https://deadspin.com/cobb-county-propose...1822781704
The people of Cobb County, Ga., have a budget conundrum on their hands, thanks to craven former county chairman Tim Lee’s insistence on spending almost $400 million in public money for a stadium without giving the public a chance to vote on it. Despite a record-high tax digest, the county is $30 to 55 million in the hole after unlocking a $21 million rainy day fund to fill out the 2018 budget. (Tax cuts passed by Lee have also contributed to the shortfall.) The parks budget has already been beset by issues; non-profits have seen their funding dry up. The latest public institution on the chopping block is the library system, only months after Cobb County unveiled a fancy $10 million new library.
Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as many as eight libraries face being closed or consolidated in an effort to save $2.6 million per year starting in 2019. Libraries Director Helen Poyer was told by the county’s budget committee to find a way to cut the money, which would be possible if six libraries were closed, two were consolidated and all part-time positions were eliminated. The 2019 budget will be approved in July.
“I always feared that East Cobb would be on the list” because the branch is leased, Slomovitz said, but she added that the situation is an opportunity for citizens to reinforce to commissioners what’s important to them.
She said she noticed that during recent town hall meetings on senior center fees that funding for the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park was included on a “required” list, while libraries are on a “desired” list, along with senior services and parks and recreation.
“Why can’t the libraries be regarded as just as worthy?” Slomovi
https://www.eastcobbnews.com/east-cobb-l...dget-cuts/
Every in metro ATL knew this crack deal Cobb County made would come back to bite them in the backside. Libraries and Parks are just the beginning. This will also hit CCT, the HOT lane fees and the water/wastewater system as well. All to prove the Cobb is a legit city not a suburb of Atlanta.
Publicly funded stadiums are a drain on cities, counties and the states.
LOL, the funny part is the Braves could still be playing at Georgia State's stadium, which to date is still only 22 years old. Or they could have moved. Are sports stadiums really that big a deal over county/city services? Apparently so.
It's ridiculous but what else needs to be said that hasn't been said ad nauseum? Stop pandering to the players and super rich fans, Turner Field was still an MLB facility.
(02-15-2018 03:46 AM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ]LOL, the funny part is the Braves could still be playing at Georgia State's stadium, which to date is still only 22 years old. Or they could have moved. Are sports stadiums really that big a deal over county/city services? Apparently so.
It's ridiculous but what else needs to be said that hasn't been said ad nauseum? Stop pandering to the players and super rich fans, Turner Field was still an MLB facility.
Its not funny, just sad. The Braves moved in part because they signed a bad TV deal that is simply not comparable to what less popular MLB teams signed. Second, the city of Atlanta basically dared them to move. I'm happy for Cobb County, they got exactly what they wanted.
As an outsider, I never could figure out why they needed a new stadium when they had a perfectly good one, same with football stadium.
Also, where I live in Utah, they are attempting to build a new library. Their goal for this necessary building is 2.5 % usage. IMHO with most people now using the internet, libraries are quickly becoming a dinosaur. 2.5% hardly is high usage.
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(02-15-2018 02:05 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote: [ -> ]As an outsider, I never could figure out why they needed a new stadium when they had a perfectly good one, same with football stadium.
Also, where I live in Utah, they are attempting to build a new library. Their goal for this necessary building is 2.5 % usage. IMHO with most people now using the internet, libraries are quickly becoming a dinosaur. 2.5% hardly is high usage.
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It's still useful if you lose Internet access or aren't close to a computer/phone. There are still people who don't have have Internet access believe it or not and libraries do have books that can't be found easily, if at all, online so they aren't going anywhere.
(02-15-2018 02:05 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote: [ -> ]As an outsider, I never could figure out why they needed a new stadium when they had a perfectly good one, same with football stadium.
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There were 3 issues IMO that led to the Braves decision to move. They were:
- Signed to worst TV deal in MLB, necessitating a search for alternate streams of income.
- The neighborhood Turner Field is in had yet to gentrify. The city would not use their imminent domain powers to allow the Braves to create their mixed used development around the stadium.
- Could not get any traction with the city on getting $192 million dollars worth of repairs/upgrades to Turner Field. Within weeks of Arthur Blank's announcement of wanting a new stadium, both Atlanta and the state worked quickly to find the financing.
