The Atlanta Braves today announced they were moving from their less than 20 year-old home at Turner Field to a new facility to be built in Cobb County. Meck Deck’s former lead blogger and current Cobb County resident Jeff Taylor offers up his take on the surprising development. A key point he makes:
Now the city of Atlanta is similarly gob-smacked. But shouldn’t be. City officials have spent the last two years steadily bidding up the cost of a new stadium for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. The price tag? An astounding $1.2 billion, plus millions to buy out local churches to make way for the football temple.
It is zero-sum deal, the more scarce land and public dollars are thrown at football, the less there is available for baseball. And although the Braves were playing a stadium less than 20 years old, it is no longer state of the art and not drawing at a top 10 rate, which is pretty damning for a franchise with the tradition and success of the Braves.
That’s a lesson that Charlotte city officials should keep in mind going forward as well.
