Atlanta Braves are planning to leave Turner Field

After only playing there since 1997 :rolleyestf:

It's says they want better access to freeways and mass transit. But the new spot has no access to MARTA, and is at the junction of I-75 and I-285, a spot notorious for traffic problem. I smell shenanigans...

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131111/DAA0G3OO1.html

Mass transit is hardly used in Atlanta. They're replacing the Georgia Dome too. Something crooked is going on there.

Mass transit is hardly used in Atlanta. They're replacing the Georgia Dome too. Something crooked is going on there.

It amazing that we always fall for it

It amazing that we always fall for it

Let's see if Tampa does now that St Pete has a new mayor.

Edit- For the record I am saying it does.

Let's see if Tampa does now that St Pete has a new mayor.

Edit- For the record I am saying it does.

I hope so! For The Rays sake and every other team that has to go play in that horrible dome!

I hope so! For The Rays sake and every other team that has to go play in that horrible dome!

I hope not, I don't want any more public funded stadiums.

I also don't want the Rays to have a sizable revenue bump, they are dangerous enough as it is.

I hope not, I don't want any more public funded stadiums.

I also don't want the Rays to have a sizable revenue bump, they are dangerous enough as it is.

I figured you wouldn't like that. Especially being a resident. I don't really care about that. Baseball wins so I'm happy.

The revenue bump is a scary proposition. Hadn't thought of that...

I figured you wouldn't like that. Especially being a resident. I don't really care about that. Baseball wins so I'm happy.

The revenue bump is a scary proposition. Hadn't thought of that...

I should be far enough away that I wouldn't get hit by any of it.

This is just idiotic.

Turner Field is a baseball-only stadium, with plenty of luxury box and club seats, and all the modern amenities and whistles that any ballpark built in the last 20 years has.

And it's only 17 years old.

There are some sports teams that need a new stadium--A's, Raiders, Chargers, etc. The Braves decidedly do not need one.

If Atlanta wants a new stadium let the team pay for it. Why should the citizens have to pay any of the estimated $672 million it's going to cost. And you know that estimate is just an estimate. The thing will probably come close to $800 million by the time it's built. The team usually places between 10th and 15th in annual attendance and it's not because of the lack of mass transit.

If Atlanta wants a new stadium let the team pay for it. Why should the citizens have to pay any of the estimated $672 million it's going to cost. And you know that estimate is just an estimate. The thing will probably come close to $800 million by the time it's built. The team usually places between 10th and 15th in annual attendance and it's not because of the lack of mass transit.

I'm not a person who is opposed to any public financing of stadiums. It may be hokey, but sports teams do have a way of uniting a local community. I was watching a Youtube video of the fan reactions to last year's Ravens-Broncos playoff games and it really brought home how much of a communal moment it was.

So on that basis alone, in principle I'm okay with at least part of a stadium's cost being publicly financed. A sports team can indeed be an asset to the community.

That being said, if there were ever a situation where the team needs to pay for the entire stadium (and the surrounding infrastructure) itself, it's the Braves and this nonsense.

Stadiums can be replaced either if a) the stadium is clearly old and outdated and is putting the team at a competitive disadvantage, or b) if the stadium is clearly not a proper venue for the sport that it is hosting (a la the LA Coliseum and the Dodgers when they first moved to LA).

Turner Field fits into neither of these categories. It's not quite OPACY or PNC or the Giants' park in terms of being an outstanding setting, but it's a fine ballpark with every amenity the Braves need. It's not dated or aged in any sense. And while it was technically built first to host the Olympics, it was designed strictly for baseball in its final form.

So, yes, this is one clear example where the team needs to bear 100% of the cost.

Fulton County (which includes Atlanta) is not putting forth any funding for the new stadium (they refused to pay for a couple of hundred million in renovations) because the Braves are moving to Cobb County whose government apparently has agreed to fund a large portion of the cost for a new stadium. From an economic perspective, public funding of stadia is a losing proposition - but as the owner of a team if someone is willing to give your team (bank account) a hand out, why not take it??

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/11/13/the-braves-ballpark-bamboozling-is-beginning-on-schedule/

Revenue bonds could be paid off with funds generated by the stadium complex, although county taxpayers could still be responsible for making up the difference if stadium or other revenues fall short . . . A more likely scenario, though, is that the stadium will more than pay for itself and that its presence will unleash a flood of additional sales and hotel/motel tax revenues.

Taxpayers are going to get hosed again.

One would think that after the Marlins fiasco they would at least have to wait a few more years before pulling this garbage.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/11/13/the-braves-ballpark-bamboozling-is-beginning-on-schedule/

Taxpayers are going to get hosed again.

One would think that after the Marlins fiasco they would at least have to wait a few more years before pulling this garbage.

Hosed is right ..... most of the studies that show that a stadium is economically positive utilize 'pie-in-the-sky' estimates. Things as far fetched as the economic value of the people who pick up the trash blocks away. There has never been a study endorsed by those who want the stadium built that has ever been correct about the amount of economic impact. The people of Fulton county should be happy that the people of Cobb county will get stuck with this (of course the state gov't would step in and impose the burden over all Georgians if the burden os too big)