Atlanta To Demolish Turner Field By 2017.

[DM72]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9965245/turner-field-demolished-atlanta-braves-leaves-new-stadium-2017-mayor-says

So they're planning to demolish a stadium that was just built in 1996. Where's Atlanta getting all this cash? Not only are the Braves leaving a relatively new stadium, but the Falcons are also planning on leaving a relatively new stadium for a new stadium.

[spjunkies]

That thing is the same age as a certain dump located in Raljon, MD.

[Kilmer17]

Maybe the demo company can give a two for one deal and FedEx can go too!

[skinsmarydu]

We never heard a peep about this until Sunday night.  I listen to sports radio in the car, too...not a peep.  All of this is very strange, considering the Falcons are giving it their all to earn that new billion-dollar retractable dome thingy....not.

The politics involve the lack of neighborhood development around the Ted, the smaller stadium will almost guarantee sell-outs, etc.  A  bunch of people are freakin' out, and a bunch of people are "meh".

Traffic at the new stadium is going to be a friggin' nightmare...much worse than downtown, I fear.

[Kilmer17]

I cant imagine traffic on a friday night game on the Perimeter at 75 and 275.

 

If you work downtown and live up 75, you might as well get a hotel room for the night.

[Bliz]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9965245/turner-field-demolished-atlanta-braves-leaves-new-stadium-2017-mayor-says

So they're planning to demolish a stadium that was just built in 1996. Where's Atlanta getting all this cash? Not only are the Braves leaving a relatively new stadium, but the Falcons are also planning on leaving a relatively new stadium for a new stadium.

 

They're not.

 

The Braves are leaving Atlanta for a northwest suburb, right outside our equivalent of the beltway.  The cash is coming from that county, not the City of Atlanta, in part because the city was strapped after its deal with the Falcons.  Atlanta couldn't afford to match the offer from Cobb County.

 

From the ownership standpoint it was a no-brainer.  Spend $200M of your own money for upgrades/repairs at Turner Field, or spend $200M of your own money (plus a boatload of tax dollars) for a brand new stadium.  The vast majority of ticket purchases come from the northern suburbs, so they're also getting closer to the core fanbase, and planning to redevelop a huge chunk of land and try to turn it into a place that you would want to hang out before and after the game (or even offseason).  As anyone who has ever been to the Ted can attest, that is currently not the case.

I cant imagine traffic on a friday night game on the Perimeter at 75 and 275.

 

If you work downtown and live up 75, you might as well get a hotel room for the night.

 

That would be me.  I live about 4 miles west of where the stadium will be, in Smyrna, and work downtown.  But we were planning on looking at new houses soon anyway, to try to get into a better school district.

[Kilmer17]

I used to live off Johnson ferry. I shudder to think what that would be like to get to now

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

It's a shame to see these beautiful old ballparks cast aside like this.

 

In all seriousness, what the hell is Cobb County doing? Does it really have half a billion dollars to give to a baseball team? There is no data that shows that a municipality ever gets back anything close to its investment in these scenarios.

[spjunkies]

The Falcons should reconfigure the thing back to it's Olympic form plus do some upgrades and boom you got your new crib. Looks like a win-win to me

[skinsmarydu]

I used to live off Johnson ferry. I shudder to think what that would be like to get to now

I'd rather slit my wrists than drive over there.  (Sis-in-law is in that area).  It's bonkers. 

Out of the 100+ Braves games I've been to, I might've driven to 5.  Never drove to a Thrashers game, always took MARTA.  I don't know how accessible the whole transfer situation will be to the CCT. 

I heard on WSB yesterday that it's not a done deal yet...the final "sign-off" hasn't happened. 

[rictus58]

I thank god I'm not a tax payer in the state of Georgia.

The owner of the Braves is worth over $2B. But needs public funds to build a new stadium for HIS team...when the current stadium isn't even 20 years old? Bullocks. I wish them nothing but the worst.  

[RFKFedEx]

This venture seems like a mighty big gamble for a sport whose fanbase is shrinking.

[Bliz]

I thank god I'm not a tax payer in the state of Georgia.

The owner of the Braves is worth over $2B. But needs public funds to build a new stadium for HIS team...when the current stadium isn't even 20 years old? Bullocks. I wish them nothing but the worst.  

 

I get where you're coming from, but it's not like Atlanta is unique in this regard.  Corporate welfare from taxpayers to billionaire owners has become par for the course.  (if you live in Virginia, last year you helped give $4M to Snyder to upgrade a workout facility). Easterbrook was on the radio the other day, and said only 2 current NFL stadiums were built without taxpayer money:  Gillette and MetLife.  They don't need it, but they get it because if we don't pay, some other city will. 

 

A good read on the subject.  http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/how-the-nfl-fleeces-taxpayers/309448/

 

 

 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

This venture seems like a mighty big gamble for a sport whose fanbase is shrinking.

 

It's great for the Braves. Generally speaking, it's always good when someone gives you half a billion dollars. It will be a nicer stadium, closer to their fan base. (I read a few Braves message boards yesterday and a lot of the posts were basically "Oh, thank goodness we won't have to deal with those "urban" types any longer.")

 

This should end, but it seems like there is always a municipality willing to spend the money.

[RFKFedEx]

I think the Braves are making the correct business decision here, fleecing tax payers is the right thing to do if you can.

