By TIM TUCKER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

At the end of the first intermission of a recent Gwinnett Gladiators game came a proud accounting of the minor league hockey team's success in the shadow of major league sports.

The public address system reminded fans that the Gladiators had clinched a playoff berth for the fifth consecutive season — "the longest current streak of any Atlanta professional team!"

The Gladiators have made the playoffs five straight years.
 
Take that, all you millionaires on the Braves, Falcons, Hawks and Thrashers.

For more than 40 years, downtown Atlanta has been the region's home of major league sports. It still is. But the metro area's second pro sports market has developed in Gwinnett County, just up the road from the big leaguers:

• The Gladiators are in their fifth season playing at the Gwinnett Arena, not only reaching the playoffs each year but also turning a profit and annually ranking near the top of their league in attendance.

• The Georgia Force, an Arena Football League team, played downtown the past three seasons.

• The Atlanta Vision, a minor league basketball team, moved from DeKalb County two years ago, playing this season at the Gwinnett Convention Center.

• And the Atlanta Braves' top minor league affiliate will relocate from Richmond next year, setting up shop in a new stadium to be built by the county 37 miles north of Turner Field.

Gwinnett has become a prime player in the national trend of bringing minor league teams into major league markets — a trend driven by population growth patterns, traffic woes and consumer demand for budget-friendly, kid-friendly entertainment.

As a minor league team in a major league market, "there is some credibility you have to build up," said Steve Chapman, the Gladiators' president and general manager. "But looking at the sheer number of people that live in the north metro area — and knowing the issues Atlanta has with traffic— I had a feeling that if we did this right, it would work. And luckily it has."

Modest prices, decent returns

The Gladiators, who open the playoffs next week, have averaged about 5,500 fans per game the past five seasons, often drawing 8,000 to 9,000 for prime Saturday night dates, Chapman said. Their average ticket price is about $15, compared with the Thrashers' $41. This season, their attendance ranks fifth in the 25-team ECHL, a Class AA league with franchises scattered from Elmira, N.Y., to Anchorage, Alaska.

The Gladiators have turned a "decent" profit in each of the past five seasons, Chapman said, and that is more than some of Atlanta's major league teams can claim.

"You don't get into minor league sports if you want to have a huge windfall year to year," Chapman said. "But if you want to run a smart business ... you can get a decent return."

What's happening in Gwinnett mirrors what is happening in, among other places, Frisco, Texas. There, 30 miles north of Dallas, minor league baseball and hockey teams and a Major League Soccer franchise have set up shop in new venues within the past five years.

In New York, the Yankees and Mets have added minor league teams in Staten Island and Coney Island, respectively. In New England, the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins have their top minor league affiliates about 40 miles away. The Seattle Mariners' AAA team plays 30 miles away in Tacoma.

Meanwhile, in Gwinnett, more teams might come. Falcons and Force owner Arthur Blank is considering sites in Gwinnett and other metro Atlanta counties for a possible Major League Soccer franchise. And Chapman said he has been approached by people wanting to put MLS and indoor lacrosse teams, among other things, in Gwinnett.

The Gladiators are the most entrenched of Gwinnett's teams, having become a high-profile part of the community since relocating from Mobile — a more traditional minor league market — in 2003.

Force flip-flop back to suburbs

The Force, on the other hand, have had trouble deciding whether to be city dwellers or suburbanites since moving to metro Atlanta from Nashville in 2002.

The Force played their first season downtown, moved to Gwinnett for the next two seasons, then back downtown for three seasons, and now back to Gwinnett — apparently to stay this time, signing a 10-year lease.

Force president Dick Sullivan said his team's latest return to Gwinnett reflects a recognition that the 11,000-seat arena there is a better fit than 19,000-seat Philips Arena.

"It's interesting, and great for Atlanta, that we have a variety of venues, not just for sports but for concerts and [other] entertainment," said Sullivan, also executive vice president of the Falcons. "Does Gwinnett compete with Philips? Probably all [venues] compete to some degree. But what it makes is a more convenient and better lifestyle for everybody."

Braves' resistance melts

It was the Braves' surprising decision in January to relocate their Class AAA team from Richmond into a new stadium to be built near the Mall of Georgia that provided a definitive measure of the merging of major league and minor league sports in metro Atlanta.

