It seems every life event has its metaphorical equivalent on a rerun of “The Andy Griffith Show.” One episode depicted an armored vehicle with a shipment of $7 million in U.S. government gold making a covert stop in tiny Mayberry. Thanks to Deputy Barney Fife, word soon leaks out. By the time the truck arrives, the whole town is on hand to cheer on the feds.
But the truck is a decoy, and no gold is on board. Worse, the dunderhead Gomer Pyle ends up pumping gasoline into a gun portal on the side of the truck. Talk about fool’s gold!
“We’re all Mayberryians now.” One can imagine Cobb Countians saying something like that in the not- too-distant future.
On the face of it, the planned 2017 arrival of the Atlanta Braves in Smyrna to play in a new stadium sounds like a whole battleship of gold is on the way. But after reflecting on the potential cost in taxpayer funding, and the almost certain ‘cost’ of increased traffic congestion, plus other unintended consequences, a majority of Cobb voters already have started to wonder if there really is ‘gold in that-there truck.’ They wonder, too, that if they pump ‘gas’ into the project, whether they will get good fiscal mileage out of their dollars, or whether they will only be fueling the fire of a gross misadventure on behalf of elected and other government officials in Cobb.
The polling numbers paint a stark picture. Insider Advantage surveyed Cobb County registered voters on Nov. 11, just hours after the shocking announcement that the Braves are likely coming to Cobb to play in a new $672 million stadium. Fifty-nine percent of respondents favored the idea of the new stadium, but that dropped to only 30 percent support when they were asked if they would favor using their own tax dollars to help finance the 60-acre complex. And more than 80 percent of respondents said they believe the new stadium will make traffic congestion worse in the vicinity.
The poll surveyed voters only, because if there are repercussions to the stadium deal, they will be mainly political ones felt at the ballot box. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percent.
Keep in mind that these iffy responses from Cobb Countians came during the initial flush of excitement over the announcement. When the political wrangling and logistical problems start coming to light, support for the new stadium could dwindle further—as could support for some county elected officials on Election Day.
Matt Towery, CEO of InsiderAdvantage, knows the political landscape in Cobb as well as anyone. A
Cobb native and resident, Towery polled the last two successful special-purpose, local-option sales tax (SPLOST) initiatives for transportation improvements in Cobb County. Those polls were conducted for the organizations that officially sponsored support for the two SPLOSTs.
Towery’s advice to Cobb government and whomever else wants to see big-league ball in Smyrna is simple: “My guess is that if the Cobb Commission moves as quickly as they appear to be moving, and they avoid too much public debate, the agreement [with the Braves] will pass. If they drag their feet too much, or watch as every special interest and angry civic activist grabs the public or media spotlight to air their grievances, then elected officials, from the commissioners themselves to other Cobb officials and also state lawmakers, could see their political careers damaged—or ended,” he said.
Consider the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. As one would expect, glee was the instinctive first reaction to the news that Atlanta would host the Centennial Games instead of Athens, Greece. But following years of readying the city and state to greet the world; after earning much criticism for practically everything during the games, including the weather; and after witnessing the permanent changes—mainly increased size and complexity—that the Olympics brought to metro Atlanta, many area residents came to wish the whole thing had never happened. Will a permanent “Olympics” experience in Smyrna trigger a similar, perpetual ‘buyers’ remorse’ in Cobb County and portions of nearby Fulton County?
Turner Field, the Braves’ current home near downtown Atlanta, is only 17 years old. It’s newer than roughly half of Major League Baseball stadiums. That, plus the inconvenient fact that there’s still an ‘A’ for ‘Atlanta’ on the Braves’ hats, makes the surprise move a puzzle to many fans and observers.
Strictly from the Braves’ perspective, the move mostly makes sense. A map of their fan base shows a heavy preponderance of ticket-buyers on the north side of town. The team will own the stadium, instead of leasing it, as they currently lease Turner Field from the City of Atlanta. The Braves franchise will feed off of, and feed into, revenues from acres of planned retail shops, restaurants and the like on their land in Smyrna. The prospect (or just the perception) of crime around the field will be less likely to repel potential fans if the team doesn’t play in downtown Atlanta. Highway access will be convenient. And the team can sell the naming rights to the 42,000-seat stadium. (Can you say, ‘Rich Corporation Field?’)
But oh, those negative factors. The proposed stadium will be located where I-75, I-285 and U.S.
Highway 41/Cobb Parkway converge. That’s part of the plan, of course, but it will likely have commuters at this nexus of major highways sitting in their cars even longer than they are now accustomed to. The Braves play 81 home games a year.
Another potential problem may be more abstract, but still real: The ‘Smyrna Braves’ might inspire less civic identity—or more resentment—with Braves’ fans who live outside of Cobb and other north-metro counties.
Too, we live in a day of increasing general mistrust of government officials. The astonishingly successful secrecy that for so long surrounded news of the new stadium may start to spur resentment among voters, as the messiness of this project unfolds. (Braves officials say they’ve been contemplating a move from Turner Field since 2005. Yet never a rumor has reached the media.)
Moreover, many metro Atlantans are dismayed that the Falcons also will be moving to another facility in 2017, although that stadium will be in Atlanta. There seems to be a feeling that business and political elites more and more are imposing their wills on the region, without having bothered to take the pulse of the public.
The Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons are private businesses who can do largely as they please. Even so, voters don’t have to think legalistically. Many
of them see the local professional teams as civic entities that ‘belong’ to everybody in the region and the state. Potentially these disgruntled folks could make their sentimental opinions known at the ballot box. Perhaps even outside of Cobb.
Here’s one prediction: The political winner in all this may be Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. Surprised? Don’t be. Already he is channeling the public outrage in Atlanta about the potential move into a concerted effort to revitalize the area of Turner Field, providing it gets razed. What looks to be a disaster for the city of Atlanta could one day be looked back upon as a blessing in disguise. Promoters of new sports stadiums and arenas inevitably pledge economic growth around the proposed facilities, but that rarely happens as planned. It didn’t do much for the neighborhoods around Turner Field, mainly because most fans make for their cars and their homes as soon as the games end.
Notwithstanding all these considerations, it’s no surprise that the main issue is money. Lots of money. Cobb County will be coughing up at least $300 million of the stadium’s $672 million price tag. That doesn’t include added costs such as additional transportation and police resources. Nor does it factor in a potential plummet in the value of area homes.
Cobb (and perhaps Georgia) taxpayers will be asked, in one form or another, to pay the piper for the Braves’ new stadium. It’s hard to imagine that they will be happy about it; even the ones who like to take themselves out to the ballgame.
Right now it looks as if a gold truck is speeding towards Cobb County. But the word is that it’s fishtailing all over the highway. Is there anything inside?
