It’s Still the Atlanta Braves
ATLANTA, Ga. --The folks who made sure the Enola Gay would deliver
its cargo unbeknownst to the Japanese would be happy with the way the Braves
dropped their own bombshell this morning about building a stadium in Cobb County.
There are a number of ways to look at this, but one of the
first things that came to mind for me was the regional aspect of the move. Many
cities, Houston being one, have sought to grow the metro area and forget about
petty bickering among local communities. Atlanta has often forgotten this
principle and infighting has cost us many a new business and has resulted in
monumental expenditures. The Atlanta metro area is Atlanta regardless if
the stadium is in Cobb or downtown. I believe a strong center city is important
and should not be neglected, but if a regional approach were adopted, every part
of the city, including the downtown would benefit.
Another thought involves the condition of Turner Field. It’s
not bad, but it’s losing ground with regard to being a state-of-the-art facility.
I remember talking to John Schuerholz (when he first arrived here) about the old
Fulton County Stadium and its deficiencies. Schuerholz was prescient. Imagine
if we had not replaced Fulton County what an ancient
facility it would be today. The same is true of Turner Field which is losing
ground to newer parks in places such as New York, Pittsburgh, Miami, San Diego,
and the list goes on. To remain competitive in a very competitive business you
need to maximize revenue and only a stadium with all the amenities can do that
in today’s environment.
Access to the Cobb County site is a concern, but officials
say they’ll be working on that. And, of course, getting to Turner Field was no
easy task, particularly during a key series.
One more concern is that the team will start all games later than 7:10 p.m. on weeknights and Saturdays. They already start Friday games at 7:40 p.m., but with the length of games now, the Braves can ill afford to have folks leaving the stadium after 11 p.m. So what if you miss the first inning or two. At least if the game starts at 7 p.m. you have a shot at staying untill the end. If baseball cares about engaging younger fans and building for the future, it can’t start games any later and would be well-served to work harder at controlling their length .
