Despite Opening Week at New Stadium Braves Average Attenence Already Below 6 (of 20) Complete Years at Turner Field (Atlanta: transportation, land)

[evannole]

Originally Posted by cqholt

This is the issue! Liberty Media sees the team as business venture first and sports team second. They make decisions with no regard for the fan base, with profits being the only motivator.

I think you meant, "They make decisions with no regard for the small group of fans in southeast Atlanta who are inconvenienced and have had their pride hurt by the team's move."

Everyone I know (mostly intown Atlanta folks in their 20s and 30s) who has gone so far has said that the fan experience at STP is far superior to what Turner Field had to offer. We were due to go last weekend but the plans fell through; hopefully we'll make it to a game sometime soon.

The on-field product definitely needs some help, but coming from those who know far better than me, it sounds like the farm system is rife with talent, and if they actually develop it, it should pay dividends.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by evannole

I think you meant, "They make decisions with no regard for the small group of fans in southeast Atlanta who are inconvenienced and have had their pride hurt by the team's move."

Everyone I know (mostly intown Atlanta folks in their 20s and 30s) who has gone so far has said that the fan experience at STP is far superior to what Turner Field had to offer. We were due to go last weekend but the plans fell through; hopefully we'll make it to a game sometime soon.

The on-field product definitely needs some help, but coming from those who know far better than me, it sounds like the farm system is rife with talent, and if they actually develop it, it should pay dividends.

I was not referencing the stadium move, but other motivations outside of the move.

[green_mariner]

This is just the truth. For being a sorry team, the Braves are attracting decent attendance. 25,000/game is nothing to cheer about. However, for finishing below .500 3 years in a row and being currently on pace to lose 100 games, that is actually not bad. They could be the Cleveland Indians, who went to the World Series last year, but could only draw 19,560 per game.

[jsvh]

Leadoff: How Braves attendance differs on weeknights, weekends

Seems like the Cobb Braves are seeing similar issues as the Gwinnett Braves:

"The G-Braves, not helped by traffic, have had trouble drawing for weeknight games since their inception, but had been able to make up for that somewhat by drawing big Friday and Saturday crowds."

Gwinnett Braves still face challenge of falling attendance | G-Braves | gwinnettdailypost.com

[hilltop180]

I think other than the shadiness of the Cobb commissioner the deal is pretty much a win/win deal for most people. The Turner Field area was really a drag. I remember there being plans to develop around that area and even with Grant Park booming nearby the city could not figure out how to revitalize the area. The Battery and stadium are great. All the restaurants are good and the park had a lot of entertainment. There will be a lot of people going to games during the summer when they get more out of town tourist hitting games. The big impact are some of the people around Turner Field who made money from street vending and running gypsy lots. They just had an article where they said they made the most profit for any opening day game in the history of Atlanta. MLB is a business and the city of Atlanta was not providing the best opportunity for the Braves to maximize their profit.

[jsvh]

Thing is, Braves are a key reason the area around Turner field was the way it was. With them gone the area is now getting redeveloped.

Braves are certainly maximizing their profit with that tax handout in Cobb. If profit maximization at all cost is what you look for in a team, Braves are your team. If you want to go with a team maximizes their fans, check out an Atlanta United game this summer. They are a lot of fun.

[back2atl]

Excited to check out Atlanta United, but do you seriously think the team and Arthur Blank aren't focused on maximizing profit? For real? They're building a $1.6 billion complex with $700 million in public money! Or at least that's latest estimate I've seen, up from $1 billion (lie) at the start. They sold the stadium naming rights to a German company. It's right next to a perfectly good GA Dome, but they couldn't get the $$ from another Super Bowl, Final Four, etc without the new stadium.

I know the United aren't directly or officially behind the new stadium, and feeding trolls is a waste of time, but wow man. The United exist as a way to increase profits in the stadium! On the backs of public money!

And I'm not against it, I'm who they target, I love sports and I'm pumped that Atlanta has an MLS team. Tossed them some cash already for a t-shirt. Just amazed at your double standards and fascinated to know if you really believe the nonsense you're pushing.

[jsvh]

back2atl, Arthur is paying for the overages on the costs for the Benz stadium. He has already made his money like Ted Turner.

Besides the BS Northside Dr bridge (which I still hope gets canceled), the city funding is limited to the $200M hotel taxes that were already paying for the dome. Unlike Cobb, no property taxes have been committed to the stadium.

[back2atl]

You're right about construction costs. I misspoke. To be precise, I was referring to the actual full price tag.

From Mr. Blank himself: “We’ve got close to $700 million in public money, if you look at the net present value of the stream over a long period of time,” Blank said. “(There is also a) huge private commitment, $850 million."

[glovenyc]

Originally Posted by cqholt

This is the issue! Liberty Media sees the team as business venture first and sports team second. They make decisions with no regard for the fan base, with profits being the only motivator.

Dude, the U.S. is a business now which sees the country as a business venture first, and the citizens second...that is as American as baseball, apple-pie and Toyota Corollas.


Liberty Media is just one of thousands of big corporations that is only in it for the money. I don't agree with it, but this is the world we live in today.