Braves leaving Atlanta for Cobb County

[John]

Whoa, this is a bit of a surprise:
http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/braves-plan-to-build-new-stadium-in-cobb/nbpNQ/

The Atlanta Braves plan to build a new stadium in Cobb County and move there from Turner Field at the start of the 2017 season, team officials said Monday.

Braves executives John Schuerholz, Mike Plant and Derek Schiller, in a meeting with a small group of reporters, said the new ballpark will be built at the northwest intersection of I-75 and I-285 in the Galleria/Cumberland Mall area. They said the team has “secured” approximately 60 acres of land for the project.

If you live in the Atlanta and frequent Turner field, is this good thing or bad thing?

 

[bat_082994]

I don't live in the ATL, but I've frequented the Ted the last few years. Personally, I think this is a terrible move, because MARTA does not run to Cobb County and the traffic is worse there than it is in ATL.

 

[GTJason]

This was supposed to happen when Fulton County Stadium was being demolished and then the city had a huge campaign to keep the jobs and everything in the city. The olympics happened and the Ted was built (not sure on order of how that happened - I was 8 and am now too lazy to look it up.) Back then it would have been a good decision because that area was scary. I really enjoyed what the Ted became - not many other baseball stadiums in the country are tailgaiting friendly. I think coming into the city is still daunting to the northern suburbs. Listen to all of the UGA fans who give us crap about the crime in Atlanta - not that they are the authority, but that is a prevailing opinion. I'm from Roswell and I can tell you we would have had season tickets if the stadium was close when I was young. As it was we made about 5-10 games per year.

 

[ATL1]

I wonder what the statistics are of crime against Braves patrons. (Why do I feel it's vastly exaggerated)
The stadium will be smaller by almost 10,000 seats, so driving attendance up can't be the issue.
Ultimately the Braves desire to build some type of Braves world around their new stadium $$$
sale the naming rights$ big merchandising stores$ bars & restaurants being leased out on their property$ some kind of fan zone$

But the thing with me, is they could have done all of this at the Ted. How much is the property in Mechanicsville & SummerHill. Was it that much more than the property in Cobb? I don't know the stats & figures but it would seem that the Braves could have invested that $250 Million into the community instead of complaining and abandoning it.

Cobb is giving them a sweetheart deal so I guess spending $650 Million dollars makes since. I now we have an abandoned stadium.

 

[gtdrew]

They wanted to do all those things around Turner Field, but the city of Atlanta wasn't interested in meeting them halfway in regards to money for maintenance. And to those who say mass transit is an issue, as a season ticket holder, I'd venture to guess that lack of MARTA access effects a far smaller percentage of Braves patrons than you'd expect...

 

[ATL1]

Really? I'm pretty informed on city politics, please provide the article where the Braves Organization were willing to pony of that kind of cash to invest in Summer Hill & Mechanicsville. Honestly I would like to know. The city gave them Olympic Stadium for pennies on the dollar and pretty much bent for them on whatever request they made. If the Brave really wanted to they could have bought up most of Mechanicsville with the money they spending in Cobb. Summer Hill is mostly gentrified so the remainder could have been purchased as well. They could have partnered with a developer or developers and built whatever they liked around the stadium, like Blank is shelling $50 Million to do in Vine City. I just prefer honesty, Cobb gave us a cake deal and the city can't match it.

The Braves have been making a big deal about mass transit to the stadium for years, but now they not worried about mass transit?
The Braves wanted the Ted to seat 50,000 + seats.
The Braves wanted some kind of family fun center near the stadium and the city built it to a flop.
I looked at that map and season ticket holders are spread everywhere, Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Stockbridge, east and most of the inner perimeter were heavy red. If they really wanted to be optimal close to season ticket holders the Doraville Plant location would have made the most sense, but I get it. It's a Great Deal for them. They can go other than civic pride and symbolism they don't provide much economic benefit to have the Braves downtown anyway.