At first, the Braves scoffed at the idea of putting a minor league team so close — "due to the assumption the minor league team could materially impact the [Atlanta] Braves' ability to draw attendance from Gwinnett County, an area which is integral to the Braves' ongoing viability," a county-commissioned feasibility study reported last year.

But the same study, by Minnesota-based consultant CSL International, helped change the Braves' thinking about the co-existence.

The study included a poll of Gwinnett residents in which 85 percent said a minor league team would not impact their attendance at Atlanta Braves games.

"I guess that research was an epiphany moment for us," Braves executive vice president of business operations Mike Plant said.

The poll asked Gwinnett residents who attended fewer than 10 Braves games the previous season their reason for not going more often. The most common responses were "traffic congestion," "too far" and "too expensive." The implication was that the Braves, by selling tickets to a cheaper and closer alternative, might gain more in new revenue than they would lose in existing revenue.

"If we do this right and cross-promote, we can add value to both of our organizations," Plant said.

"I don't think it's going to replace going to Turner Field for people who go there," said Lee Baker, a Gwinnett resident for 30-plus years and an avid sports fan. "But I think there are still a substantial amount of people who do not go downtown."

The more the merrier

The conclusion the Braves reached — even if pushed to it by Richmond's deteriorating stadium and Gwinnett's sweet offer of a $45 million ballpark — is the same that the Gladiators and Thrashers have reached in five years of co-existence.

"I actually think having an additional hockey team in the marketplace is helpful," said Lou DePaoli, the Thrashers' chief marketing officer. "It's maybe a way for people to get their first taste of hockey. That may spur them to come down and see the big club."

"We don't consider ourselves in competition with the Thrashers," said the Gladiators' Chapman, who views the NHL and ECHL "almost like two different things."

Although the Gladiators are the Thrashers' Class AA affiliate, the teams are separately owned and operated. The Gwinnett Braves, on the other hand, will be owned and operated by the Atlanta Braves.

The Gladiators figure that about 25 percent of the people who attend their games are serious hockey fans and the rest are just looking for a night out with family or friends. The bulk of the cars in the parking lot at a recent game bore Gwinnett license plates, but tags from 14 other counties also were spotted, from Fulton to Habersham.

Speaking of parking, it's free at Gladiators and Force games — another sharp differentiator between the teams and the major leaguers down I-85.

GROWING LINEUP

A look at professional sports in Gwinnett County:

• Gladiators: Hockey team plays in the ECHL; qualified for playoffs

• Vision: Minor league basketball team plays at the Gwinnett Center

• Force: Arena Football League squad off to 2-3 start

• Braves: Class AAA affiliate moving from Richmond

By David Friedlander
Staff Writer - Gwinnett Daily Post

Like any good businessman, Quentin Townsend knows it is usually good business to listen to one's customers.

That is exactly what the co-owner of the Atlanta Vision franchise in the American Basketball Association has done as the team prepares for its home opene.

After a successful season at the Suwanee Sports Academy, the Vision has moved its home games to the Exhibit Hall of the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, beginning with Friday's 7:30 p.m. tipoff with the Georgia Gwizzlies.

"Last year, the fans kept telling us there were three things they wanted (from the gameday experience) - beer sales, cushioned-back seats and more beer sales," said Townsend, who, along with his wife and co-owner Akilah Townsend, resides in Snellville.

"We listen to our fans. The Gwinnett Center gives us those things and credibility.

"Gwinnett is about success. We knew it would take time and credibility for the county to get to know us."

The county began to get to know the Vision last year, when the team drew an average of about 1,000 fans per game at the Suwanee Sports Academy after moving there following two seasons at the Samson Center in Lithonia.

And Townsend is hoping more Gwinnettians will get to know the Vision at a Gwinnett Center configuration that will be able to hold more than twice the number of fans this season.

"At the exhibit hall, we have the ability to set up in different configurations - from as small as 500 seats to 1,000 to up to 3,500," Townsend said. "It's a major upgrade, and we're excited about doing this in Gwinnett."

Townsend and the rest of the Vision also hope to excite the team's fans with a solid brand of basketball this season.

The Vision's general manager, former Georgia Tech and NBA standout Dennis Scott, and head coach Bruce Kreutzer have a 19-player roster dotted with players who have ties to Gwinnett County.

Former Gwinnett prep standouts B.J. Puckett (Dacula), Marcus Sims (South Gwinnett), Richard Walker and Michael Konanec (both of Berkmar) are part of the nucleus of a team hopeful of qualifying for the ABA playoffs this spring.

