Braves Plan to Build New Stadium

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  • Leftwich
    Bring on the Season

    • Oct 2008
    • 13700

    Braves Plan to Build New Stadium

    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.

    The Braves said the stadium is projected to cost $672 million, including parking, land and infrastructure, and will be built in partnership with Cobb County.
    Schiller said the Braves will be a “significant investor” in building the stadium but refused to disclose how much the team will spend. “At this point in time, we are working with Cobb County, and when those details of our exact arrangement become final, we will let you know,” Schiller said.

    The Braves officials also declined to provide specifics regarding the public funding. “It is through Cobb County, and Cobb County will be responsible for delineating the various buckets of dollars,” Schiller said.
    Schiller said there is not a signed agreement, but he and Plant said they are 100 percent confident at this point that the stadium will be built.
    “Yes, 100 percent,” Schiller said.

    Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, in a statement issued Monday afternoon, seemed to concede that the Braves are headed to Cobb.
    “… We have been working very hard with the Braves for a long time, and at the end of the day, there was simply no way the team was going to stay in downtown Atlanta without city taxpayers spending hundreds of millions of dollars to make that happen,” Reed said. “It is my understanding that our neighbor, Cobb County, made a strong offer of $450M in public support to the Braves and we are simply unwilling to match that with taxpayer dollars.”
    Reed concluded his statement by saying he is “excited” about potential future uses of “the land that is now Turner Field.”

    Baseball commissioner Bud Selig also weighed in on the Braves’ plans, saying in a statement that MLB “fully supports their decision to move to a new ballpark.”

    The Braves become the second Atlanta sports franchise planning to open a new stadium in 2017. The Falcons have a deal to build a new $1.2 billion retractable-roof stadium just south of the Georgia Dome.
    “We didn’t take this decision lightly,” said Schuerholz, the Braves’ president. “We’ve played in our current facility for quite some time, and it was with mixed emotions that we made this decision because we have many great Braves baseball memories that occurred for all of us … in that facility. But we are quite enthused about where our new facility will be.”

    It was not immediately clear where the process of governmental approval of the project stands in Cobb County.

    The Braves have played in downtown Atlanta since moving here from Milwaukee in 1966 and have played in Turner Field since 1997.

    The team officials said the Braves will play the next three seasons at Turner Field before moving to Cobb. The Braves’ 20-year lease at Turner Field expires after the 2016 season. Turner Field is owned by the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority. The Braves officials said they have informed Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed of their plan to move.

    Schuerholz said the new stadium will “thrive with action and vitality 365 days a year, not just game days. And we plan to transform the surrounding area into not only a new ballpark but a mixed-use destination.”
    The Braves officials said the stadium will be open-air and will seat approximately 41,000 to 42,000 people, almost 10,000 fewer than Turner Field. Schiller said the team plans to sell naming rights to the stadium.
    “We expect that by having (fewer) seats it to be an intimate arrangement for our fans and provide a number of experiences that will be different than what fans are currently used to at Turner Field,” Schiller said.
    Turner Field would need about $150 million in infrastructure work, including replacement of seats, upgrading lighting and plumbing, etc., to remain viable, according to Plant. “And that’s nothing that is going to enhance our fan experience, which is very important to us,” he said. He said enhancing the fan experience would cost “upward of an additional $200 million.”

    “We also recognized that what is insurmountable is we can’t control traffic, which is the No.1 reason why our fans don’t come to more games,” Plant said. “That over the last decade has grown immensely. … We are under-served by about 5,000 parking spaces. All of those things contribute to some real challenges for us that we just, looking forward, didn’t believe could be overcome.”

    The stadium will occupy about 15 acres of the 60-acre site, Schiller said, with the rest to be used for parking, mixed-use development and green space. The land is being purchased from the Saul Trust, Plant said.
    Schiller said the new stadium location has an Atlanta address and “is near the geographic center of our fan base.”

