(06-17-2016 11:58 AM)Love and Honor Wrote: Last weekend I had a layover at the Atlanta airport, and upon taking off I saw both the new Falcons and Braves stadiums being built out in the distance. What's the city thinking? After looking into the ballpark deal especially (see below) it's especially bad, but it just makes no sense really. Is the city worried that both teams will abandon the 11th largest metro area in the US because their facilities are 20 years old? Same goes for the Rangers trying to get a new park in Arlington, it's not like they'd seriously consider moving to San Antonio or another much smaller city. I know that the Braves have said that Turner Field is far from the region's center of population, but that's the least of the Braves' attendance problems right now. At least the Falcons can argue that they've need something to attract Super Bowls, stay competitive for college games, and get an MLS team, as flimsy as that may be.
https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/co...-deal-ever
I'll disagree with GTS and say the downtown location is great for the teams as you were able to do reverse commutes to get to the facilities. No one is getting to SunTrust Park by game time with the current traffic nightmare around the Cobb Cloverleaf.
The why for the stadiums is different for each team. The Braves are owned by Liberty Media, functionally an absentee owner that sets a spending cap for the Braves at around $100 million USD every year. This wouldn't have been such a problem if the Braves hadn't signed one of the worst TV deals in history, basically giving away their games for peanuts. The final part of the set-up is that while Turner Field was gifted to the Braves, it is operated by the Atlanta Stadium Authority.
So the Braves go to the Mayor and are looking for about $190 million USD worth of renovations to Turner Field, plus want to city to use its eminent domain powers to condemn some of the buildings around the stadium to turn an area that has resisted gentrification into a mixed use development. These negotiations had been happening on and off for about 3 years.
Then out of the blue Falcons owner Arthur Blank says he wants a new stadium as well. Despite the fact that Blank has enough money to build his own facility and owns a teams that uses the Ga Dome 8 times a year, this announcement got the attention of not only the Mayor but the Governor. The Dome is owned by the state Convention Authority and made its money off of hosting ancillary events such as SEC Championships, Peach Bowls and Final Fours. Blank might be loaded, but he was never going to be able to build a domed facility by himself. And without the roof he doesn't get those other events.
So Blank proposes paying at the time $700 million USD with the city contributing the other $300 million USD from a hotel tax for a new building that will host a couple of Super Bowls, potentially be a World Cup site and and be the home of a new soccer team. But unlike the last deal, Blank will essentially own M-B Stadium, and reap those rewards.
All of this happened within the span of 13-16 months and pissed the Braves leadership off, causing them to look for other options. They found their huckleberry in Cobb County, an area always trying to prove its a real destination and not just a suburb of Atlanta. The county reps held a close vote to approve the $600 million USD bond referendum for the Braves' new park.
Many like to point out that new stadium deals are done for fear of the teams leaving. But leaving is a function of ballclubs trying to maximize their pocketbooks with as little expense as possible. The Falcons are worth $814 million USD which puts them 27th in the NFL for team value. M-B Stadium will at least put Blank's team in the middle of the pack when it opens next year. The Braves will get a new revenue stream and gift wrapped ballpark. But based on the AAA team they are currently fielding, I have no idea who will show up to watch them play next year.