The Gwinnett Braves never will play another game. Sure, the Braves Triple-A affiliate will play at Gwinnett’s Coolray Field next year, but it just won’t be the G-Braves.
Sometime in the next few months, the team is to announce the results of a name-change process that had fans suggest names then vote on six finalists selected by the team. The names chosen as potential monikers for the team drew derision across social media when announced earlier this year.
People roundly mocked the suggested names of Buttons, Big Mouths, Gobblers, Hush Puppies, Lamb Chops and Sweet Teas. Maybe the G-Braves staffer who picked the finalist had just gone fishing, caught some bass and was ready for a nice fish fry. Yet, unless this entire exercise is a huge April Fool’s Day joke, one of those will be the team’s name when it next takes the field.
The team, it seems, is working to reduce confusion with the parent club and embrace a minor league tradition of using a memorable and quirky name. Who can forget hockey’s minor league Macon Whoopee?
The team seems to be going by the theory that any publicity is good publicity. It probably can’t hurt attendance, which has been in a dive for most of the team’s tenure in the state’s second-largest county.
The G-Braves moved from Richmond in time for the 2009 season and drew 423,556 fans that first year. That was the team’s best year at the gate in Gwinnett, but it was good only for 10th in the 15-team International League.
Since then, the team has seen declining attendance in all but one season, and it has finished last in the league in attendance for two straight seasons. In 2017, the team drew just 210,075 fans, an average of a little more than 3,100 fans per game. Several high schools in Gwinnett County can best that for a football game.
The G-Braves give area fans the opportunity to see most top prospects in the system at a greatly reduced price, and the team has been competitive at times. Still the fans mostly stay away. Development around the field has been mostly non-existent. An apartment complex, which promotes field views from most units along with a pool that overlooks the outfield, is about all that has been built.
Coolray Field sits about a mile south of the Mall of Georgia area. Almost any dining, shopping or entertainment offering can be found there, not directly adjacent to the stadium.
With the MLB Braves move from downtown to Cobb County and the development around SunTrust Park, the G-Braves went look for anything to set themselves apart.
The Triple-A franchise moved to Richmond and become the Braves in 1966 when the MLB Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta. Previously, the affiliate had been the Atlanta Crackers.
A G-Braves spokesman referred questions on the issue to North Johnson, the team’s general manager. He was not available Wednesday.