The new dome was a result of Blank wanting to host a Super Bowl, World Cup as well as collect the revenue from other events like CFP, Peach Bowl and Final Fours. The problem was the old dome was in the prefect location and while he might be rich, he didn't want to completely finance the expense of a new retractable roof stadium by himself.
(02-15-2018 02:49 PM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ] (02-15-2018 02:05 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote: [ -> ]As an outsider, I never could figure out why they needed a new stadium when they had a perfectly good one, same with football stadium.
Also, where I live in Utah, they are attempting to build a new library. Their goal for this necessary building is 2.5 % usage. IMHO with most people now using the internet, libraries are quickly becoming a dinosaur. 2.5% hardly is high usage.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
It's still useful if you lose Internet access or aren't close to a computer/phone. There are still people who don't have have Internet access believe it or not and libraries do have books that can't be found easily, if at all, online so they aren't going anywhere.
Libraries have also been useful for home schooled kids to get their online access along with students who attend K-12 online in order to avoid attending a terrible or violent public school. While I don't want to see them designed by some postmodernist architect, it is any easy tax expense to eat, IMO. No different that bike trails are skateboard parks.
(02-15-2018 09:45 AM)vandiver49 Wrote: [ -> ] (02-15-2018 03:46 AM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ]LOL, the funny part is the Braves could still be playing at Georgia State's stadium, which to date is still only 22 years old. Or they could have moved. Are sports stadiums really that big a deal over county/city services? Apparently so.
It's ridiculous but what else needs to be said that hasn't been said ad nauseum? Stop pandering to the players and super rich fans, Turner Field was still an MLB facility.
Its not funny, just sad. The Braves moved in part because they signed a bad TV deal that is simply not comparable to what less popular MLB teams signed. Second, the city of Atlanta basically dared them to move. I'm happy for Cobb County, they got exactly what they wanted.
With regard to the TV deal, how the Braves went from being on national TV every night on TBS to the deal they currently have is mind boggling to me.
On one hand, I can understand wanting to move out of Turner Field. It was never really designed to be a baseball stadium in the first place and there was so much about the footprint that was lacking. I've been to other ballparks that were older that were so much nicer and more fan friendly.
They should have tried to build something near downtown.
Where's the money coming from? They should have moved.
(02-15-2018 07:08 PM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ]Where's the money coming from? They should have moved.
You mean leave the Atlanta market?
No, that would have been a terrible idea.
1. Where would they go? Atlanta is one of the 10 largest media markets in the country.
2. The Braves have a large regional fan base that stretches across several states. It's fairly unique in MLB which makes the TV deal they signed look even worse because the Braves actually dominate several good markets outside GA.
The market is not the problem and the Braves don't lack good fan support. Their primary problem these days is they don't have a legitimate owner. Ted Turner gave over the reigns when he sold the Turner networks to AOL Time Warner. In the time since, they've been shoved off on Liberty Media. I am 100% against a corporation owning a pro franchise because they offer no vision and no leadership.
Meanwhile, the stadium situation was allowed to come to a head rather than being proactive over the course of several years. Turner Field's problems did not crop up over night.
(02-15-2018 03:47 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ]With regard to the TV deal, how the Braves went from being on national TV every night on TBS to the deal they currently have is mind boggling to me.
On one hand, I can understand wanting to move out of Turner Field. It was never really designed to be a baseball stadium in the first place and there was so much about the footprint that was lacking. I've been to other ballparks that were older that were so much nicer and more fan friendly.
They should have tried to build something near downtown.
What did you feel Turner Field lacked? It was designed as much for baseball as one would expect a free ballpark to be. I've been to several over the years and there were only a few I found to be truly noteworthy.
Though I could be an outliar as I think Wrigley and Fenway are dumps.
(02-15-2018 07:25 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ] (02-15-2018 07:08 PM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ]Where's the money coming from? They should have moved.
You mean leave the Atlanta market?
No, that would have been a terrible idea.
1. Where would they go? Atlanta is one of the 10 largest media markets in the country.
2. The Braves have a large regional fan base that stretches across several states. It's fairly unique in MLB which makes the TV deal they signed look even worse because the Braves actually dominate several good markets outside GA.
