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

[arjay57]

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.

Not to be too cynical, but that's been the story of professional sports from the beginning. When the city of Atlanta made a secret deal to lure the Braves here from Milwaukee, it had nothing whatsoever to do with their traditional fan base.

Nonetheless we were thrilled to get them down here. It really put the ATL on the map as a big league city.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by glovenyc

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.

Ted would have never done that to the fans.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Ted would have never done that to the fans.

He sold it, to a faceless media conglomerate (which then sold it to another one) because it was a good financial decision for him.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Not to be too cynical, but that's been the story of professional sports from the beginning. When the city of Atlanta made a secret deal to lure the Braves here from Milwaukee, it had nothing whatsoever to do with their traditional fan base.

Nonetheless we were thrilled to get them down here. It really put the ATL on the map as a big league city.

Yep. And, for the most part, if the team doesn't make money then it cannot pay for marquee players, which the fans do demand. If they cannot hire and pay for the rockstars, the team loses and the fan base slowly dissipates anyway. So, better to make money and lose some fans than lose money and lose some fans. It is all pretty straightforward.

[jsvh]

Ted's Atlanta Braves > Liberty Media's Cobb Braves

In every way really. Liberty Media should have been investing in the team instead of their Disney Land that is drawing less fans.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Ted's Atlanta Braves > Liberty Media's Cobb Braves

In the prime years of Ted's ownership, yes, this is true. However, they were pretty much uniformly terrible (yet a fantastic money maker for Ted and his Superstation) for most of his first fifteen years of ownership, including nine seasons with more than 90 losses during that stretch. They were truly horrible. I loved them all the same - growing up in Florida, which had no teams at the time, they were the only baseball on TV night in and night out, thanks to WTBS, but even the overly optimistic kid that I was could recognize that they weren't good.

[primaltech]

I share in the loathing of Liberty Media, but they're not the "Cobb Braves"- they're the Atlanta Braves. Just because a few butt-hurt losers can't drive 2 miles outside city limits, does not mean they don't represent Atlanta, not just Cobb County.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by primaltech

I share in the loathing of Liberty Media, but they're not the "Cobb Braves"- they're the Atlanta Braves. Just because a few butt-hurt losers can't drive 2 miles outside city limits, does not mean they don't represent Atlanta, not just Cobb County.

Maybe some of those butthurt losers just enjoyed the transportation options Turner Field offered; MARTA, bike, walk, etc.

[whodean]

Some.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Maybe some of those butthurt losers just enjoyed the transportation options Turner Field offered; MARTA, bike, walk, etc.

But that's not any different. Those near this stadium also can walk and bike to it. And anyone can still take transit to it (including MARTA route#12 which connects with the Cumberland Circulator which takes you to the game.)

For me, the ironic thing about all this is, I wouldn't have been able to walk or easily take transit to the Ted from my new place, but I can with SunTrust Park.

Like I said in one of these various jsvh Cobb-hater threads, I do sympathize that they're moving away from you. But it's not like they were in an urban oasis, or that they had much better of a transit situation than STP.

And, to a degree, it's also a shame that they're moving away from Downtown, the center of the metro and the traditional location of Atlanta's pro sports franchises. But, they're just barely outside the city, and it's still very accessible to most of the metro.