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Braves Join Falcons in Abandoning Perfectly Good Facility


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What's the solid red splotch south of the city?

Very interesting wording that the new stadium will still have "an Atlanta address." I'm guessing this means that the park will be in unincorporated Cobb County, which has an Atlanta mailing address, despite not being in Atlanta?

Solid red is Peachtree City, which is a golf cart city. Make of that what you will.

And yes, that part of Cobb is considered Atlanta. The site is maybe a mile from Fulton County?

Georgia has the second most counties in the US with 156, behind only Texas. Kentucky and Missouri are somehow third and fourth.

159.

Supposedly, the reason behind Georgia having so many counties (and why most of them have county seats in the center of the county) was that a horse-and-buggy should be able to reach the county seat and back in one day.

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A couple of people have referenced it, but can Turner Field be a temporary location for the A's or Rays? Or at least be used as a convincing threat?

Amazing that Atlanta will have 2 new stadiums and those two franchises can't get one. I always mention Turner Field as one of my favorites of the new parks. Always felt it was underrated.

Atlanta has trouble supporting one team - not sure putting a second there would be a good idea.

I don't understand any comparisons of Turner field to Camden Yards, nor any "it's so nice" comments. I was there for a tour in '06, and it seemed to me like something hastily erected for the Olympics, then retrofitted for a MLB team. There was nothing "ugly" about it, and there were certainly some nice exterior features (like where the retired number statue things are), but it was nothing "special", and certainly not on par with newer stadiums.

It reminded me of what I would imagine New Comisky to be like - post Camden, but still not "retro - nice".

Well, it's not likely, but MLB did just explore putting the A's in AT&T Park temporarily...

So I guess my point is that there's about to be a modern stadium available before all of the teams get their modern stadium. (Cubs are stalled, too. Side note: Follow Braves model and go Rosemont. It's the trend!) It wouldn't be long-term and without concessions, but the biggest obstacle to a move has always been "Where would they play?" and "There are no parks." Turner Field could create some leverage -- even if it's just for a few games -- and couldn't be worse than the Expos in Puerto Rico...

Again, it's not likely, but MLB should set a goal to get the A's and Rays settled before the Braves jump ship. The A's at the very least.

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What's the solid red splotch south of the city?

Very interesting wording that the new stadium will still have "an Atlanta address." I'm guessing this means that the park will be in unincorporated Cobb County, which has an Atlanta mailing address, despite not being in Atlanta?

Solid red is Peachtree City, which is a golf cart city. Make of that what you will.

And yes, that part of Cobb is considered Atlanta. The site is maybe a mile from Fulton County?

Georgia has the second most counties in the US with 156, behind only Texas. Kentucky and Missouri are somehow third and fourth.

159.

Supposedly, the reason behind Georgia having so many counties (and why most of them have county seats in the center of the county) was that a horse-and-buggy should be able to reach the county seat and back in one day.

Also it helped to dilute the voting power of urban areas such as Atlanta back when primaries were decided by the county unit vote and legislators were apportioned on a county to county basis.

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Very interesting wording that the new stadium will still have "an Atlanta address." I'm guessing this means that the park will be in unincorporated Cobb County, which has an Atlanta mailing address, despite not being in Atlanta?

The Buffalo mail sorting facility is 142. The ZIP codes in the city all start with 142. I live in a first-ring suburb that also has a 142 ZIP code, and I sometimes see it referred to as Buffalo 14226, even though it is in no way part of the city, never has been, and no part of the ZIP code goes into the city.

From what I gather here, the ZIP for the new stadium site starts with 303, like the ZIPs in downtown Atlanta do... ta da! "Atlanta mailing address." They chose their words very carefully.

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Having been through Atlanta a couple of times in traffic, I couldn't agree more of getting a new stadium in Cobb County.

Ummm...You must have never been in traffic on I-75 going north. The I-75, I-285 intersection (aka the new stadium location) is miserable in its current form. And there's no MARTA access up there, so they may have to build a new line, which will take more tax payer money.

This. It's a mess every day, especially at rush hour, and I can just imagine a Friday commute along there with a Braves game going on. Living off I-575, we'll have a much easier time seeing the Braves...and a much, much worse time going anywhere else down towards Atlanta when they're playing.

What is the possibility/probability that the public funding portion of the project would have to come to a ballot measure?

Probably zero. They were very careful not to let that happen on the Falcons stadium because polls show voters are overwhelmingly against it.

