One of the great things about my childhood was my father taking me on the Marta Subway train on warm summer nights from the Avondale train station. We would get off at the Georgia State/Capitol station, and walk past the Capitol working our way South, crossing over the Downtown Connector and I-20 to ultimately reach Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium to watch the Atlanta Braves play baseball games. Sure, the Braves weren’t exactly good in those days and the stadium was a hellhole, but it was fun to watch those games and it was cheap entertainment in those days.
The Atlanta Falcons also played football in that stadium for many years as well. I love to tell the story of how my dad and I watched a pre-season NFL game there against the Eagles in 1991 when a Rookie 3rd-string QB was trying his best to stay on the team by throwing darts all over the field. That QB’s name? Brett Favre. I hear he went on to have a pretty decent NFL career…
Anyways, the Falcons left Fulton-County Stadium after the 1991 season for the Georgia Dome which was built closer near the GA World Congress Center and the Omni (later replaced by Phillips Arena). And after five more seasons, the Braves would leave the place where Henry Aaron hit his record-breaking 715th home run to move across the street to the Olympic Stadium (reconfigured to a baseball stadium design and renamed Turner Field). Fulton-County is long gone, and I never watched a game inside Turner Field, but knowing the Braves had not moved far was a comfort.
Or at least it was until this morning. The Atlanta Braves announced that after the 2016 season, they will not renew their lease to Turner Field and will instead move to a new yet-to-be-built facility in Cobb County, near the intersection of I-75 and I-285. It was pointed out to me that most Braves executive live in the County famous for taking very conservative stances on social issues in the 1990s, which made at least one of my GA friends suggest that neighborhood politics may have been involved in the decision. But the decision are gives the middle finger to any fans who live south and east of the city of Atlanta, as well as those who live in the city and use Marta to commute to the games. It’s a mistake.
Yes, I know the Falcons are about to leave the Georgia Dome to move to a new stadium, but at least they are staying in the vicinity of the old stadium, so new real new infrastructure has to be built. But the Braves? How are fans going to get to the games? You are putting the facility near one of the busiest interchanges in the Southeast, you don’t have Marta access to the area of the Stadium, and you expect things to be OK? Good luck!
In the 1980s we all saw the famous bumper stickers around Atlanta that said “Go Braves and take the Falcons with you.” This was back when both teams sucked and were considering moves (the Braves to Tampa-St. Pete & the Falcons to Jacksonville). Now that the Braves have been a good team for a long time, they have decided to leave Atlanta for good. The impact will be felt and it will further strain the richer northern suburbs from the poorer southern suburbs. It also is a blow for a city trying to revitalize a downtown area that is just now beginning to show recovery after decades of decay.
I wish the Braves would reconsider. Turner Stadium by all accounts is a great stadium. There is no need to build a new stadium or renovate Turner field for at least a decade. Fulton-County survived for 31 years. Why build a new stadium elsewhere?
The loss of little boys and girls walking down city streets to attend a baseball game cannot be easily replaced. Those fans will never come back. And you will lose fans for this, Braves. Mark my words! This is a decision that will come back to haunt the Braves.
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