The market is not the problem and the Braves don't lack good fan support. Their primary problem these days is they don't have a legitimate owner. Ted Turner gave over the reigns when he sold the Turner networks to AOL Time Warner. In the time since, they've been shoved off on Liberty Media. I am 100% against a corporation owning a pro franchise because they offer no vision and no leadership.
Meanwhile, the stadium situation was allowed to come to a head rather than being proactive over the course of several years. Turner Field's problems did not crop up over night.
They'd go somewhere that has a stadium or easily upgradeable one. San Antonio has one, granted I don't think it's quite MLB ready.
(02-15-2018 09:13 PM)vandiver49 Wrote: [ -> ] (02-15-2018 03:47 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ]With regard to the TV deal, how the Braves went from being on national TV every night on TBS to the deal they currently have is mind boggling to me.
On one hand, I can understand wanting to move out of Turner Field. It was never really designed to be a baseball stadium in the first place and there was so much about the footprint that was lacking. I've been to other ballparks that were older that were so much nicer and more fan friendly.
They should have tried to build something near downtown.
What did you feel Turner Field lacked? It was designed as much for baseball as one would expect a free ballpark to be. I've been to several over the years and there were only a few I found to be truly noteworthy.
Though I could be an outliar as I think Wrigley and Fenway are dumps.
It was an Olympic Stadium, which screwed with its layout even if they had baseball in mind once the Olympics were over.
There is one, simple way they can correct this, although I agree it was dumb to move to begin with. Simply tax the players salaries, not just the Braves’ players, but all the players who play there salaries. The $$’a from such a tax, even a low one, would be unreal. If it was the Hawks, I would say let the Hawks relocate. The Hawks could play second fiddle to the Bulls in Chicago, or the Hawks could move to New Jersey to replace the Nets. Both are top ten media markets, I assure you. I have zero attachment to the Hawks whatsoever, and would be delighted if they decided to move. Take your money grubbing ways elsewhere and don’t let the door hit where the good Lord split ya. I would gladly take another NHL team over the Hawks. However, I’m sure the mayor of Atlanta & the Fulton County Commission would be falling over themselves to “save” (i.e. cave in) to the Hawks demands.
(02-16-2018 12:55 AM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ] (02-15-2018 09:13 PM)vandiver49 Wrote: [ -> ] (02-15-2018 03:47 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ]With regard to the TV deal, how the Braves went from being on national TV every night on TBS to the deal they currently have is mind boggling to me.
On one hand, I can understand wanting to move out of Turner Field. It was never really designed to be a baseball stadium in the first place and there was so much about the footprint that was lacking. I've been to other ballparks that were older that were so much nicer and more fan friendly.
They should have tried to build something near downtown.
What did you feel Turner Field lacked? It was designed as much for baseball as one would expect a free ballpark to be. I've been to several over the years and there were only a few I found to be truly noteworthy.
Though I could be an outliar as I think Wrigley and Fenway are dumps.
It was an Olympic Stadium, which screwed with its layout even if they had baseball in mind once the Olympics were over.
I agree it screwed with the design of the Olympic Stadium. But that didn’t negatively impact the baseball aspect
(02-15-2018 09:13 PM)vandiver49 Wrote: [ -> ] (02-15-2018 03:47 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ]With regard to the TV deal, how the Braves went from being on national TV every night on TBS to the deal they currently have is mind boggling to me.
On one hand, I can understand wanting to move out of Turner Field. It was never really designed to be a baseball stadium in the first place and there was so much about the footprint that was lacking. I've been to other ballparks that were older that were so much nicer and more fan friendly.
They should have tried to build something near downtown.
What did you feel Turner Field lacked? It was designed as much for baseball as one would expect a free ballpark to be. I've been to several over the years and there were only a few I found to be truly noteworthy.
Though I could be an outliar as I think Wrigley and Fenway are dumps.
I've never been to Wrigley or Fenway although I would love to go to both. Those parks are ancient though so I didn't really have those in mind.
The one that comes to mind is the Ballpark at Arlington...I have no idea what the corporate name is now. I think it was built a couple of years before Turner Field and it was so much more comfortable in my opinion. There was ample parking, free shuttles to take you back and forth from your lot, escalators to take you to the upper decks, larger concourses, and the ease with which you could get in and out of there was just incomparable to Tuner Field.
