But he said, "I will be in complete control of the team."
The team's current ownership group declined to discuss the sale agreement Sunday. Bruce Levenson, the lead owner in the negotiations with Meruelo, said in an email to the AJC: "This is Alex's time, and as such I won't be commenting."
Although his primary residence and business will remain in Southern California, Meruelo said he plans to spend a lot of time in Atlanta and to buy a home here.
"If you look at my previous ... business ventures, I'm very hands-on, and this will be no different," he said.
Asked if there is any scenario in which he would seek to move the Hawks out of Atlanta, Meruelo said: "Absolutely no. None."
He also said: "I want to bring a championship to the city of Atlanta."
Owning an NBA team, he said, "has been a dream of mine and a passion, and you'll definitely see that as I become, hopefully, the owner in a short period of time."
The Atlanta Spirit Group – initially led by Steve Belkin of Boston, Levenson and Ed Peskowitz of Washington and Michael Gearon Jr. of Atlanta –- bought the Hawks, Thrashers and Philips Arena rights from Time Warner in 2004. The group soon became mired in a bitter internal fight that pitted Belkin against his partners. A five-year legal battle finally ended in December when the estranged Belkin was bought out by his partners
