Atlanta Spirit, LLC is a partnership headquartered at 101 Marietta St., Atlanta , GA. They own the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers, as well as Philips Arena. The nine partners who comprise the group are Steve Belkin, Michael Gearon, Jr., Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz, J. Rutherford Seydel, Todd Foreman, J. Michael Gearon, Sr., Bud Seretean, and Beau Turner.[1] These nine businessmen are divided into three groups, each headquartered in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Boston, and each group shares equal voting power within the group.
Although Ted Turner is not a part of this group, there are many connections to him: Beau Turner is the youngest son of Ted Turner. J. Rutherford Seydel is a son-in-law of Ted Turner.[2],[3] Michael Gearon Sr. was the general manager (1977-79), president (1977-1986) and chairman of the board (1986-2004) of the Atlanta Hawks under Turner's ownership.[4] Bud Seretean is also a former president and general manager of the Hawks (1975-77) and a former board member of Turner Broadcasting System