Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena Win Two Golden Matrix Awards
For Video Production Excellence

Only Organization To Place In Top Three In Five Categories

ATLANTA (Feb. 17, 2005) -- The Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena were honored for video production excellence at the Golden Matrix Awards presentation during the annual Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) conference in Houston, Texas on Feb. 9. The Hawks game operations staff and the Philips Arena?s video production team won the Golden Matrix Award in the Best Overall Video Display - Basketball category for their production created for the team?s 2004-05 NBA season. This is the third time in five years that the Hawks have received top honors in the basketball category.

The team also took top honors for Best Interactive Feature ("For Love or Love of Electronics") and finished in the top-three in three other categories: Best Music Video ("Let's Get it Started"), Best In-Game Feature (ATL Films Presents: "Duke & the Doctor"), and Best Mascot Video ("Desperate Mascots"). No other organization had finalists in five categories.

"We pride ourselves on providing our fans with first-class in-game entertainment," said Atlanta Spirit VP of Marketing, Advertising and Branding Jim Pfeifer. "The work of our talented video production team and game operations staff is consistently creative, cutting-edge and, above-all, entertaining, and these awards confirm that year after year."
The Golden Matrix Awards recognize artistic and technical excellence in electronic display production at events in public assembly facilities, which include arenas, stadiums, racetracks, convention centers and other venues. The honors are awarded based on voting by their colleagues in the industry who are members of the association.

The Hawks Game Operations crew includes: Senior Director of Game Operations Peter Sorckoff of Roswell, Ga.; Manager-Game Operations Ralph Humphlett, Coordinator-Game Presentation Matt Payne, Coordinator-Game Presentation Scott Brooks and Talent Coordinator Donni Frazier ? all of Atlanta. The Philips Arena video production team includes: Director of Video Production David Schindler of Kennesaw, Ga.; Video Production Manager Rob Calia of Woodstock, Ga.; Video Graphics Producer Matt Calvo of Marietta, Ga.; Video Systems Engineer David Bell of Atlanta; and A/V Technician for Video Production Mike Knowles of Hiram, Ga.

At the Golden Matrix Awards, Philips Arena, the Hawks and the NHL?s Atlanta Thrashers have established a tradition of success, regularly capturing honors for game day productions for both teams. In 2004, the production team and Thrashers game operations staff won the Golden Matrix Award in the Best Overall Video Display - Hockey category for their production created for the team?s 2003-04 NHL season. The two also were named a top finalist in the Best In-Game Feature category.

In 2003, the production team won Best Promotional Video and was a top-three finalist in four categories, including Best Show Open, Best Interactive Feature, Best In-Game Feature, and Best Mascot Video. In 2002, the production team won Best Overall Video Display - Basketball and was a finalist in the Best Mascot Video and Best Music Video categories. In 2001, top honors were received for Best Overall Video Display - Basketball and Best Mascot Video, while earning top-three finalist kudos for Best Promotional Video, Best Interactive Feature, and Best Overall Video Display in Hockey. Philips Arena hosted the 2003 IDEA conference. For more information on the Golden Matrix Awards, visit IDEA at www.ideaontheweb.org/GMA.

Named for founding partner Philips Electronics, Philips Arena is consistently ranked among the top 10 concert and event arenas in North America. The operating rights to Philips Arena are owned by Atlanta Spirit LLC, which also owns the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers. Philips Arena is online at www.PhilipsArena.com.