Atlanta Braves' New Stadium Is a Disaster for Taxpayers and Fans

[EasyAce]

It's an economic albatross, built because of an ethically questionable deal, and fans can't even get to the stadium without
playing a human version of Frogger.
By Eric Boehm
http://reason.com/blog/2017/04/15/atlanta-braves-new-stadium-is-a-disaster

The Atlanta Braves christened Major League Baseball's newest stadium on Friday night with a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres
in front of some 41,000 fans, most of whom seemed to actually make it into the stadium despite the nightmarish traffic jams and lack of
parking at Sun Trust Field.

More on that in a moment.

First, let's keep in mind that none of this would be possible without Cobb County, Georgia, taxpayers kicking in more than $400 million.
More accurately, none of this would have been possible without one of Cobb County's former top government officials negotiating a secret
deal with the Atlanta Braves to have taxpayers pay that amount for a new stadium, and without the rest of the Cobb County commission
voting to approve the stadium deal at a supposedly public hearing where members of the public were prevented from voicing their opposition
to the secretly crafted deal.

And that's really only the beginning of the story of one of the worst stadium deals in American history.

When the Braves announced plans in 2013 to relocate from downtown Atlanta to the northern suburbs of Cobb County, Georgia (closer to
Marietta, Georgia, than to downtown Atlanta), some observers were surprised. After all, baseball teams had been flocking to retro-style
downtown ballparks ever since the opening of Camden Yards in Baltimore in 1992. Those downtown stadiums were supposed to be revitalizing
portions of inner cities in return for massive public spending on the stadiums themselves.

The Braves had one of those downtown ballparks. Turner Field began life as the main Olympic stadium for the 1996 Summer Games, and the
Braves moved in the following year.

Perhaps the biggest surprise, at least at first, was that the Braves were abandoning a relatively young ballpark. A ballpark that is younger, in
fact, than Miley Cyrus, as Victor Metheson, a professor of sports economics at the College of the Holy Cross, points out.

At the time, the Braves said Turner Field was in need of upgrades that would cost as much as $200 million. It was a no-brainer, then, to move
into a new facility that would end up costing $650 million—with taxpayers kicking in $450 million. The real reason for the move, later uncovered
by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, was a secret deal negotiated between Cobb County Commissioner Tim Lee and the Braves, which included
the promise of $400 million in public cash for a new stadium in the northern suburbs.

Team president John Schuerholz later admitted that the deal had to be in private to avoid a public backlash.

"If it had gotten out, more people would have started taking the position of, 'We don't want that to happen. We want to see how viable this was
going to be,'" Schuerholz told Atlanta's NBC affiliate. "We were able to get that all done."

When the deal was made public, there was a backlash—but that wasn't enough to change anything.

Unlike in Arlington, Texas, where voters last year approved a plan to build a replacement for the Texas Rangers' current ballpark (which opened
in 1994, making it also younger than Cyrus, who was born in 1992), there was no referendum on the stadium in Cobb County. In fact, opponents
of the stadium plan were prevented from speaking at a public meeting before county officials voted 5-0 in favor of the deal.

After the stadium was approved, things only got worse.

To pay for the stadium, Cobb County officials cut the budget for the county's park system. Then, they raised property taxes (and taxes on hotel
rooms and rental cars).

The new stadium promised to bring an economic stimulus to the surrounding area, but businesses near SunTrust Park soon found out that they
would be shut out of one of the major benefits of having thousands of people descend on the area for 81 home games each season. In 2016,
businesses within a mile of the stadium site were told they would be prohibited from selling their parking spaces to fans. As part of the deal
signed between the team and the county, The ordinance was requested by the Braves, the Journal-Constitution reported. The team said it was
about public safety, because apparently fans' vehicles will only be safe and sound if those fans pay $40 to park in a lot owned by the team.

The team eventually backed down from that position and allowed nearby businesses to offer parking to fans—but only after it became apparent
that a pedestrian bridge crossing Interstate 285, connecting the stadium to several nearby parking structures, would not be finished in time
for this year's grand opening. Recently, county officials admitted the $3.5 million pedestrian bridge won't be ready until next year, leaving the
team with an inadequate parking situation for the entire season.

As bad as the stadium deal has been for taxpayers, there's at least a silver lining. The backroom negotiations, ethics questions, and obvious
lack of economic benefit for anyone or anything in Cobb County has laid bare the false claims made by teams, owners, and leagues in favor
of new publicly funded stadiums.

"The reason the Braves say they want to move is because that stadium is in such a terrible neighborhood and they say 'we want to go somewhere
else where we can develop that economy,'" Metheson told me on this week's edition of American Radio Journal. "Well, look, the original Braves
stadium has had 20 years to redevelop the neighborhood that it's in, and it has been completely unsuccessful there."

