-Cola, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights? You would see casino folks from Vegas tackling each other at McCarran to get on the first plane to Atlanta in order to cut a deal. Underground would be sure to get in on the action since it's bleeding $$$ as we speak. If that doesn't wake up the folks at GDOT to move on their depot plans at the gulch, nothing will.

Pipe dreams of course but then again...

[hazer]

Midtown starts at North/Ponce, the Civic Center is on the border of Old 4th Ward and Downtown ;)

[Dejay]

Midtown starts at North/Ponce, the Civic Center is on the border of Old 4th Ward and Downtown ;)

LOL, you're right. Give me an 'E' for effort, an 'F' for directions...

[hazer]

Don't sweat it, I've had several friends say the exact same thing. The close proximity is a good thing really, it's pretty much at the tri-section of Downtown, O4W, and Midtown. Three of the hottest areas, and a perfect spot for an arena if they don't renovate Phillips.