Atlanta Braves moving to Cobb County

[tufsu1]

Between this, the Falcons' Stadium, the handling of the Streetcar, the failure of TIA/TSPLOST, and other wreckless shenanigans in the city (and THE BURBS, my God I can't STAND most of metro Atlanta), I am just glad to be out of that mess (Atlanta).

so says the guy who had almost nothing bad to say about Atlanta on this message board about two years ago

Braves' ownership is very very selfish plain and simple.  And furthermore this is proof that Conservatives, Tea Partiers, Republicans, etcetc are the most hypocritical voting blocks ever.  Vehemently opposed to new taxes, except if it's for a worthless new billion dollar sports stadium.  LoL I really can't even take the hypocrisy.

all sports team owners are greedy and selfish.  This includes the 49ers not being able to work out a deal with San Francisco and moving an hour south.  It also includes Shad Khan who has floated the idea of the city giving him the Shipyards property for free, so he can bring mixed-use entertainment  options near his stadium.  And guess who would of keep the profits on that?  The Braves just did the same thing.  The big problem was the City wouldn't let them have 100% of the revenue from the parking lots or any redevelopment that occurred on them.  The new land in Cobb County will.

And not enough public transit options, lack of convenience to highways, not enough parking, etc etc??  WTF  Moving to suburban Cobb County is going to address these issues?

They don't care about transit.  They can build 20,000 parking spaces along with bars and such for fans to hang out at before/after games.  And again, they get all the revenue.

So the Braves are going to leave a deserted stadium and a sea of asphalt behind in a former working class neighborhood that once had good bones.  The best (and only) chance that neighborhood had of becoming something once again was with the Braves stadium there.  Now it will continue to be a wasteland with no more visitation. 

maybe not.  There are some who argue that revitalization was held back because of the empty sea of parking that was there more than 250 days a year.

I think the City dropped the ball on that one - for the same price it's going to cost the City to build a new Falcons stadium, they could have just built a mixed-use "town" around Turner Field.  I don't know why the hell the city stuck with the Falcons - I think football stadiums actually are better in the suburbs, but there's no denying that baseball stadiums are perfect for urban cities, helping to boost and revitalize neighborhoods in nearly every city they are located in.

while I'm not happy about their new stadium either, the Falcons situation is entirely different.  The new one, just like the Georgia Dome, are also used as part of the space of the Georgia World Congress Center.  Just like Indianapolis does with Lucas Oil Field.

[KenFSU]

Letter from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed:

As a young boy, I loved watching the Atlanta Braves. I can recall countless historic moments over the course of their 47-year history in the city. It was in Atlanta that the Braves won an unprecedented 14 division championships from 1991 to 2005. It was in Atlanta that Hall of Famer Hank Aaron hit his record-breaking home run in 1974. It was in Atlanta that the Braves won a World Series championship in 1995. There is no doubt that the Braves belong to Atlanta.

For 18 months, my administration has been involved in good-faith discussions to keep the Braves in downtown Atlanta as their lease at Turner Field nears expiration. On Monday, the Atlanta Braves organization announced its intention to relocate to Cobb County -- in a new stadium. Our partners in Cobb County will provide $450 million in public funding to build the new $672 million stadium, we're told. We are simply unwilling to match that with taxpayer dollars.

On my inauguration into office in January 2010, I made a promise to strengthen our city's finances and tackle our looming $922 million infrastructure backlog. Over the last four years, we have balanced four consecutive budgets without property tax increases, built our cash reserves to more than $125 million and improved our bond ratings across the spectrum in every fund.

Over the next four years, I am committed to making $200 million to $250 million in infrastructure investments in our neighborhoods.

Professional sports teams and stadiums drive economic development and investment in their communities, but taxpayer dollars need to be spent responsibly. My decision not to invest $150 million to $250 million for renovations to Turner Field or interfere with a transaction when the Atlanta Braves are moving 12 miles away means that Atlanta is going to be stronger financially and not choked by debt. This decision also means critical investments in our city's infrastructure -- on bridges, green spaces, roads and traffic lights.

For many years, the Falcons and the Braves have been fixtures in our city's downtown. There will be a new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons -- but there are meaningful differences between our efforts to keep the Falcons in the city and the Braves' decision to relocate to Cobb County.

The agreement to keep the Falcons involved an existing revenue stream from a hotel-motel tax paid largely by the 42 million guests who visit our city every year -- lessening the burden to taxpayers.

The hotel-motel tax, which would be extended only to fund and maintain the Falcons stadium, also generates significant direct revenue to the city's general fund. In the case of the Braves, no identifiable revenue stream exists that would allow us to pay for a commitment of $450 million or even $250 million responsibly.

The Falcons stadium is expected to cost $1 billion, and that kind of transaction is tough. But we negotiated a favorable agreement for the city with 80% private funding and 20% public funding for the new facility.

So we wish the Braves well knowing the city of Atlanta has much to be proud of.

Over the last four years, business relocations have included the Coca-Cola Co.'s decision to move 2,000 jobs back into the city, Porsche Cars North America moving its North American headquarters into the city, and Pulte Homes relocating its corporate headquarters to Atlanta from Michigan. The city of Atlanta is vibrant and thriving, and we're just getting started.

When the Braves leave the city of Atlanta in 2017, Turner Field will be demolished. Over the next three years, we will be working with our prospective partners to bring residential and business development that is worthy of our city and strengthens our downtown. The Braves will remain in the Atlanta metropolitan region, and I look forward to going to the opening day game in 2017.

[I-10east]

To no surprise, Cobb County approved the plan for the new stadium. BTW, just looking on social media, many local ATLiens like the Braves moving to Cobb County, as they think the current Turner Field location is in a really bad neighborhood. So sad to see a colossal waste of a nice looking ballpark.

www.cbsatlanta.com/story/24075064/fulton-county-commissioner

[I-10east]

Ted Turner wants to change the old Ballpark into greenspace.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ted-turner-wants-namesake-ballpark-175503701--mlb.html