The county commissioner who engineered the whole thing ended up under investigation for ethics violations and was voted out of office in 2016.
That doesn't mean that taxpayers get their money back and doesn't fix any of the lingering problems at the Braves' new home, but, hey, at least
it's something.

[TomSea]

It's very disappointing how some sports franchises feel obliged to build new stadiums every 20 years or however often.

The Broncos have been in their stadium forever. The Bears play in Soldier Field but I think they upgraded it.

[DCPatriot]

It's my understanding that there are stages to be built that, when completed, will make it the envy of the Major League.   

What's that they say about patience?   

[jmyrlefuller]

These stadium projects are becoming boondoggles.

Up until the 1980s it was perfectly acceptable to share a stadium with football, baseball and soccer all in one place. (And before any purists want to gripe about the concrete donuts and all that, most of the jewel-boxes were able to accommodate football without any problems.) Now, the NFL wants their billion-dollar stadiums, MLB wants their own hundreds-of-millions, and even MLS wants their own. These stadiums used to be civic projects for the betterment of the community. Now the teams that benefit put so many stipulations on the stadiums that it's impossible for those who put up the money to make a return on their investment.

You hardly ever see this in the indoor sports. Unless you're the New York Islanders, when they build a new arena, the NHL can be housed just as easily as the NBA or big-time college hoops.

[DCPatriot]

Harper's [Walk Off] homer in 9th, 2nd of day, lifts Nats over Phils 6-4

WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harper wasn't expecting a fastball with a full count from Joaquin Benoit.

No matter.

Harper hit a two-run homer in the third inning and a game-ending, three-run drive with two outs in the ninth, leading the Washington Nationals over the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 on Sunday.

"Benoit's tough with that devastating changeup he throws," Harper said. "I thought he was going to throw it there 3-2, but he left one up."

Harper had worked the count full against Benoit (0-1) before driving a 97 mph fastball to center for his fourth home run this season. It was Harper's fourth game-ending homer, his first since May 9, 2015, against Atlanta's Cody Martin. Harper has hit 18 of his 125 big league homers against the Phillies.

"I made a mistake and he made me pay," Benoit said. "No excuses."

more at:  http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=370416120

________________________________________________________________

[DCPatriot]

Fact is, Daniel Murphy, on deck at the time, was the reason Bryce got cheese on the 3-2 pitch.

Murphy is batting .396, with an .407 OBP and .642 SLG   That's a whopping 1.049 OPS  (on base percentage + slugging) *



* for all of you in Rio Linda   

[geronl]

Arlington taxpayers are going to build another ballpark??

Some people like the abuse.

[Jazzhead]

Harper's [Walk Off] homer in 9th, 2nd of day, lifts Nats over Phils 6-4

WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harper wasn't expecting a fastball with a full count from Joaquin Benoit.

No matter.

Harper hit a two-run homer in the third inning and a game-ending, three-run drive with two outs in the ninth, leading the Washington Nationals over the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 on Sunday.

"Benoit's tough with that devastating changeup he throws," Harper said. "I thought he was going to throw it there 3-2, but he left one up."

Harper had worked the count full against Benoit (0-1) before driving a 97 mph fastball to center for his fourth home run this season. It was Harper's fourth game-ending homer, his first since May 9, 2015, against Atlanta's Cody Martin. Harper has hit 18 of his 125 big league homers against the Phillies.

"I made a mistake and he made me pay," Benoit said. "No excuses."

more at:  http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=370416120

________________________________________________________________

Phils were one strike away from a gritty comeback and two series wins against the Nats in ten days.

Oh well.   It seems like the Phils and Nats match up well, except for one glaring difference -  they've got a weapon like Bryce Harper and we don't.  (Maikel Franco had a miserable series.)

[Bigun]

The FACT is that almost all of these publically owned sports facilities are economic tragedies for the taxpayers who actually pay for them!

They are sinkholes for tax money and usually NEVER make a profit.
 

[Maj. Bill Martin]

It's an economic albatross, built because of an ethically questionable deal, and fans can't even get to the stadium without
playing a human version of Frogger.

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view1/1951988/seinfeld-frogger-o.gif

[Polly Ticks]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this article is probably a little bit slanted.

Although the I-285 bridge is not yet complete, it apparently is open for pedestrian traffic.

http://www.cbs46.com/story/35150372/pedestrian-bridges-at-suntrust-park-available-for-use

[jpsb]

It's very disappointing how some sports franchises feel obliged to build new stadiums every 20 years or however often.

It is outragious. The Romans got 1,200 years out of their largest stadium.

The Circus Maximus was a chariot racetrack in Rome first constructed in the 6th century BC. The Circus was also used for other public events such as the Roman Games and gladiator fights and was last used for chariot races in the 6th century AD.

