Atlanta Braves Break Ground on New Ballpark

The construction on the site has been going on for a couple of months, though it's been limited to clearing land, grading it and relocating a gas line.

On Tuesday it became official.

The Atlanta Braves officially broke ground on their soon to be new baseball stadium that they plan on building on the northernmost edge of Atlanta in Cobb County.

And they managed to find a naming partner--Sun Trust Bank. (It will be called "Sun Trust Park")

Here's your introductory video:



The stadium, which will be paid for partially by the Braves and partially by Cobb County is expected to open in 2017 and cost somewhere around $600 million. It's expected to seat a little over 40,000 fans.

The biggest push for the team and Cobb County leaders is that the stadium is supposed to be the anchor of a mixed use community featuring restaurants, bars, shops, offices and residences.

We should note, we live about 5 minutes from the property and it's not that big of an area. While we are excited about having our beloved Braves so close, we wonder how they are going to fit all this in a relatively small area with major traffic issues. We suspect it still will completely change the landscape of the area though it remains to be seen how.

The whole thing has been interesting to follow. The county wasn't exactly forthcoming with pretty much anything about this project until they announced it and that made some people really, really angry.

And rightfully so. Though we understand why it was done that way. Cobb County residents, or at least the vocal ones who always show up on TV would never have gone for this in any way shape or form. Those who are complaining are the one's that elect leaders that give businesses all kinds of handouts, but it's different when it's a sports team.

We're now to the point of no return, the stadium will be built. And the surrounding area will change. Only time and a boatload of construction will tell how that will play out and what the southern tip of the County will look like in just over 2-years.

Cobb County Commissioners Approve Braves Paperwork

((HT: 11Alive.com))

Surprising no one, really, the suburban county that is getting the Atlanta Braves and their new ballpark may have slipped paperwork onto their website for only a day's review before the meeting Tuesday night.

And stacked the deck on speakers before putting their ideas to a vote that was going to pass anyway...

And had people tossed from the meeting who wanted to speak, weren't allowed to, and then raised their voices in protest...

It looks like an additional $31-million was added onto the county's responsibilities. If the Braves and the county don't meet their expectations with incoming revenue and revenue streams, then county taxpayers are on the hook for the balance...

Here's team coverage with the Hull Man and Melissa...

Construction starts in late 2014 and the team is set to move into its news digs in 2017

Atlanta Deputy COO Suspended For Anti-Braves E-Mail

((HT: MyFoxAtlanta))

This is not how to endear yourself to a professional sports franchise...

It was announced recently that the Atlanta Braves were moving to the suburbs- a sore spot for the government of the City of Atlanta, for sure, but Atlanta Deputy COO Hans Utz floated an e-mail slapping the franchise...

It read in part:

"They are not going to be calling themselves the Cobb Crackers or Smyrna (expletive deleted). They will be the Atlanta Braves and that's an indication of the value of the city..."

Yeah...

That went over well...
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

Utz was suspended for 3 days without pay this week...
Mayor Kasim Reed responded publicly to 11Alive-WXIA reporter Paul Crawley

Surprising No One: Braves New Suitors Approve Deal

((HT: 11Alive))

The Braves are moving to the suburbs and this was the next phase in the shoe-horning of the process...

Not really surprising anyone, though...

The Cobb County (GA) Commission approved the deal that has too many holes and too many elements in flux...

But, what the heck...
After it was done, the standard statement was released by the Fulton County Commission Chairman along with Atlanta City Council members, Atlanta Central Progress, and the Atlanta Fulton County Recreational Authority- all aggrieved by the move and disappointed by the proceedings: Ever since our county received the disappointing news that the Atlanta Braves plan to move out of Fulton County at the conclusion of the 2016 season, Fulton County Commissioners and Atlanta City Council members have expressed a desire to keep the team here in Atlanta. Tonight's vote by commissioners in Cobb County agreeing to move ahead with efforts to bring the team there are certainly a disappointment , but political and economic leaders in Fulton County still believe the Braves could and should have a viable future in Atlanta. We understand the team's concerns about economic development in the area surrounding Turner Field. We believe there are still solutions civic and business leaders could pursue in conjunction with the ball club to keep the team as a thriving part of our community. We hope to have a dialogue with the team to make that case. The Atlanta Braves are a proud symbol of a great city and we still hope to keep them in Atlanta.
The traffic issues are still bad BEFORE construction and a move was considered...

So, what now...???

Braves To The Burbs: Now, We Think We Know The Numbers...Until They Change...

The new Braves project is supposed to cost $672-million, the Braves would foot $372-million of that...

So, it's a 55-45 split...

The lease is set for 30 years with an option for 5 more- that would take things through the 2051 season
From Cobb County's perspective, $14 million would be for transit improvements, $10 million would come from the Cumberland Community Improvement District and $276 million from the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibition Hall Authority.

It's the Braves barn to use as they see fit, and they can let folks use it if they give permission...

Here's the breakdown of the agreement between Cobb County and the Braves...

There will be taxes that will be added or restructured to make this go down right (if you're Cobb) in hotels, rental cars (which is interesting since there is no transportation hub to do it, unless you call a "mall" a transportation hub), and business property rates.

But this also may introduce some kind of rail system to alleviate traffic that is already there and will only increase once the project undergoes construction...something the county has steadfastly voted against in the past...

