Is Atlanta a bad sports town?

Posted 6:14AM on Saturday 26th June 2004 ( 20 years ago )

ATLANTA - The Braves have trouble selling out playoff games. The Hawks had the worst attendance in the NBA. Philips Arena was half-filled during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Then again, Atlanta must be doing something right, hosting the Olympics, Super Bowls, Final Fours and the PGA Championship. So, is this a bad sports town? Well, that depends on your point of view. Atlanta certainly doesn't have the same passion for its pro teams as, say, a New York or Chicago. Even the city's most successful franchise the Braves, with 12 straight division titles in baseball has endured slumping attendance six years in a row. Then again, the University of Georgia in nearby Athens has no trouble filling 92,000 seats for every football game, with much of their fan base drawn from the Atlanta area. In fact, the Bulldogs recently had to turn back thousands of season ticket requests because of strong demand. San Diego Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman probably summed it up best for Atlanta as a whole when rating Braves' fans ``somewhere in the middle.'' ``Compare them to Montreal, and they'll come out smelling like a rose,'' Hoffman said. The Expos are planning to move because of chronically poor attendance. While none of Atlanta's four major league teams are on the verge of moving, the less-successful teams have struggled to draw fans. The woebegone Hawks, who haven't made the playoffs since 1999, resort to promoting the other teams ``Hey, come see Yao Ming!'' in a bid to boost attendance. Even so, they averaged just 13,798 this past season, more than 500 a game less than the next-worst team. The Thrashers have never made the NHL playoffs and, not surprisingly, their attendance has suffered. Even with a 12 percent increase this year to 15,121 per game, they still ranked just 22nd in the 30-team league. The Hawks, Thrashers and rights to Philips Arena were sold collectively in March for $250 million less than some teams have sold for alone. On the other hand, Arthur Blank paid $545 million for the Falcons, who have made a habit of selling out every game since the owner slashed ticket prices. It doesn't hurt to have Michael Vick, perhaps the most dynamic player in the NFL. There are other areas that give a favorable reading on Atlanta's passion meter most notably, college football. Georgia's Sanford Stadium has undergone several expansions in a futile attempt to keep up with demand, transforming it into one of the largest football arenas in the country. Georgia Tech, in downtown Atlanta, expanded Bobby Dodd Stadium before last season and averaged more than 52,000 per game. Elsewhere, more than 100,000 fans routinely turn out for both of Atlanta Motor Speedway's two NASCAR races each year. The city also has successful, long-running stops on both the PGA and LPGA golf tours. On a grander scale, Atlanta has been a mecca for numerous big-time events, highlighted by the 1996 Summer Olympics. The Super Bowl has been to the Georgia Dome twice. The men's Final Four was at the Dome in 2002, followed a year later by the women's Final Four. The PGA Championship was held at Atlanta Athletic Club in '01, and the season-ending Tour Championship makes regular appearances at East Lake Golf Club. Baseball and basketball brought their All-Star games to the city, and hockey's planning to do the same in 2005 (if there's a season). With four major league teams, two big-time college programs, arena football, minor league hockey and numerous lakes and golf courses, there's no shortage of sports options in metro Atlanta. Ryan Klesko, who played eight seasons for the Braves, said Atlanta's baseball fans have become fickle after watching their team win all those division titles and continually fall short in the playoffs. ``Getting tickets was tough the first year they went in '91. Ten years later, when they go every year, it's a lot easier,'' said Klesko, now with the San Diego Padres. ``If they don't go to the playoffs for three or four years, then go again, I guarantee they'll sell out.'' And, in all fairness, the Braves have drawn more than 2 million fans for 13 consecutive seasons. Michael Gearon Jr., who has been attending Hawks games since age 4, is part of the Atlanta Spirit group that purchased the NBA and NHL teams. He said it's essential to have an exciting, winning team because of the city's huge number of transients, ``who tend to follow the team they grew up with.'' The Braves have tried to take advantage of that phenomenon, once marketing themselves as ``America's team'' and televising more than half their games nationally on the TBS cable network. Many Atlantans who were born elsewhere especially those from cities without a major league team have a long-standing kinship with the team. ``I was kind of a fan before I came to Atlanta,'' said Neil Mahoney, who regularly watched the Braves growing up in Heber City, Utah. ``I try to come a couple of times a year.'' While better marketing can bring in more fans, winning is the best tool, of course. In that respect, Atlanta's pro teams are lacking. The Braves are the only major league team to bring home a championship, winning the World Series in 1995. Even that triumph has been overshadowed by the team's myriad playoff failures. ``People tend to favor the teams that are winning all the time,'' said Ashley Dunn, a Thrashers fan from suburban Stockbridge. Some Braves are worried about the future of that team. Ownership has scaled back payroll, failing to re-sign Greg Maddux, Gary Sheffield and Javy Lopez after the 12th straight division title. With lower-priced replacements, Atlanta has struggled in the first half this season. Frank Redding, who operates a parking lot next to Turner Field, said his sales are down, and he wonders if things will turn around. ``The Braves sacrificed players in order to cut costs, and it's probably going to come back and get them,'' he said. ``The fans are ticked.''

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/6/157084