Business Types React To The Loss Of The Thrashers

from Leon Stafford and Dan Chapman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kennesaw State University associate professor and sports economist J.C. Bradbury said the decision wasn?t a shock, given the circumstances.

?Hockey is a northern sport,? he said. ?It?s hot down there. I don?t think anyone is surprised hockey had trouble, especially because the team has not been great and the ownership situation is not popular with fans.?

City hospitality and business leaders tried to keep a stiff upper lip over the loss?.

Greg Rancone, director of marketing for Legacy Property Group, said fans packed the company?s restaurants?Stats, Der Biergarten and Max?s Coal Oven Pizzeria.

?Hockey fans are very loyal and very consistent,? he said. ?We would see the same faces over and over again. And that was over 40 [home] games. That?s pretty formidable.?

Atlanta is losing the Thrashers to a Canadian province that is home to 1.2 million people, or just one-fourth the population of metro Atlanta. Winnipeg, the Cree Indian word for ?muddy waters,? boasted an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent in 2010.

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Source: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/business_types_react_to_the_loss_of_the_thrashers/

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