Lots of empty seats in Atlanta and they're talking re-signing Millsap for $200 million? Hokay.
That's always been Atlanta though. Nique couldn't fill the Omni back in the day except for a couple years. Only six times in the last thirty years have the Hawks been in the top twenty in attendance, they've finished 25th or lower like fifteen times or something insane.
The fact that the same ownership said "hey, we should totally start an NHL team even though nobody comes to the NBA games" and then they all sued each other over Joe Johnson's contract was great.
Despite the god awful attendance I don't think they actually ever lose money. They wound up selling the Hawks for $850 million. The Spirit LLC inherited the team from Ted Turner and basically only had paid for Philips Arena. (edit: $210 million, with some % paid for by the City of Atlanta...apparently it's the third busiest concert venue in the United States so that's where they make the money plus WWE/UFC/etc.)
On November 1, 2016, the Hawks and the city of Atlanta have reached an financing agreement on renovating Philips Arena, with the city contributing $142.5 million and the Hawks $50 million to the project. With the renovation, the Hawks signed a lease extension lasting through 2046, with a $200 million early termination penalty.
I'm not convinced Atlanta Spirit LLC wasn't an elaborate money laundering operation. Kara explain.
