Atlanta Spirit, LLC
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| Private | |
| Industry | Sports, property management |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Products | Professional sports teams, arenas |
| Owner | Seven businessmen (Majority Owner: Bruce Levenson & Michael Gearon Jr. ) |
| Subsidiaries | Atlanta Thrashers (2004-2011) Atlanta Hawks (2004-2015) |
Atlanta Hawks, LLC (formerly known as Atlanta Spirit LLC) was an Atlanta, Georgia-based parent company formerly the holder of the franchise of the Atlanta Hawks, a professional basketball team in the NBA, and the Atlanta Thrashers, a former professional hockey team in the NHL. The Atlanta Spirit LLC name was changed to Atlanta Hawks, LLC on March 14, 2014.
Atlanta Spirit LLC was originally composed of three companies: a Boston-based company (run by Steve Belkin), an Atlanta-based company (composed of J. Rutherford Seydel, Todd Foreman, J. Michael Gearon, Sr., Beau Turner and Bud Seretean) and a Washington, D.C.-based company (composed of Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman). The Boston-based company was bought out by the Atlanta and Washington, D.C. groups in 2010 following conflicts between the three groups.
Bud Seretean died in 2007. In 2014, Levenson announced he would sell his share of the company; however, by January 2015, every partner in the ownership group agreed to sell their stakes in the team, putting the entire franchise up for sale.
In 2004, Atlanta Spirit LLC bought the Atlanta Thrashers, Atlanta Hawks, and operating rights to Philips Arena from Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting System.
In the summer of 2005, the Atlanta Hawks finalized a trade with the Phoenix Suns to obtain shooting guard Joe Johnson for Boris Diaw and two protected future first-round picks. While this trade met with the approval of the majority of the ownership group, it was rejected by Belkin, who held a controlling vote as the Hawks Governor within the group. This triggered legal proceedings to force Belkin out of the group. On December 23, 2010, the group led by Gearon and Levenson announced they had bought out Belkin's ownership share in Atlanta Spirit LLC. This elevated the Washington-based company shares to more than 50 percent and effective control of the group.
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