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Certainly not the only metro that has this setup. Seattle for one has the mariners and their AAA team in Tacoma. While many may prefer the big leagues there are others ( I know some) who prefer minor league ball and only go to those games.
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Originally Posted by FlyiMetro
I never understood why they moved their AAA team so close to Atlanta metro? It was a really dumb decision. Atlanta is not big enough to support two teams. Hell even the Braves have empty seats when they are winning. That field in Gwinnett is not producing.
And people say the City of Atlanta is mismanaged? This is the biggest boondoggle and black eye for the county.
The only people who will attend will be people from Gwinnett and beyond. Nobody from Atlanta would drive to Coolray Field, when Turner Field is downtown and accessible by MARTA shuttle.
Now the developer is trying to go back on the development and create something half-assed.
Its just too close though. I know its Braves Country, but I a sure many of those people in Gwinnett come to Turner to see the real Braves play and not the farm team. I dont get it.
I agree with this, but I do not think there is enough room for both teams the Atlanta market can not handle that.
I agree, I just didn't articulate it well enough.
Rome draws fans from NW Georgia, NE Alabama, and the NW part of the Atlanta metro. Gwinnett is smack dab in the middle of the Atlanta metro. You don't have to go much farther down 85 than Norcross before you are closer to Turner Field than CoolRay Field. You also have Marta out to Doraville which might even make it more convenient for folks in southern Gwinnett to attend an Atlanta Braves game than a Gwinnett Braves game. I'd imagine Rome draws fans from at least as far down as Kennessaw and possibly even Marietta. That being said, most casual baseball fans who go to a game once or twice a year are gonna go to a MLB game over a MiLB game if there isn't a drastic difference in distance, cost, or overall hassle. People in Gwinnett also have more entertainment options in general closer by that are gonna draw potential fans away.
That doesn't even take into consideration that a Single A team is lower maintenance, so to speak, than a AAA team. They aren't expected to draw as many fans in the first place hence the Rome stadium being half the size of CoolRay.
I undertand the point but not sure I agree. Again other metros, smaller then Atlanta can support it...give it a few years and a healthy economy and lets see.
Seattle's AAA team is right down the highway in Tacoma Wa and after looking it up I see average 5,500 fans per game and they have done well for years. Maybe expectations were too high given the recession and being new in the market.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyiMetro
I agree with this, but I do not think there is enough room for both teams the Atlanta market can not handle that.
I undertand the point but not sure I agree. Again other metros, smaller then Atlanta can support it...give it a few years and a healthy economy and lets see.
Seattle's AAA team is right down the highway in Tacoma Wa and after looking it up I see average 5,500 fans per game and they have done well for years. Maybe expectations were too high given the recession and being new in the market.
The current Tacoma team has been there since 1960 and minor league baseball has been in Tacoma in some form since the early-1900's. Considering that minor league baseball has a long-standing place in that community and that Seattle wasn't always viewed as only being a short drive away, it is understandable that the Tacoma team would do better than a team in Gwinnett County. When you also factor in that most people in Tacoma probably aren't transplants, you have a fanbase that may have literally grew up on the team and may identify with them just as much (if not more) as the Mariners.
Conversely, a person in Gwinnett County that may have grown up or at least been in town for the Atlanta Braves division title streak probably didn't turn flips when they decided to put a minor league team in Lawrenceville.
How the hell did Atlanta get thrown in a conversation about Gwinnett Braves? The answer is people would rather drive or take MARTA a little further and watch the big leagues, than watch AAA baseball. If the prices were considerably lower it would attract more people, but from what I've heard there isn't much price difference. General Admission to The Ted is only $8 and there's not a bad seat in the stadium.
How the hell did Atlanta get thrown in a conversation about Gwinnett Braves? The answer is people would rather drive or take MARTA a little further and watch the big leagues, than watch AAA baseball. If the prices were considerably lower it would attract more people, but from what I've heard there isn't much price difference. General Admission to The Ted is only $8 and there's not a bad seat in the stadium.
Atlanta got thrown in because it is a contributing factor to the G-Braves failure to attract crowds. Just like you said, many people (myself included) would rather drive from Gwinnett to Turner Field than go to Coolray Field.
In response to the earlier Tacoma comparison, my research notes that out of all of the AAA affiliates, the Gwinnett Braves and the Tacoma Rainers are in fact that only AAA clubs that are located in suburbs of their parent franchises. Most other AAA affliates are located stand-alone cities that either aren't big enough to support an MLB franchise (i.e. Albuquerque or Omaha) or who may not be able to support one in addition to their other pro teams (i.e. New Orleans or Buffalo). Gwinnett County is accessible to just about every entertainment offering in Metro Atlanta, so the G-Braves often will not be the first or second choice when it comes to sports or entertainment dollars.
I much prefer going to Gwinnett to see the minors, and I live only about 15 minutes from Turner. I just get a more "hometown" feel at Gwinnett than I do at Turner. By the time you sit in a traffic line forever, pay $12 to park, walk half a mile to the stadium, buy an overpriced beer, and get to your seat, the magic is kind of gone.
I'm not much of a professional sports guy, anyway, so maybe that is the reason. Something just irks me about professional athletes. Same reason I watch some college football but have zero interest in the NFL.
By the time you sit in a traffic line forever, pay $12 to park
MARTA is the smarter choice there. No traffic and only $5 round trip. Agree the beer is overpriced, but from what I've heard the beer prices aren't much better at Coolray Field?
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