 

However, imo Atl and Cobb county could ignore the Braves without having to worry about them leaving the area. There are no new markets to move to, nobody esle is going to fund a new stadium. This is why we still don't have the NFL in LA, and teams like Jax, the Tampa Rays, and the Oakland A's/Raiders are stuck in their current stadiums and markets.

 

The US market for stadium subsidies peaked in the 1990s, despite the Earth shattering numbers we've seen in the 2000s w/ places like Nats Park, Cowboys and Yankees stadiums.

 

There's an awesome book on this subject called Field of Schemes. It's also a website updated daily.

[JoeWolf990]

I am really disappointed in this on so many levels, and I am not a BRaves fan.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I think the Braves are making the correct business decision here, fleecing tax payers is the right thing to do if you can.

 

However, imo Atl and Cobb county could ignore the Braves without having to worry about them leaving the area. There are no new markets to move to, nobody esle is going to fund a new stadium. This is why we still don't have the NFL in LA, and teams like Jax, the Tampa Rays, and the Oakland A's/Raiders are stuck in their current stadiums and markets.

 

The US market for stadium subsidies peaked in the 1990s, despite the Earth shattering numbers we've seen in the 2000s w/ places like Nats Park, Cowboys and Yankees stadiums.

 

There's an awesome book on this subject called Field of Schemes. It's also a website updated daily.

 

Yea...I don't know where a baseball team is going to go in 2013. Washington was the last untapped market.

 

I think the NFL owners will leave LA empty forever. It makes them more money as a threat at this point. I actually think the NBA moved the Sonics in part to scare other cities and to create that threat for themselves.

[The Sisko]

I cant imagine traffic on a friday night game on the Perimeter at 75 and 275.

If you work downtown and live up 75, you might as well get a hotel room for the night.

My office is really close to where the new stadium will be if this goes down. I'm really P.O.'d about what it will almost undoubtedly mean for my commute. As if traffic in that area isn't bad enough already! :DOH: However as a Fulton Co. taxpayer and general hater of corporate welfare, it makes me happy that our chump of a Mayor and his rubber stamp council didn't fall for the okie doke on this.

I can honestly say I'll never set foot in the joint. There goes at least $50/year off their bottom line. That'll show 'em.

[HOF44]

Easterbrook was on the radio the other day, and said only 2 current NFL stadiums were built without taxpayer money:  Gillette and MetLife.  They don't need it, but they get it because if we don't pay, some other city will. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think he was wrong.  FedEx Field was built without taxpayer subsidy to the stadium. 

[Duckus]

Publicly financing stadiums to help millionaires make millions - yay!

[Bliz]

I think he was wrong.  FedEx Field was built without taxpayer subsidy to the stadium. 

 

Hmmm.

 

I wasn't attuned to it at the time, so I don't know.  According to this site, it was 28% public financed.  http://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/nfc/FedExField.htm%C2'>

[HOF44]

Hmmm.

I wasn't attuned to it at the time, so I don't know. According to this site, it was 28% public financed.

The only public financing for our stadium was for road improvements around the stadium. I know the Giants got the same, so I guess they need to deferiniate between no public money for the stadium versus no public money at all for the project. NJ put up 70 to 100 million for infrastructure improvements to Giants stadium.

[skinsmarydu]

My office is really close to where the new stadium will be if this goes down. I'm really P.O.'d about what it will almost undoubtedly mean for my commute. As if traffic in that area isn't bad enough already! :DOH: However as a Fulton Co. taxpayer and general hater of corporate welfare, it makes me happy that our chump of a Mayor and his rubber stamp council didn't fall for the okie doke on this.

I can honestly say I'll never set foot in the joint. There goes at least $50/year off their bottom line. That'll show 'em.

Well said, dude. Hubby's company gave up their 10 seats behind the plate, and they could easily afford them for many years to come. Boss said no incoming customers felt "special" to be behind our home plate. Big WOW.

Btw, you going to the Dec. 15 game? Those of us in the area should at least meet each other!

[Bliz]

My link didn't post before.  Don't know why.  The site I was referring to was this:  http://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/nfc/FedExField.htm

 

They list MetLife as getting no public financing.  http://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/nfc/MetLifeStadium.htm

 

Like I said.  I don't know.

Well said, dude. Hubby's company gave up their 10 seats behind the plate, and they could easily afford them for many years to come. Boss said no incoming customers felt "special" to be behind our home plate. Big WOW.
Btw, you going to the Dec. 15 game? Those of us in the area should at least meet each other!

 

Got my ticket!  Friend of a friend has company seats, and I got offered one.  Not sure where they're located, but I get to go for the low low price of cooking some bbq for tailgating.  Awesome.

[The Sisko]

Well said, dude. Hubby's company gave up their 10 seats behind the plate, and they could easily afford them for many years to come. Boss said no incoming customers felt "special" to be behind our home plate. Big WOW.

Btw, you going to the Dec. 15 game? Those of us in the area should at least meet each other!

Well, it was more a joke about how few baseball games I go to. Baseball is about as exciting as watching paint dry. As for the Skins Falcons game, oh HELL yes! Mrs. 06 and I talked about this a couple of days ago. Some of her friends are tailgating so we'll be there early. I plan to make my over to meet up with the ES "homies" for a bit. It'll certainly be great to be able to put a face to some of the handles.