My understanding is that this was why Cobb County was selected - they can add that $600 million of public financing onto existing county taxes without requiring a public vote.

The county is ponying up over $400 million and it's already rasing hackles around here. In fact Channel 5 just flashed poll results saying 56% of Cobb residents oppose tax money being spent on this. Unscientific, yes, but telling nonetheless.

What's the solid red splotch south of the city?

Very interesting wording that the new stadium will still have "an Atlanta address." I'm guessing this means that the park will be in unincorporated Cobb County, which has an Atlanta mailing address, despite not being in Atlanta?

As someone pointed out, it's Peachtree City. All one needs to know about the demographic is that lots of Delta pilots (and other employees) live there. As someone also pointed out, the map isn't surprising to anyone who lives near Atlanta. As many cities do, it has more affluent areas and as the map shows, they're generally north of I-20 (the major east-west highway through the center of the circle made by I-285).

People are talking about Cobb County like it's full of teabaggers. And is it just me or does Georgia have way too many counties?

It absolutely does. It's ridiculous how many there are and how much money is wasted through all the duplication.

Speaking of way too many of something, apparently the Braves feel that way about seats at Turner Field. The new stadium will have 10,000 fewer seats.

Edit: Okay, to be fair here, this is the Braves' explanation as reported in the local paper:

The Braves’ lease at Turner Field, which is owned by the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta-­Fulton County Recreation Authority, ends at the conclusion of 2016. The Braves have decided to not extend the lease beyond its expiration.

Since the facility opened in 1997, the Braves have invested nearly $125 million in Turner Field.

The facility needs $150 million in infrastructure work (replacing the seats, repairing and upgrading lighting, etc.), none of which would significantly enhance the fan experience. If the Braves were to pay for additional projects focused on improving the fan experience, the additional costs could exceed $200 million.

Even with a significant capital investment in Turner Field, there are several issues that cannot be overcome – lack of consistent mass transit to the facility, lack of adequate parking and lack of access to major roadways.

The Braves also do not have control over the development of the area surrounding Turner Field.

New Facility Information:

The Atlanta Braves have secured property to build a world-­class Major League Baseball stadium and integrated mixed-­use development on 60 acres at the northwest intersection of I-­75 and I-­285.

The property has an Atlanta address and is located in Cobb County with easy access to I-75, I-­285, U.S. 41/Cobb Parkway and a variety of other transportation options.

The new stadium will be located near the geographic center of the Braves’ fan base.

The stadium will occupy a portion of the site, with the balance being used for parking, a mixed-­use development and green space.

The estimated cost of the stadium, parking and related infrastructure is roughly $672 million. The Braves will be a significant investor, along with Cobb County, in the project. In addition, the Braves will cover all cost overruns for the construction of the stadium.

During construction of the stadium, more than 5,227 jobs will be supported, with a total payroll of more than $235 million.

The project is scheduled to start in the second half of 2014 and will be completed by Opening Day 2017.

The Braves will develop the remaining parcels surrounding the stadium, crafting a world-­class entertainment district featuring retail, restaurants and hotel options.

Plans call for the stadium to be owned by the Cobb-­Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority, which also owns the Cobb Galleria Centre and Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

===

On the other hand, there's this - a claim by Atlanta city officials that the move blindsided them in the middle of negotiations to keep the Braves in Turner Field.

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Wonder if it was the Falcons stadium deal being all but finalized that put the Braves over the edge and pushed them to Cobb?

After a night of thinking about this I have to say I'm less worried about this starting a new stadium moving trend. To me this seems more like one of those mid-cycle moves like the Twins made back in '82 to the Metrodome. I think this will end up being more of a one off than the impetus for something new. And I think the fact this new Cobb park probably won't bring anything new or revolutionary to the table (like Camden did in the 90's) will likely play into that.

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Having been through Atlanta a couple of times in traffic, I couldn't agree more of getting a new stadium in Cobb County.

Ummm...You must have never been in traffic on I-75 going north. The I-75, I-285 intersection (aka the new stadium location) is miserable in its current form. And there's no MARTA access up there, so they may have to build a new line, which will take more tax payer money.
Hahahahaha there is no way there's going to be Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta access to a park that's being built in the suburbs because people in the suburbs were scared of "the area" around Turner Field.

Speaking of way too many of something, apparently the Braves feel that way about seats at Turner Field. The new stadium will have 10,000 fewer seats.