At its largest during the 1st century CE following its rebuilding after the fire of 64 CE, the Circus had a capacity for 250,000 spectators

[EasyAce]

The FACT is that almost all of these publically owned sports facilities are economic tragedies for the taxpayers who actually pay for them!

Believe it or not, there are some ballparks the taxpayers didn't or aren't paying for. (In some cases,
ballparks were financed by way of sales and other consumer taxes that voters were allowed to vote on,
but only an extremely few. I believe Comerica Park in Detroit was built that way---with voters approving
car rental and hotel taxes to foot some of the bill, with the late Tigers owner Mike Illitch putting in $185
million of his own money.) I know of six such parks at least:

1) Wrigley Field. (The Cubs have owned the park since they moved into it after William Weeghman---
who'd built the park for the Chicago Whales of the ancient third-major-leage bid the Federal League
---assembled the syndicate including William Wrigley, Jr. to buy the Cubs at the end of 1915. The
current Cubs owners, the Ricketts family, are looking to put together $575 million in private
financing to renovate the park.)

2) Fenway Park. (The Red Sox built the place and have owned it since, with each subsequent team
owner also owning the park.)

3) Dodger Stadium. (When Los Angeles officials showed Walter O'Malley assorted tracts of land the
city would be interested in selling to him, O'Malley picked out the tract known as Chavez Ravine.
The sale was put to a referendum and passed, and O'Malley bought the land and built the park,
opening in 1962. The Dodgers played in the Los Angeles Coliseum until the park was built.)

4) AT&T Park (formerly PacBell Park): The first privately-built baseball park since Dodger Stadium.

5) Citi Field: To get the park built New York floated a bond issue the Mets agreed from the outset
to repay---it's going to cost them $500 million over, I think, some 25 years. Essentially, the Mets
are repaying a loan.

6) Yankee Stadium: New York built and paid for parking facilities and a new nearby municipal park,
but the Yankees bought the land for the ballpark and built and paid for the stadium---for a none-too-
shabby $1.1 billion. (When the Yankees renovated the original Yankee Stadium in the mid-1970s,
the park soon came to be known as "The House That Ruthless Rebuilt" in honour of mercurial
owner George Steinbrenner.)

Ballparks didn't become publicly built or financed until the early 1950s, when two cities---Milwaukee and
Minneapolis---built new parks hoping to attract major league teams. (Talk about "if you build it, they
will come!") Milwaukee got the Boston Braves and Minneapolis got the Washington Senators, becoming
the Minnesota Twins. Sometimes forgotten: Minneapolis almost got the Giants: the Giants had their top
farm team there and had the territorial rights, and were preparing to move there until the Brooklyn
Dodgers finally made plans to move all the way west---after New York's legendary (notorious) planning/
building emperor Robert Moses thwarted Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley's attempt to build a new Brooklyn
ballpark for the Dodgers.

[Cripplecreek]

Believe it or not, there are some ballparks the taxpayers didn't or aren't paying for. (In some cases,
ballparks were financed by way of sales and other consumer taxes that voters were allowed to vote on,
but only an extremely few. I believe Comerica Park in Detroit was built that way---with voters approving
car rental and hotel taxes to foot some of the bill, with the late Tigers owner Mike Illitch putting in $185
million of his own money.) I know of six such parks at least:

Sports done right can be a real boon to a city. I personally think its brilliant to have them all coming together in a few square blocks on the edge of downtown like they are in Detroit. Meanwhile on Belle Isle the Indy Racing series holds one of its biggest events of the year with the dual races. While some public money will always end up going to these sports arenas, it mostly comes from the pockets of the billionaires who are donating hundreds of millions anyway..

I was on Belle Isle and in downtown Detroit last night and was awe struck by the changes over the past 5 or 6 years. Most of the changes are the direct result of the efforts of guys like Mike Ilitch, Dan Gilbert, Roger Penske and others. Many of those changes are related to sports because those guys all own sport franchises and want to cater to the fanbase. We had dinner at Punch Bowl Social last night and it appears to be a very upscale sports bar.

[geronl]

Believe it or not, there are some ballparks the taxpayers didn't or aren't paying for. (In some cases,
ballparks were financed by way of sales and other consumer taxes that voters were allowed to vote on,
but only an extremely few. I believe Comerica Park in Detroit was built that way---with voters approving
car rental and hotel taxes to foot some of the bill, with the late Tigers owner Mike Illitch putting in $185
million of his own money.) I know of six such parks at least:

Are you saying some taxes aren't taxes?

[EasyAce]

Are you saying some taxes aren't taxes?

Of course not. But there is a difference between putting a proposed tax to voters for approval and
just jamming it down a community's or a state's throat. Detroit area voters certainly could have rejected
the car rental and hotel taxes that helped build Comerica Park and forced the Tigers to find other
financing.

