The Hawks want a new arena. That much was clear two hours after Tony Ressler took ownership. In his meeting with us AJC types, he said: “There’s do-nothing. There’s remodel. Or there’s a new arena. Do-nothing is not an option.”
New owner wants a new building. In other news, the Pope isn’t Presbyterian.
But before we get into another downtown-versus-suburbs debate, let’s be clear: The Hawks aren’t leaving Atlanta, and there’s every chance this new place will stand where Philips Arena is. It could well be a spiffied-up Philips Arena.
On June 24, the Hawks’ sale to Ressler was approved by the NBA’s board of governors. Barely 24 hours later, the man from California was speaking of Atlanta infrastructure. He mentioned the Gulch, that unlovely expanse of railroad tracks and parking lots adjacent to Philips Arena and CNN Center. An owner for all of a day, he’d done his homework.
Twenty-one years ago, another Hawks management team did its homework. On May 13, 1994, Stan Kasten — then president of the Hawks and Braves — stood in a conference room at The Omni hotel and said: “Eighty percent (of Hawks ticket-buyers) come from north of this building … I don’t think (moving to the Perimeter or beyond) would hurt our business.”
Kasten and his associates had made plans to exit downtown. A parcel of land off Georgia 400 was the buzzed-about new destination. But Ted Turner, then the Hawks’ owner, stepped in and said, “We’re staying downtown.” (Legend holds that Ted, who had a penthouse apartment in CNN Center, wanted to walk to games.)