    “It’s also important that the access around the stadium … is greatly enhanced (by) having those major road ways — I-75, I-285, Cobb Parkway — and having a whole range of improved access points and ways to get to and from the stadium,” Schiller said. “… We fully believe that the access to the site will be greatly enhanced for our fans. That starts with roadways. Today, most of our fans arrive via car, and getting to this (new) site via car from all sorts of different directions is easier.”

    The Braves said they expect to start construction on the stadium in the second half of 2014. Schiller said Phase 1 of the adjoining mixed-use development will open at the same time as the stadium. He said that development will include entertainment, retail, restaurants and potentially hotels.

    Schiller said “plans call for” the stadium to be owned by the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority, which owns the Cobb Galleria Centre and Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
    Schiller said the Braves have agreed to cover any cost overruns beyond the $672 million price.

    “It’s an exciting project,” Schiller said. “It’s ambitious, and it is in many ways first of it kind in that it links the stadium and the mixed use development opening all at the same time.”
    The Braves had been in discussions over the past year with city officials about potential development of a mixed-use project around the Turner Field parking lots, as well as how to deal with issues such as traffic, infrastructure improvements and fan enhancement improvements.

    “We didn’t make the progress we needed and felt comfortable with for the long-term future of our organization,” Plant said, “and fortunately we were able to identify a great opportunity and great partnership to accommodate all those things that were important to us and our fans with Cobb County.”

    “The issues that were important to us were insurmountable in really working out an arrangement to go forward. So we started looking at other options… and this option in Cobb County quickly developed.”
    Plant said the process “started in early July with an exploratory lunch that I had with the (Cobb County Commission) chairman, Tim Lee.”
    Braves owner Liberty Media is on board with the project, Schuerholz said.

    “We’ve shared all of the details with them … down to the various smallest of details,” Schuerholz said. “They’re excited about it. They’re supportive of it. … Their response is, ‘We like this. We gave you the green light to go forward.’ And we have.”

    Schuerholz said he does not expect it to be a problem to sell naming rights to a new baseball stadium at the same time the Falcons seek to sell the name of their new facility.
    “We think the Braves brand is a gold-standard brand, and we think it stands alone,” Schuerholz said. “We can sell ourselves. We don’t need to worry about what our competition is (doing).”
    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.


    Pfffft.... the only good thing to come out of Cobb County was this guy:


    Originally posted by Tailback U
    It won't say shit, because dying is for pussies.
  • Pitty
    Death, Taxes, Jeff Capel
    • Feb 2009
    • 7541

    #2
    Building a new stadium 16 years after moving to Turner:

    Comment

    • Lanteri
      No longer a noob
      • Feb 2009
      • 2723

      #3
      Meh, to be fair Turner wasn't even built as a baseball stadium so it's not as if the Braves have decided they want to go out and build a new stadium less than 20 years after. In fact, I'm pretty sure they paid essentially nothing for it's construction/conversion outside of the lease and maybe 15% of the construction.

      Don't get me wrong, I think it's a little bit unnecessary. On the other hand, Turner is one ugly ass ballpark so more power to them for building a new one.

      Comment

      • Villain
        [REDACTED]
        • May 2011
        • 7768

        #4
        Originally posted by Lanteri
        Meh, to be fair Turner wasn't even built as a baseball stadium so it's not as if the Braves have decided they want to go out and build a new stadium less than 20 years after. In fact, I'm pretty sure they paid essentially nothing for it's construction/conversion outside of the lease and maybe 15% of the construction.

        Don't get me wrong, I think it's a little bit unnecessary. On the other hand, Turner is one ugly ass ballpark so more power to them for building a new one.
        Came here to post this. Agree completely.
        [REDACTED]

        Comment

        • NAHSTE
          Probably owns the site
          • Feb 2009
          • 22233

          #5
          Originally posted by Lanteri
          Meh, to be fair Turner wasn't even built as a baseball stadium so it's not as if the Braves have decided they want to go out and build a new stadium less than 20 years after. In fact, I'm pretty sure they paid essentially nothing for it's construction/conversion outside of the lease and maybe 15% of the construction.
          NBC and Coke paid for pretty much all of it. The Atlanta games were very corporate and as a result the city broke even. The team paid a little bit for the landscaping and bells and whistles, probably around $100 million, but the stadium was fully paid for when it opened. And it was built with baseball in mind from the very start, one half of it was already baseball ready, they just had to enclose the outfield and choose how many seats to lop off (they left the capacity a way too large, 51k).

