Huh?
That’s right. The Bravos are building a new stadium near the I-75/I-285 interchange and moving there in 2017, the year after their current 20-year lease on Turner Field expires. (It’s owned by the City of Atlanta and Fulton County.)
The news was almost as surprising as Sid Bream taking the extra base.
Turner Field, originally built as a track-and-field stadium for the 1996 Olympics, is only 17 years old. And it’s a nice stadium. The only drawback is it’s surrounded by acres of parking, so there’s nothing to do after the game. The new 60-acre parcel in Cobb County will also include a mixed use development, presumably with some bars and restaurants. However, it will still only be accessible by very-slowly-moving automobile, not MARTA.
The Georgia Dome is only 21. That didn’t stop Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed from ponying up $1.2 billion for a new luxury box-laden sphincter.
What will become of Turner Field? The AJC‘s Jim Galloway speculates that it could be redeveloped into a residential and entertainment center featuring betting on horse races.
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