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I think as I grow older I'm always going to harbor a slight resentment of the Braves for this. I'm from Gwinnett and this stinks for us too. It isn't just a OTP/ITP thing.
My great grandfather was a civic booster and a banker in Atlanta's early days. One of his proud things was he was a civic booster that worked towards Atlanta building Atlanta-Fulton County stadium, so Atlanta could get a major league baseball team. Prior to that you would watch the Crackers play off of Ponce. For years has had a large photo on his wall of the original stadium on his wall. In the picture it was only half painted white.
When the Olympics came and what would become the Ted was built, I saw it as a good thing. It was a much improved ballpark. It had more character, I liked the brickwork, it was still in roughly the same location with a good view of town, and I thought it was something the neighborhood could eventually grow around. There is an interesting history (for the long-run) being able to say that was the Olympic Stadium.
Instead we are getting a smaller stadium on its own campus way to the northeast of town. They keep proudly showing that picture showing most of their fans are on the northside, but they keep forgetting they are building it very far to the west away from many others on the northside as well. They are also leaving behind those of us whose families go back many generations and really see this as a regional team that belongs downtown.
I guess this is sort of how Milwaukee felt, except the Braves left them altogether.
It's hard to blame the team, however. They've been trying to get something going downtown for years, but the city got all wrapped in the Falcons. C'est la vie.
It's hard to blame the team, however. They've been trying to get something going downtown for years, but the city got all wrapped in the Falcons. C'est la vie.
I mean, all things considered, football tends to pay out more than baseball these days.
Not sure why you give 100% of the blame to the Braves - you should be mad at Atlanta for making promises for 50 years to develop the area and never following through. As for the location of the new stadium, the corner of I-75 and I-285 is not so far west. If the stadium was up I-75 that would be a problem (or I-85 or GA400). I think anywhere along the I-285 is reasonably located.
According to GDOT the average weeknight comparison of the old vs. new stadium shows:
It takes 32 minutes of highway driving to reach Turner Field from the I-75/I-575 interchange in Cobb. It takes only 10 minutes to go from I-75/I-575 to the site of the proposed stadium.
From Gwinnett County, it takes 40 minutes to go from I-85 at Beaver Ruin Road to Turner Field. Reaching the new stadium takes 32 minutes.
North Fulton County residents traveling from Ga. 400 at Holcomb Bridge Road drive on average 1 hour and 6 minutes to Turner Field. It would take 39 minutes to reach the new stadium at the same time of day.
From Midtown Atlanta, trip times are almost the same — 12 minutes to Turner Field or 11 minutes to the new stadium location.
Fans coming from Conyers on I-20 have to drive almost twice as long to reach the new site (44 minutes) compared with the old one (24 minutes).
Fans coming from Stockbridge at Ga. 138 must drive 39 minutes to get to Cobb. It takes them only 18 minutes to reach Turner Field.
According to GDOT the average weeknight comparison of the old vs. new stadium shows:
[*]
From Midtown Atlanta, trip times are almost the same — 12 minutes to Turner Field or 11 minutes to the new stadium location.
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GDOT is clearly incompetent if it thinks it'll only take 11 minutes to get to the new stadium from Midtown on a weeknight.
Yea. I grew up with the Braves. I knew every player in the early 90s. But I feel that they are no longer my team now. As a tax payer I am quite happy with Atlanta's choice not to try to outbid Cobb's ridiculous offer and think the city handled the process well overall. Braves management shows they are focused on short term profits and not the team's history. And Cobb shows they care more about their pride than anything. Of course Baseball has seen declining viewership and hasn't been America's favorite sport since the 70's. I am more excited about the possibility of an MLS team myself.
Why does this whole process feel so rushed, as if the Commission wants to stay two steps ahead of the Vox Populi?
Pretty much. Tim Lee led the charge in Cobb County for T-SPLOST and got spanked for it when the opposition groups and special interests had the opportunity to organize and campaign against it. That measure required a referendum, so it was inevitable. This initiative did not require a referendum, so there were good reasons (from his perspective) not to unnecessarily enable the organized obstruction.
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