Aw sweet, yet another three-deck 40,000-seat stadium where the upper deck is really expensive and really high and far from the diamond because of luxury boxes! Maybe Home Depot can sponsor the entrance plaza and set it up so that before admission to each game, each ticketholder can go screw himself.

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I have been to the Georgia Dome on multiple occasions for the SEC Tournament and for the life of me I cannot understand why the Falcons feel like they need a new stadium. Heck, if people feel this stadium is inadequate, than how the hell does the Superdome still hold Superbowls as it is twice as old as the Georgia Dome?

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I have been to the Georgia Dome on multiple occasions for the SEC Tournament and for the life of me I cannot understand why the Falcons feel like they need a new stadium. Heck, if people feel this stadium is inadequate, than how the hell does the Superdome still hold Superbowls as it is twice as old as the Georgia Dome?

You're not the only one wondering this. Neither Atlanta stadium needs to be replaced. More are still far more than adequate for their respective teams. Both are being replaced for BS reason simply because local gov't in both cases was dumb enough to offer them hundreds of millions in free money and sites for their new stadiums. if they'd turned them down that would have been the end of it.

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Turner Field to be demolished once the Braves move to the new stadium.

At long last, an actual stadium demolition for CCSLCers to discuss.

What a waste...

But then this is nothing new to the Braves franchise. They've moved ballparks more than any other franchise in the modern era of baseball (since 1900). Cobb Ballpark will be their 7th ballpark since 1900. And no team has moved into so many ballparks paid for by the public or someone else than the Braves (Cobb being their 4th in 100 years). Their paltry 29% contribution to the Cobb park will be the Braves first financial contributions toward building their home ballpark since Braves Field in 1915.

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Turner Field to be demolished once the Braves move to the new stadium.

At long last, an actual stadium demolition for CCSLCers to discuss.

Welp... there goes my Georgia State idea. Unless they're just going to give GSU access to the land for their athletic village... which they won't... because this is Atlanta, where crappy chain establishments rule all.

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I really haven't chimed in here, because urban planning, demographics, and ballpark economics are not my strong suit (credit to those who are knowledgeable about this stuff), but I'll just echo the sentiments about a then-20 year old ballpark, considered to be one of the better ballparks in the league, being levied the wrecking ball so soon.

I won't comment on the Georgia Dome just on the basis that I can be sheepish and ignore stadium economics if it means getting another football team to play outdoors (NOTE: I don't remember if either of the designs the Falcons were considering are open-air facilities, so I can be contradicting myself unwittingly), despite the fact that the Georgia Dome is certainly an adequate stadium. Rams hit the nail on the head on the real reasons why Atlanta hasn't had another Super Bowl in their city; it's not the city's fault, but that's the way things go. Indy was the complete reverse of that a couple years ago.

Turner Field, however? I mean, sure, the Braves had great playoff juju at Fulton County Stadium and seem to have lost all of that at Turner Field, and I know that Turner Field itself, based on that one isolated map from one isolated season, does not appear to be well situated with regards to the Braves core fan base. Conversely, people (properly) bitch and moan about Tropicana Field attendance all the time, but they manage to sell the place out in the playoffs, even when they remove the upper-upper deck tarps. The Braves had had an inability to sell out playoff games that dates back several postseason appearances now, and I'm not about to just lay all the blame on Turner Field's location for that.

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Turner Field to be demolished once the Braves move to the new stadium.

At long last, an actual stadium demolition for CCSLCers to discuss.

Wasn't there the Spectrum just 4 years ago?

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So wasteful. If they have to knock it down why not keep the lower level of seating and use it as a park for an independent league team or a minor league team or college and high school teams? I just can't justify tearing down a stadium after only twenty years of use.

(I know Seattle blew up the Kingdome after only 24 years, but that stadium was outdated a year after they built it.)

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I have been to the Georgia Dome on multiple occasions for the SEC Tournament and for the life of me I cannot understand why the Falcons feel like they need a new stadium. Heck, if people feel this stadium is inadequate, than how the hell does the Superdome still hold Superbowls as it is twice as old as the Georgia Dome?

Because there's no chance of a freak ice storm hitting New Orleans.

 

 

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Turner Field to be demolished once the Braves move to the new stadium.

At long last, an actual stadium demolition for CCSLCers to discuss.

Wasn't there the Spectrum just 4 years ago?

But that was before the Great CCSLC Jobing.com Arena Demolition Episode of 2010. We still have yet to get the demolition we've been fixing for ever since that whole debacle. :upside:

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