 

[gtdrew]

What request did they bend to agree to? The Braves are on record as asking since 2005 for the city of Atlanta to help out w redevelopment in the area around Turner Field. The city has cried poverty again and again. I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge. The Cobb Co. spot is perfect. They shouldn't worry about mass transit now because there will be adequate parking around the stadium. Again, it was fairly common knowledge that the area around Turner field was short more than 5000 parking spaces. This new area will more than meet that need. LOL. You cite Fanplex as evidence that the Braves got what they wanted in terms of entertainment around the ballpark. That was one building in a sea of petty crime and poverty. The area the Braves are going to doesn't have those problems.

The Braves are unique in that over half their season ticket base drives further than 45 minutes to get there. This alleviates that issue for a large portion of the fan base. There is no perfect solution, but I have no sympathy for the city of Atlanta or Fulton Co., both of whom have not only asked for larger and larger portions of parking and concession revenue while contributing nothing to the upkeep of Turner Field, but who made retaining a professional sports entity that creates more revenue than every other sports franchise combined very low on their list of priorities. Good luck turning that area around now, Atl.

 

[ATL1]

Here I stand corrected the Braves did want to stay downtown and did wish to partner with the city to revamp the area. They just wanted have more control and revenue streams again it makes sense:
http://saportareport.com/blog/2013/...a-to-keep-the-atlanta-braves-at-turner-field/

Honestly according to this there is still a chance that the city could put a package together, but Kasim doesn't seem to have the interest.

I'm not as concerned with that area as far as it being ripe for redevelopment. I work with a community organization in Pittsburg Community I already see and know some of the things that are coming. The developers are already here. We trying to keep these poor communities from getting completely screwed in the process.

 

[gtdrew]

It's never gonna happen. They've been trying to "revitalize" that area since the Olympics. It'll just end up being more fodder for planning committees and community activists to line their pockets with taxpayer money...

 

[ATL1]

I could give a squat at this point. I'm just glad my tax dollars won't be footing the bill of $250-350 Million dollars for a team that does diddly pooh to enhance the city in the first place.

 

[gtdrew]

diddly poo? Are you serious? 100 million in income to the city PER SEASON. Yeah, that's nothing.

 

[ATL1]

Very dubious claim the Braves made I would love to see where they came up with that figure.
Where is this $100 Million going, cause it's not downtown, I live in Castleberry, volunteer right across the street from Turner Field, where's the impact?
Does the impact offset the cost to the city?
I know why the Dome is a value to the city, but a baseball park?
I'm not seeing it, and apparently the city and mayor not really seeing it either, good for them it's not worth it.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business...he-risky-economics-of-sports-stadiums/260900/

Good Luck Cobb
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/11/1...up-big-to-help-braves-leave-downtown-atlanta/

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/nov/11/atlanta-braves-moving-cobb-county/

 

[IronJacket7]

I don't live in the ATL, but I've frequented the Ted the last few years. Personally, I think this is a terrible move, because MARTA does not run to Cobb County and the traffic is worse there than it is in ATL.

My wife is from ATL. She said the exact same thing about the traffic in Cobb County.

 

[gtdrew]

Very dubious claim the Braves made I would love to see where they came up with that figure.
Where is this $100 Million going, cause it's not downtown, I live in Castleberry, volunteer right across the street from Turner Field, where's the impact?
Does the impact offset the cost to the city?
I know why the Dome is a value to the city, but a baseball park?
I'm not seeing it, and apparently the city and mayor not really seeing it either, good for them it's not worth it.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business...he-risky-economics-of-sports-stadiums/260900/

Good Luck Cobb
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/11/1...up-big-to-help-braves-leave-downtown-atlanta/

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/nov/11/atlanta-braves-moving-cobb-county/

If Kasim Reed really thinks he can better develop that area by putting in a "middle class" development on the Turner Field site, when the only chance they had of generating revenue on that site is leaving because their middle class customer base won't come to that part of town now, when there IS an attraction, then more power to them. And that revenue generated goes to the businesses that make money there, not the people who stand around panhandling and menacing visitors to that part of town. Just because you don't see that revenue reflected in that neighborhood doesn't mean it isn't there.

