Braves getting a new stadium in 2017

[joncarlos]

Because, you know, Turner Field is 17 years old. Way too old for a stadium these days. I like the suggestion that I saw on Twitter that the Rays should move into Turner Field.

The organization has indicated publicly that they are not satisfied with the team's current stadium situation. Last year, Braves executive vice president of business operations Mike Plant told Jim Galloway of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution:

"As we sit here in 2012, this isn't where we would have this stadium today. I'm not saying it's a bad place, but it doesn't match up with where the majority of our fans come from."

Cobb County is putting up the money, in the form of school budget cuts. That's not what they said, of course, but it's probably reality.

Main article here:

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/11/11/5090584/braves-cobb-county-stadium-turner-field/in/4855415

Here's some more details on Cobb County:

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/11/11/5090628/cobb-county-atlanta-braves/in/4855415

Cobb County itself has more people (about 700,000) than the City of Atlanta does, FWIW.

[Sam]

Maybe they can change their name like the Angels did - the Atlanta Braves of Cobb County?

[Bodhizefa]

This is by far the weirdest story I've seen all year regarding baseball. Just a total head-scratcher.

[Controller Jacobs]

Maybe they can change their name like the Angels did - the Atlanta Braves of Cobb County?

Or maybe the Atlanta Carpetbaggers of Cobb County.

[revo]

From a business perspective, it makes sense.

The stadium, from what I understand, is in a very poor neighborhood in Atlanta, with an average household income of around $20k. And the nearest public transportation is over a mile away, so fans have to then take a connecting bus or walk. And then the Braves are about 5,000 parking spaces short of what they need.

Turner Field was originally the Centennial Olympic Stadium, built for the 1996 Olympics, and it was funded by private entities including NBC and other Olympic sponsors (according to Wikipedia). Retro-fitting it for the Braves was included in the stadium's initial $209m cost (of which $30m was paid for by the Atlanta Olympic Committee). So it's not the like Braves are screwing the city of Atlanta by leaving after only 17 years.

I guess I don't see what the detractors do.

[Pauly]

Great article sums it up: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/will-b...b_4257514.html

They are going to put that new stadium smack dab in the middle of one of the worst traffic areas in the WHOLE COUNTRY...no joke.

[heyelander]

Preliminary Plan for the new stadium...

[rhd]

When I first heard this news, I thought it meant the Braves were moving their administrative offices to the suburbs. I couldnt believe it when I learned that they're really going to build a new stadium.

I have been to Turner Field earlier this year and also was at the Olympics when it was a track and field stadium. There are some poor neighborhoods east of the stadium, but on the west it is right next to downtown Atlanta. And show me a downtown stadium anywhere that's not near some poor neighborhoods. Also, show me a downtown stadium where there is enough available parking for a decent crowd. I parked at least a mile away (for free), but same thing whenever I go to Camden Yards.

I thought Turner Field was a lovely stadium, and I'd put it in the top 10-12 in MLB rt now. Dont understand the reason for this move at all. And if it takes money away from schools, that makes it even worse.

[heyelander]

RJEL Diner Girl has declared that for her birthday we need to travel to wherever the phillies are playing that day and see the game. This year it's sadly in Philly, but our very bottom destination hope was Atlanta.

[Fresno Bob]

can they retire that tired tomahawk chop too while they are at it?

[amcg]

It's utterly bizarre. Stadium lifespan is now 17 years? Really?

[Controller Jacobs]

...And show me a downtown stadium anywhere that's not near some poor neighborhoods. ...

Cincinnati is right on the river - you could walk to a couple bad neighborhoods, but they're not at the stadium. Pittsburgh seemed even moreso, though maybe it was the disorienting nature of driving between those hills and rivers - it and Heinz almost seemed on an island.

Just a technicality though - the Braves are cashing in because they can, other cities should justifiably feel a shiver up the spine.

[chancellor]

IMO, the Atlanta mayor deserves a pile of credit on this deal. He made it evident the city would go to some value, but not beyond, and stuck to his guns. So at least the city won't be stuck with an albatross of a deal 15-20 years down the road.

[chancellor]

So Cobb County doesn't have enough money to pay its teachers and announces all sorts of layoffs but it has money to finance an estimated $450 million for a ballpark? Plus, all of it's sold, supposedly, on the notion that it'll pay for itself in terms of job creation over time? No economist that I know of buys that bullshit.

Agree with you here.

Also, wasn't Turner Field built in the first place on the predicate, which obviously turned out to be a lie, that the value of the surrounding neighborhood would be improved?

Well, the city did have some responsibility here, which they didn't live up to. Atlanta's mayor all but said that during an interview I saw on local TV while I was down there this week.

And wasn't a major gripe that Turner Field was too far from public transportation, resulting in inconvenient travel? How d'ya think that'll play out with a new stadium being built in an epically busy place traffic-wise?

The gripe is not only is it too far from public transportation, but also difficult to access the freeways from the ballpark, and the parking was poorer than it should have been. The team's argument is the new location has access to the interstates and will have much better parking. I agree with the parking - parking around Turner Field is awful, among the worst in baseball - but the interstate issue is nice for when games are done, but it's gonna be a complete and total fiasco for normal night games. The I-75 north corridor is already one of the worst in the nation - for those of you more familiar with SoCal, think of the I-5 during rush hour - and the I-75/I-285 intersection is awful. Compound that with trying to get 50,000 fans in for a 7 PM game...it'll turn that area into a giant parking lot more often than not.

[Don Quixote]

Cincinnati is right on the river - you could walk to a couple bad neighborhoods, but they're not at the stadium. Pittsburgh seemed even moreso, though maybe it was the disorienting nature of driving between those hills and rivers - it and Heinz almost seemed on an island.

Just a technicality though - the Braves are cashing in because they can, other cities should justifiably feel a shiver up the spine.

When the GASP was proposed in Cincinnati, the land was inadequate in size, but The Powers That Be (who make the decisions here) said that the proposed, larger-in-size alternative, adjacent to downtown's east side, was too close to the county Justive Center (jail) and a low-income, high-crime neighborhood. Then they rigged the referendum so a "no" vote was a vote for "The Wedge" site that wound up the site of the stadium. That's why they had to demolish part of Riverfront Stadium (anyone remember that two-year mess?) while still playing there, and why the stadium faces the river instead of downtown like Pittsburgh's does.

Cut to a decade later. The alternative site is still next to the Justice Center, the neighborhood next door is still low-income and high-crime, but The Powers That Be decided it was the right location for--the city's lone casino.

As for the Braves--This is one more reason I'm glad I don't live in Atlanta. I just don't see this working out well for Cobb County or the fans.