And Puckett, for one, believes fans who take in Vision games this season will be treated to an exciting brand of basketball, and he is looking forward to continuing his professional career near his hometown.

"The level of talent in the ABA is slept on by a lot of people," said the 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward, who joins the Vision after playing professionally the last three seasons in places like China, Finland, Mexico and Portugal after a college career that saw him earn junior college all-American status at Truett-McConnell and All-Peach Belt Conference honors at Clayton State. "There are a lot of quality players who have slipped through the cracks, and it's a high level of competition.

"My main goal is to win, and in the process, better myself and build my career. It is a bit of a stepping stone, but it's a perfect situation for me to play pro ball in my own backyard."

Friday night's game will actually be the third for the Vision, who stand in third place in the Blue Conference's South Division after a win over the Gwizzlies - who were originally slated to play at the Gwinnett Center, but eventually wound up in Macon - and two losses to Beijing Aoshen Olympian in China last month.

And like Puckett, Townsend believes fans will like what they see on the court as the Vision try to move up in the standings.

"It's a notch below the NBA's developmental league," Townsend said. "But it's more competitive than the (Continental Basketball Association). It's a much faster paced game."

Think you've got game? Take Your Best Shot at the Gwinnett Business Shoot Out!

It's the battle of the boardrooms as Gwinnett's business leaders battle it out for the most coveted title in the county: The MVG -- Most Valuable Gwinnettian.

The Atlanta Vision hosts the November 15 Business After Hours ABA-style -- with maximum fun and maximum crowd participation. Step up and take your best shot in this one-of-a-kind Gwinnett Business Shoot Out free throw contest. Vision players and staff -- and the Vision Ladies -- will be on hand to cheer you on. (Bring a crowd from the office, too!)

Don't miss this high-energy event and your sneak preview of The Atlanta's Vision upcoming season at the Gwinnett Center. The 2006 ABA Division Champions are ready for innovative "3-D" action in their new Gwinnett home.

The Atlanta Vision and its sponsors are committed to the success and wellness of the Gwinnett community through Vision of Excellence, Pro Hoops in the Community, youth clinics and outreach activities. Vision sponsors include Hilton Atlanta Northeast, LIFETIME Fitness, Gwinnett Place Auto Mall, The PROCESS - Institute of Cosmetology and SCORE Atlanta.

Enjoy the best value in sports entertainment with electrifying, up close, above the rim ABA action for the entire family. Affordable, quality entertainment with a showcase of local talent. Fans not only see the Vision; they become a part of it!

Think you've got game? Take Your Best Shot at the Gwinnett Business Shoot Out!
The November 15 Business After Hours takes it to the boards with The Atlanta Vision, Gwinnettt's Professional Basketball Experience

Thursday, November 15, 2007
5:00 - 7:00 pm (note time change)
The Gwinnett Center, Exhibition Hall A
6400 Sugarloaf Parkway
Duluth 30097

At six foot eight inches tall, it is no surprise that Quentin Townsend had a talent for basketball in high school and college, but his goal was always to be a successful entrepreneur.

That vision became reality when less than three months after purchasing the Atlanta American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise at mid season in late December 2004, Townsend renamed the team Atlanta Vision and recharged it into one of the most dynamic ABA franchises in the league.

"Basketball trained me in a competitive sense but also in the dedication it takes to win," Townsend said.  This year, the team takes its next big step, moving to Gwinnett Center, with seven home games played at local schools with 50 percent of proceeds benefiting the school.
Before moving to Atlanta in 2003, Townsend and his wife and Atlanta Vision partner, Akilah Townsend, were successful Realtors in Romeoville, Ill.

The Townsends also have founded Vision of Excellence, a nonprofit program that teaches healthy habits to overweight girls ages 8 to 13.

"Quentin is a larger-than-life kind of person," said Kelly Greer, principal with Tillman Allen Greer, which publishes the Gwinnett Business Journal. "He's a big guy to start with, but he's so full of energy and ideas."

As for Townsend's next ambition, he said he wants to own an NBA franchise and his own arena, a goal he may achieve soon as he hopes to acquire a 50-year land lease on the 8,200-seat Stone Mountain Stadium.  Townsend looks to revitalize the open air stadium by placing a roof on the facility, changing the name to the Gwinnett Community Dome, and creating an entertainment village for family shows, sporting events, concerts, civic gatherings, and local championship tournaments.