"Sometimes a wallflower is a wallflower for a reason: It's just not very appealing. That's one view of the problem facing the beleaguered owners of the Atlanta Thrashers. Try as they might to put a positive spin on the value of their asset, there's no getting around the evidence that the franchise has questionable value in the marketplace of buyers and investors. Unless, perhaps, it's moved out of town. Some sports business executives familiar with the Thrashers and the NHL say it's not hard to understand why the club hasn't yet found either investors or a buyer for the club despite ongoing efforts. The franchise has been a perennial money loser in a market that's remained mostly uninterested in the product and the sport. The Atlanta Spirit group, which owns the Thrashers, has been trying to sell the team for six years, according to a recent lawsuit, and is losing about $20 million yearly. Some local hockey advocates suggest a savior could emerge, possibly an Atlantan with deep pockets, civic pride and a hockey Jones. Such an investor is proving hard to find. Prospects of a financial turnaround at Blueland are outweighed by the likelihood that multi-million dollar losses will continue, observers said. The tough economy makes the odds all the more formidable, though not, some say, impossible. "The Thrashers still offer a good opportunity for a potential buyer under the right circumstances. Atlanta is a big market with a lot of potential [and] the NHL is doing better overall ..." said Kevin Schulz, a partner on the sports industry advisory team at Milwaukee law firm Foley Read more: http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-thrashers/thrashers-a-tough-sell-845944.html