[Cripplecreek]

Of course not. But there is a difference between putting a proposed tax to voters for approval and
just jamming it down a community's or a state's throat. Detroit area voters certainly could have rejected
the car rental and hotel taxes that helped build Comerica Park and forced the Tigers to find other
financing.

When you speak of Detroit you have to ask yourself who is really paying the taxes. Is id Dan Gilbert and Roger Penske? Or is it the people of the Delray neighborhood?



The city and people of Detroit screamed bloody murder that the state was stealing Belle Isle from Detroit when it was made a state park. The city council stirred the outrage of the people because they wanted millions of dollars to "Fix Belle Isle" but the state wisely didn't trust them and took it. Now its on the backs of the state taxpayers but it still has the big money support of the local billionaires and it has the potential for producing money once big upgrades are completed.

[EasyAce]

When you speak of Detroit you have to ask yourself who is really paying the taxes. Is id Dan Gilbert and Roger Penske? Or is it the people of the Delray neighborhood?



The city and people of Detroit screamed bloody murder that the state was stealing Belle Isle from Detroit when it was made a state park. The city council stirred the outrage of the people because they wanted millions of dollars to "Fix Belle Isle" but the state wisely didn't trust them and took it. Now its on the backs of the state taxpayers but it still has the big money support of the local billionaires and it has the potential for producing money once big upgrades are completed.

I think you're talking about a completely different thing there. Regarding Comerica Park, the city put the car rental and hotel taxes on the ballot
for the voters to approve or reject. That doesn't seem to have been the case with Belle Isle. (The Comerica Park tax referenda were done several
years before the state took Belle Isle over. Those two taxes raised slightly less dollars than Mike Illitch spent to help build Comerica Park.)

[DCPatriot]

There are multiple locations in both Baltimore and Washington, DC where I could duplicate that Detroit pic.

They had to turn literally 35% of what was inside the Detroit city limits back into Parkland.

Like Maggie said...."sooner or later, you run out of other peoples' money".

[dfwgator]

Arlington taxpayers are going to build another ballpark??

Some people like the abuse.

As if watching Sam Dyson blow more games isn't torture enough.

[Cripplecreek]

I think you're talking about a completely different thing there. Regarding Comerica Park, the city put the car rental and hotel taxes on the ballot
for the voters to approve or reject. That doesn't seem to have been the case with Belle Isle. (The Comerica Park tax referenda were done several
years before the state took Belle Isle over. Those two taxes raised slightly less dollars than Mike Illitch spent to help build Comerica Park.)

I'm simply pointing out that in cases like Detroit where the tax base is minimal, these projects can be quite beneficial without much if any costs to the bulk of the population. The guys paying the bulk of the taxes are the same guys putting up hundreds of millions in personal capital to build the sports venues. People in Detroit aren't renting cars or staying in hotels but people who come to town for business or to watch the Red Wings or Tigers are. BTW, private money is paying nearly $400 million of the cost for the new Pizza Hut arena.

I only mention Belle Isle as another example of people not having any skin in the game and didn't really care but now have free access to ever improving facilities that makes money for Detroit

[EasyAce]

I'm simply pointing out that in cases like Detroit where the tax base is minimal, these projects can be quite beneficial without much if any costs to the bulk of the population. The guys paying the bulk of the taxes are the same guys putting up hundreds of millions in personal capital to build the sports venues. People in Detroit aren't renting cars or staying in hotels but people who come to town for business or to watch the Red Wings or Tigers are. BTW, private money is paying nearly $400 million of the cost for the new Pizza Hut arena.

I only mention Belle Isle as another example of people not having any skin in the game and didn't really care but now have free access to ever improving facilities that makes money for Detroit

Points taken.

p.s. I hate auto racing. And I'm not wild about hockey, football, or basketball, either. Now that my
Las Vegas is getting the Oakland Raiders, all I can think is another effing taxpayer-financed zoo.

[EasyAce]

As if watching Sam Dyson blow more games isn't torture enough.

I thought there was still such a thing as the Eighth Amendment!

[Cripplecreek]

Points taken.

p.s. I hate auto racing. And I'm not wild about hockey, football, or basketball, either. Now that my
Las Vegas is getting the Oakland Raiders, all I can think is another effing taxpayer-financed zoo.

I'm not a fan of Hockey, Football, or basketball but I am a loyal Tiger fan and though I'm not a big fan of Indy racing I am a NASCAR fan and fortunately have Michigan International Speedway within hearing distance.

Michigan Speedway is an interesting case because it was privately built outside the sleepy little town of Brooklyn Michigan. Brooklyn is still a small town of around 1200 but its fairly upscale due to the many thousands more of upper middle class people living around the area lakes. Last I read the speedway brought in about 3 billion in revenue across a 3 county area. In fact the track property sits  astride the county line for that reason.