It's not really that Turner Field sucked, but Atlanta traffic is so congested anyway and everything about the layout made getting in and out very difficult. They should have bought more property around the stadium over the course of the years...built parking decks, a MARTA hub, redesigned the streets in the area for better traffic flow...
But even the stadium itself wasn't what it should have been. I sat in the upper deck of Turner Field once before and swore I'd never do it again. The seats were directed at the wrong angle and even if I shifted my body the other way, I was so far away that I couldn't see a lick of anything. I spent the whole day roasting in the sun after taking an extra hour or so both ways to take MARTA and then ride a bus from the nearest station. First world problems, I know, but still frustrating...lol
I guess getting the stadium for free seemed reasonable at the time, but I think in the long term it weakened the fan experience and discouraged people from coming more often. If I lived in Atlanta then I would probably take in a few more games, but I wouldn't go regularly...too much hassle.
And as hot as Atlanta is, they should have built a stadium with a retractable roof.
I guess what gets me is that no one really sat down at the outset and thought about what would be best. Everyone made and has continued to make short term decisions that seem expedient at the time. The end result is that doing it right becomes ever more costly considering all the investments that have been made in doing it half way for 20 plus years.
(02-16-2018 10:22 AM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ]I've never been to Wrigley or Fenway although I would love to go to both. Those parks are ancient though so I didn't really have those in mind.
I think the field at those places are great. BUt the veneration of the grandstands is ridiculous. People think today is the era of the disposable stadium, but these parks weren't designed to last 20 years either.
Quote:The one that comes to mind is the Ballpark at Arlington...I have no idea what the corporate name is now. I think it was built a couple of years before Turner Field and it was so much more comfortable in my opinion. There was ample parking, free shuttles to take you back and forth from your lot, escalators to take you to the upper decks, larger concourses, and the ease with which you could get in and out of there was just incomparable to Tuner Field.
I will concede the concourses are tight. While they could have purchased more land around the stadium, it did abrupt the Connector on the west, severely limiting the options.
Quote:It's not really that Turner Field sucked, but Atlanta traffic is so congested anyway and everything about the layout made getting in and out very difficult. They should have bought more property around the stadium over the course of the years...built parking decks, a MARTA hub, redesigned the streets in the area for better traffic flow...
ATL traffic does blow, but Turner Field's location did allow for a reverse commute. And getting to Turner is far easier than getting to SunTrust Park. The Braves wanted to build a MARTA extension from Ga State to the stadium, but the city wouldn't allow them. I always felt the Olympic Stadium was built in easiest location for construction as opposed to near the GWCC or even the Civic Center.
Quote:But even the stadium itself wasn't what it should have been. I sat in the upper deck of Turner Field once before and swore I'd never do it again. The seats were directed at the wrong angle and even if I shifted my body the other way, I was so far away that I couldn't see a lick of anything. I spent the whole day roasting in the sun after taking an extra hour or so both ways to take MARTA and then ride a bus from the nearest station. First world problems, I know, but still frustrating...lol
I always sat along the 3rd base line. Regardless of upper or lower deck, I thought the view was fine. And if your thought you were far away at Turner, you would have loved Cominsky before the rebuild or Dodger Stadium.
Quote:I guess getting the stadium for free seemed reasonable at the time, but I think in the long term it weakened the fan experience and discouraged people from coming more often. If I lived in Atlanta then I would probably take in a few more games, but I wouldn't go regularly...too much hassle.
And as hot as Atlanta is, they should have built a stadium with a retractable roof.
I know Houston and Phoenix have two retractable roof stadiums, but I don't know how that would have gone over in Atlanta. That said, if they could have partnered with GT it might have worked.
Quote:I guess what gets me is that no one really sat down at the outset and thought about what would be best. Everyone made and has continued to make short term decisions that seem expedient at the time. The end result is that doing it right becomes ever more costly considering all the investments that have been made in doing it half way for 20 plus years.
When you have the money to build anew as opposed to rehabbing what exists, that type of planning is an anathema to progress. It is a the truest reflection of Atlanta; perpetual reconstruction.
There needs to be a federal law banning the use of taxpayer funds from any level government funds on professional sports stadiums. State universities are a different story but the corporate welfare for billionaire owners to build workplaces for their millionaire employees has got to stop.
Why should I have to pay taxes to pay for a stadium I can't even go see a game in because the cost of attendance is too high for the average Joe?!