          This is totally understandable from the team's perspective, but really heartbreaking for other reasons. I am angry that the city's incompetence led to this, also infuriated that the county which has stunted economic growth in the entire region and has for decades tried to cut itself from the city is now up and stealing the city's most beloved team. From the sound of it none of the fans from the actual city, some who have supported the team in its current location since 1966, are invited.

          On the possibility of adding a train line that extends northwest from the city to the new site, the Cobb County GOP Chairman said this:

          "It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta."

          This will make the team stronger, but it does not feel like Atlanta's team anymore. It's not the organization's fault, they got a no-brainer deal. And it's not the city's fault, they by no means should try to match the deal. If someone else wants to pay $450 million, go nuts ... But while it makes sense, it's really fucking sad it came to this.
          Last edited by NAHSTE; 11-13-2013, 09:03 PM.

          Comment

          • Villain
            [REDACTED]
            • May 2011
            • 7768

            #6
            Originally posted by NAHSTE
            This is totally understandable from the team's perspective, but totally understandable from the team's perspective.
            [REDACTED]

            Comment

            • NAHSTE
              Probably owns the site
              • Feb 2009
              • 22233

              #7
              Originally posted by Villain
              Had some strange Yoda-like inverted sentence structure in the original, then tried to swap them and forgot to update the second half of the sentence.

              Comment

              • Hasselbeck
                Jus' bout dat action boss
                • Feb 2009
                • 6175

                #8
                Originally posted by ram29jackson
                I already said months ago that Seattle wasn't winning any SB

                Comment

                • Loco
                  Noob
                  • Aug 2010
                  • 320

                  #9
                  I recently moved to Georgia from Massachusetts omg never heard of a Waffle House but holy fuck they is everywhere, down the street there is a WH across from a WH.

                  Comment

                  • ThomasTomasz
                    • Nov 2024

                    #10

                    Comment

                    • NAHSTE
                      Probably owns the site
                      • Feb 2009
                      • 22233

                      #11
                      Originally posted by ThomasTomasz
                      Looks tacky and "modern" ... I hope it burns to the ground

                      Comment

                      • Villain
                        [REDACTED]
                        • May 2011
                        • 7768

                        #12
                        Does the outfield point anywhere interesting? I like the openness, but only as long as there's something cool to look at.
                        [REDACTED]

                        Comment

                        • Sharkweather
                          Senior Member
                          • Jul 2009
                          • 8906

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Villain
                          Does the outfield point anywhere interesting? I like the openness, but only as long as there's something cool to look at.
                          Nope, if those renders are to be accurate, they angled it wrong and the city wont be in the backdrop.

                          Comment

                          • NAHSTE
                            Probably owns the site
                            • Feb 2009
                            • 22233

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Villain
                            Does the outfield point anywhere interesting? I like the openness, but only as long as there's something cool to look at.
                            Nope. The angle seems to to be about 15 degrees too far northwest, or else you'd have a great view of the entire skyline from Buckhead to Midtown to Downtown. With this orientation you might get a little bit of the Buckhead skyline in the distance, but it seems to be pointed mainly at trees and office parks.

                            Here's what I was hoping for, a chance to gaze at the city they left behind:



                            Buckhead is the area to the left, northern edge of the city limits. The stadium will be about 1 mile north of where the Home Depot is, facing northeast.


                            Last edited by NAHSTE; 11-20-2013, 11:31 PM.

                            Comment

                            • Villain
                              [REDACTED]
                              • May 2011
                              • 7768

                              #15
                              Boooooorrrrrinnnnngggg.


                              Still a better view than Angel Stadium!




                              That white thing is the Honda Center (Anaheim Ducks' home):

                              [REDACTED]

                              Comment

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