Alex Meruelo has big plans for Atlanta Hawks – NBA News
The soon to be owner and majority share holder of the Atlanta Hawks, Alex Meruelo, is looking to turn things around at the franchise and has already set plans to achieve his lofty goals. Meruelo, who owns a pizza chain in California, is believed to have done a lot of research before agreeing to buy the Hawks and the man believes he can deliver.
The deal which will give Meruelo majority stake, 80 percent, in the Hawks franchise as well as operating rights to the Philips arena is believed to be worth $300 million. The current and soon to be ex-owners, ASG, Atlanta Spirit Group, bought the franchise back in 2004 for a reported $200 million.
However, the Hawks have never been very successful under their stewardship on the court and have run into financial trouble off it. Forbes magazine estimated that the club suffered operating losses amounting to around $7 million. This, despite the team being relatively successful over the last three years and putting on a good show in the playoffs last season against the Orlando Magic and the Chicago Bulls.
President of the sports business consulting firm SportsCorps, Marc Ganis, says it is hard to put a finger down on the exact problem at the Hawks. The franchise has failed to create a consistent fan base and with their lack or super star players it is hard to see how that will change.
“The Hawks have been one of the lesser teams in NBA over long period of time -- with spurts of a difference -- in terms of attendance and consistent fan support," Ganis said. "That offers upside to someone who believes he has the business acumen and marketing ability to turn them around and make them more of a consistent winner and a consistent draw.”
Meruelo seems just the guy to do so.
He has extensive experience of running businesses that deal with the common folk on a daily basis and believes that will come in handy with the Hawks. Meruelo is of the view that being more successful on the court is definitely the way to go forward for the club, but also revealed he had other plans in place.
Alex said that he will try and reach out to the community and the fans in Atlanta to gain their “respect and loyalty” and build a franchise that people can truly relate to. Once that happens, he was confident attendances, merchandise sales, and, subsequently, profits will go up.
“I think that will translate to people wanting to be part of the Hawks and have more excitement and support," he said.
Marc Ganis agreed, “He has to provide a value proposition for fans, not just in terms of money, but their time is at least as important,”
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