The Atlanta Braves’ new stadium has never been completely without controversy, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise when we read a story around SunTrust Park that just doesn’t sound right.
Per Carolyn Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the voters of Cobb County voted to “fully fund the $40 million 2008 parks bond approved by 65 percent of the voters.”
Now, due to the recession, they’re being told that only half of that money will be available.
The problem? In time between the vote and the revelation that only half of the funds will be available, $400 million in funding was somehow found to fund SunTrust Park. The stadium itself was also never voted on by the people of Cobb County.
Something else that’s worth remembering is that the Braves current stadium — Turner Field — is hardly a relic. It was new during the 1996 Summer Olympics and opened for baseball in 1997. That’s a newer park that Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Cleveland’s Progressive Field and Denver’s Coors Field. All three remain some of the nicest stadiums in all of baseball.
Public funding for a new stadium is always a bit unsettling. If the owners of teams really want a new stadium, they should find a way to pay for it themselves. At the very least, they shouldn’t be draining funds from counties to build a new stadium when the old one isn’t even old enough to buy a drink.