 

[gtdrew]

My wife is from ATL. She said the exact same thing about the traffic in Cobb County.

The traffic is going to be bad no matter where you put the stadium. At least now there will be more reason for patrons to arrive early, thereby lessening the strain on area traffic.

 

[ATL1]

If Kasim Reed really thinks he can better develop that area by putting in a "middle class" development on the Turner Field site, when the only chance they had of generating revenue on that site is leaving because their middle class customer base won't come to that part of town now, when there IS an attraction, then more power to them. And that revenue generated goes to the businesses that make money there, not the people who stand around panhandling and menacing visitors to that part of town. Just because you don't see that revenue reflected in that neighborhood doesn't mean it isn't there.

I don't know if you've driven around the Ted, but a block over is a very different Summer Hill & Grant Park than the one you read about on these blogs.
Stadiums don't bring revenue to local economies the Ted is a perfect example of that and study after study have proven it.
People are moving back into the city, they may not be the same type of people that love the burbs (Thank God) but Atlanta is growing and evolving. Whether the Belt Line (which will cut right past the Turner Field site), trolleys through the GA State tourist corridor, or the living walls projects the city hasn't been this alive before.
Area's redevelop I live in one (Castleberry) right by the Dome, these neighborhood are in flux.
Mechanicsville was changing over before the market crashed, it may take a little time but those neighborhoods are still prime, and change is coming.

Does Atlanta have problems absolutely it does it's a city with city problems and the anchor for the region, I'm more concerned with solving these problems and investing in a Braves stadium isn't one of them.

 

[gtdrew]

I live ten minutes from the Ted. I'm well aware of the problems the area faces. But if you think a trolley and "living walls" will solve the economic issues better than the 2.5 million visitors to the area that Turner Field brought, I don't know what to tell you. Those "surveys" and this cities' faith in them might be why that area is in the shape it's in. And you can sugarcoat it any way you'd like, but that's been a BAD part of town for a long time. Even with GSU inching closer, their expansion is chasing away the kinds of businesses you want in the area. I'll believe the city intends to revitalize that area when they actually do it. And now, with the primary source of tourism and revenue with that area gone, they're going to attempt to do it with one hand tied behind their back. Good luck.

 

[GTJason]

It's not an easy problem to solve. You have impoverished areas where crime and drugs are high. No matter how much money is brought in and infrastructure is built, you are going to have trouble getting people to come until you get rid of the homeless guy that wants to show you his infected tooth and the like. GT/tech square/midtown has made this transformation in the last 10 years. When I was a freshman at GT there were bums on bicycles that they stole from GT students asking for change in broad daylight. I personally saw police officers physically remove these type of people from the campus and surrounding areas and guess what happened? Real estate in midtown skyrocketed. So what do you do with these people? I don't have the answer. Prison isn't the solution and govt funded social programs only add more fuel to the fire. I think the answer is investing in the youth and infrastructure that supports education but then that is a long term investment. All of this to say GT was/is in a better position to clean up their area than the Braves were. If Atlanta wasn't going to clean up the area and the Braves stand to profit from moving then they should move. That area will go to crap and for me the Marta ride from the airport to North Ave will get a little scarier (I live in DC now so that is the extent of my exposure to the city.) I say the city loses a lot more than the Braves, so it's on the city to make concessions and build up the area. Should have been done in the late 90s...

 

[ATL1]

Cobb is getting screwed and I love. I Hate Cobb.
That area around Turner Field already has investors waiting like I said it would it's prime real estate.

 

[Mitch Matthews]

Not only is it safer, but it's less compact which should make traffic better . I say it's a good move. But keep the Georgia dome as is