Reps from the Braves met with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed on the move...
Deal is just calling himself an "interested observer..." and will not earmark or allocate any kind of dollars toward the new stadium...

Here's his recap of the meeting...
((HT: WSB-TV))

CONTINUING: Braves To The Burbs... Atlanta Plans To Blow Up Turner Field

((HT: WSB-TV))

So, that's the plan...

Which, really, isn't much of a plan...

After the AJC's Doug Roberson floated the idea that Georgia State University could have signed on to be the new Turner Field tenant, the city of Atlanta has decided (for now) to raze Turner Field after the Braves decide to move to the suburbs come 2017...

And turn them into middle class homes...

Mayor Kasim Reed, at his inquisition this morning, decided to say that he wasn't going to stick the city of Atlanta taxpayer with the price tag for a new Braves barn (but he'll be more than happy to do that with his new Falcons stadium...)

Here's Reed's Q-And-A on the Day After...

CONTINUING: Braves To The Burbs, Where's The Money Coming From...??? Misplaced Priorities...???

((HT: WSB-TV))

A few points of thought...

The HQ would like to know where the money is EXACTLY coming from for the new Suburban Palace...

Since...

A) Cobb County, Brother Phil's abode of choice, has been laying off essential personnel like teachers and hasn't given them raises in the last decade. Schools have had to lay off teachers in situations of tenure (or a lack thereof)...

One high school in particular as an example- Allatoona High School (a new school in the county)- had to lay off coaches in their football program in 2010- and had to wait months for a budget reorganization to reinstate the coaches that were lacking in tenure after the fiscal year started.

So, the longer version of that same story...

New school has no teachers with tenure...
Therefore, they're the first ones laid off by the letter of the law...
New school is, then, rendered temporarily useless by the expansion of the county and the budget shortfalls created by the government that created the school in the first place...

This is the county government in charge of the new Braves facility...

And, B) The idea that the county contribution to the new Braves facility is a tax, but isn't really a tax in name only...
But won't be voted on before any kind of open forum will be vetted...

Make sense...???

Here's continuing coverage of the fallout even as the Mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed has both thrown in the towel and not given up...

The larger question is... since Reed threw all his chips in over the Falcons deal, how does he plan on keeping both...???

OSG Opinion: The Real Reason the Atlanta Braves are Moving

Turner Field/Courtesy: Me

So…as I sat at my desk today at work and read about the Atlanta Braves announcement they were moving to Cobb County (Atlanta suburbs), I thought to myself "Hmmmm…if the county is paying the ticket, does that mean I now own part of a stadium".

For those of you who don't know: (a) I have a real job. Blogging doesn't pay the bills, Brother Jon, Brother Wilkie and I do this when we have time. (b) Yes, I live in Cobb County, roughly about 10 minutes (or 4 miles to be exact) away from where the new stadium is to be built. and © I work across the street. Or nearly. My offices are less than 1/4 mile away from where all this will take place.

Just felt like sharing.

Anyway.

There's already been an incredulous outrage. "How can they do this?" "Why leave a perfectly good Turner Field? It's less than 20-years old?" "Who's paying for it?" "Why are they being so greedy?"

All questions we have answers to:

First off, they (the Braves) can do whatever they want. Their lease on Turner Field ends after the 2016 season. No, they don't own the stadium. Never have. The city of Atlanta built it for the Olympics in 1996, then renovated it for the Braves to play in '97. The team pays rent and is responsible for any work done on the place. They'd don't get to share much of the profit.

Two. Turner Field. Sure, it's a nice stadium. It's got good seats and sight lines. They've worked to get some very good restaurants to open stands in the building. It's pretty easy to navigate and on the surface, is in pretty good shape.

But it's in a crappy neighborhood. It's hard to get to. It has limited parking. It has panhandlers and shady characters trying to convince you to park in their homemade lots.

And most importantly, there are NO businesses around the stadium.

Third. We're all paying for it to an extent.

Yeah, sure, the Braves are chipping in $200 million, but it's roughly 1/3 of the cost. And don't think that won't be rolled into your ticket prices for a minute. And as I said in the beginning, I'm paying for it. My wife and I are honest to goodness Cobb County taxpayers, which means it's coming out of my pocket.

And unlike a lot of others, I'm okay with that.

Fourth and most importantly, the Braves are not fooling anyone. Well, that's not totally true. They aren't fooling those of us in the know.

This is about revenue. Plain and simple.

The Braves need to be creative to raise revenue's. Unlike most MLB teams, they don't have the Billion dollar TV contract the Dodgers do. Never will. They are stuck with a crappy deal with Fox Sports South they can't get out of.

The team has a limited payroll from it's corporate owner (Liberty Media) for that very reason. It's also why they've almost always been good, not great. They can't compete for major stars.

No, don't kid yourself. The stadium is important to this deal, they'll get most of the revenue from that and the parking. But the big reason for doing this is the development around it. It appears they will have the property rights for the surrounding development. And the team has made it abundantly clear, they have plans to develop it. Quickly.

Ground is scheduled to be broken in mid-2014, the stadium should be ready in 2017.

Oddly enough, that will be mere months ahead of the Atlanta Falcons who are getting their new stadium (paid 2/3 by the team) later that year.

Just because we enjoyed this song: