RIP Turner Field

[danielh41]

I love going to different ballparks, and the family and I made our first visit to Turner Field this past August. I've always thought of Turner Field as one of the new parks. It just opened for baseball in 1997, and it felt new when we were there. Here's a pic of me and my boys from that game (the Braves were playing the Rockies)...



Apparently, Turner Field wasn't new enough for the Atlanta Braves management because they just announced that they are building a new ballpark in Cobb County and leaving Turner Field after the 2016 season. My first thought when I heard this was, "Seriously?"

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/atl/atl ... y=news_atl

[danielh41]

By the way, that jersey I'm wearing in the picture was issued to pitcher Latroy Hawkins in 2007. That's convenient since my last name is Hawkins. What's inconvenient is that Latroy is six inches taller than I am, so the jersey is really long on me.

[Vandal]

It won't be dead -- just lonely and unoccupied!

[littlebeast13]

I think Clem may have been behind this....

lb13

[silverscreenselect]

A bit of context here. The Atlanta Falcons have been in negotiations with the city to build a new stadium despite the fact that the Georgia Dome is an excellent facility, and they've had the city jumping through hoops to give them what they want. All that time, the city pretty much took the Braves for granted. Rather than play the Falcons' game of "keep giving me more or I'll leave," the Braves quietly struck a deal with Cobb County.

The area where the Braves are moving now includes a number of scattered suburban office buildings (2-10 floors) and hotels, with a lot of wooded area. There's access on two major expressways, although evening rush hour traffic going through that intersection will probably be a mess when the Braves have a home game. It's only about a mile from where I work now (although we're moving in the summer and we'll be about three miles away after the move).

The Braves produced a lot of statistics showing that much of their fan base lives north of Atlanta and doesn't like traveling downtown. Cobb County is northwest of Atlanta (although the stadium will still have an Atlanta mailing address, since it's not in an incorporated area). The Braves' AAA minor league team plays in Gwinnett Country, which is northeast of Atlanta.

[danielh41]

A bit of context here. The Atlanta Falcons have been in negotiations with the city to build a new stadium despite the fact that the Georgia Dome is an excellent facility, and they've had the city jumping through hoops to give them what they want. All that time, the city pretty much took the Braves for granted. Rather than play the Falcons' game of "keep giving me more or I'll leave," the Braves quietly struck a deal with Cobb County.

The area where the Braves are moving now includes a number of scattered suburban office buildings (2-10 floors) and hotels, with a lot of wooded area. There's access on two major expressways, although evening rush hour traffic going through that intersection will probably be a mess when the Braves have a home game. It's only about a mile from where I work now (although we're moving in the summer and we'll be about three miles away after the move).

The Braves produced a lot of statistics showing that much of their fan base lives north of Atlanta and doesn't like traveling downtown. Cobb County is northwest of Atlanta (although the stadium will still have an Atlanta mailing address, since it's not in an incorporated area). The Braves' AAA minor league team plays in Gwinnett Country, which is northeast of Atlanta.

I didn't know that the Falcons were building a new stadium until we were there in August and I caught some snippets from the local sports radio there. I remember thinking then, "What's wrong with the Georgia Dome?"

[Pastor Fireball]

It won't be dead -- just lonely and unoccupied!

Just like alt.tv.game-shows.

[TheConfessor]

Atlanta is crazy to let this happen. I went to the NCAA Men's Final 4 in the Georgia Dome this year and the place seemed like a perfectly good, modern facility. I was shocked to learn that it is scheduled to be torn down.

[silverscreenselect]

Atlanta is crazy to let this happen. I went to the NCAA Men's Final 4 in the Georgia Dome this year and the place seemed like a perfectly good, modern facility. I was shocked to learn that it is scheduled to be torn down.

I've never understood this logic. The Falcons use the Dome for ten games a year (next year it's going to be nine, since they somehow agreed to play their home game against the Detroit Lions, who feature very popular local players Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, in London). All the other events (Peach Bowl, Kickoff Classic, various other college and high school games, NCAA basketball, major concerts) could continue. And while the city spent all this time trying to appease the Falcons and their ten games, they let the Braves and their 81 home games a year get away.

[SpacemanSpiff]

The Braves' AAA minor league team plays in Gwinnett Country, which is northeast of Atlanta.

That team used to be here in Richmond. And this completes what they've done with all their teams from Class A on up over the last decade -- demand fancier digs (paid for by the towns they were in) and, when it didn't happen, they moved them elsewhere to places where they had the sweetheart deals (new facilities paid for by the local governments, a cut on all concessions and parking, a cut on any concerts or events at the field, and a number of dates [again, concerts and such] during the year they could hold their own events and get 100% of whatever came in those dates).

Class A - moved from Macon to Rome in 2003
Class A (advanced) - moved from Myrtle Beach to Lynchburg in 2011
Class AA - moved from Greenville to Jackson, MS in 2005
Class AAA - moved from Richmond to Gwinnett, GA in 2009

It wouldn't surprise me if a similar deal has been worked out with Cobb County. And, IIRC from hearing a radio program this morning, Cobb County isn't exactly rolling in dough.

[elwoodblues]

This reminds me of a line from The Simpsons in which a Super Bowl announcer says, "This stadium was completed last week, and it will be demolished next Wednesday. The priorities in this country are a joke."

[bazodee]

The new ballpark will be built 0.5 miles from my house. I think we'll be insulated from gameday traffic but I have yet to read the details of how we fine citizens of Cobb County are going to pay for this.

If you were searching for a new house to buy, would you consider a ballpark within a mile to be a monetized amenity?

[Snaxx]

The Braves' AAA minor league team plays in Gwinnett Country, which is northeast of Atlanta.

That team used to be here in Richmond. (snipped)
Class AAA - moved from Richmond to Gwinnett, GA in 2009
(snipped)

Yesterday I happened to pass within long AM radio range of Richmond and heard news of the mayor's proposal for a downtown stadium for the team that replaced the Braves, the Flying Squirrels. There are financing questions and opposition.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local ... df21b.html
One source of opposition goes back to the Richmond Braves days.
http://defendersfje.tripod.com/id33.html

[Snaxx]

The new ballpark will be built 0.5 miles from my house. I think we'll be insulated from gameday traffic but I have yet to read the details of how we fine citizens of Cobb County are going to pay for this.

If you were searching for a new house to buy, would you consider a ballpark within a mile to be a monetized amenity?

Only if it were in a walkable or transit-friendly neighborhood such as Wrigleyville/Cubs. Baseball just does not look right to me when surrounded by a sea of 15,000 parked cars and 6-7 lanes of jam-packed traffic each way around the site. Maybe more appropriate for a NFL stadium that only needs to get fans to come 8-10 times a year.

The Braves did not explain how it will be easier to access a new stadium that will located at the interchange for two of Atlanta's busiest interstates, I-75 and I-285, and has been plagued by major traffic problems for years — despite I-75 being expanded as wide as seven lanes near the new stadium site.

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/top-st ... 7844.shtml

[SpacemanSpiff]

Yesterday I happened to pass within long AM radio range of Richmond and heard news of the mayor's proposal for a downtown stadium for the team that replaced the Braves, the Flying Squirrels. There are financing questions and opposition.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local ... df21b.html
One source of opposition goes back to the Richmond Braves days.
http://defendersfje.tripod.com/id33.html

The biggest problem I've had with the Shockoe Bottom (downtown) location is that it's in a flood plain. My office used to be about four blocks north of this picture:



The far side of the open structure (green roofed area) is where home plate would be. And this was only 9 years ago, and after the flood waters had receded by about a foot or so (it'd gotten to just below the lowest level of the green roof).

I have other issues, but to me this is always the trump card -- building a ballpark in a known flood plain, with limited parking options (supposedly addressed in the plans), plus with how this is going to get paid (part of a bigger issue with the city-vs-counties dynamics here, which I won't go into here).

[clem21]

I think Clem may have been behind this....

lb13

Bwahahahahaha!

But seriously, I was actually in Atlanta for a day once, and I bought myself a one day pass on the MARTA so I could see the sights. I went to Martin Luther Kings Birthplace, centennial park, and the Georgia Dome. I wanted to take the tour of Turner Field (I generally find a way to tour the stadium when I'm in a new baseball city) but I couldn't because it wasn't within close walking distance to public transit. So they are in fact demolishing Turner Field for essentially the same reason that I am not a Jeopardy! Champion .

Eff you Turner Field. Go to hell.