In April 2017, SunTrust Park – the new home of the Atlanta Braves – and The Battery Atlanta opened their doors. More than 2.5 million fans attended games, an increase of more than 25%, or 500,000 fans, over 2016 attendance, according to a recent report published by the Atlanta Braves.
At the time only a few shops and restaurants catered to Braves fans and other patrons at the not-yet-finished and occupied Battery Atlanta, which provides entertainment, shopping, dining and living options year-round.
Today, The Battery Atlanta is in full swing – much as the team’s bats ushered in the 2018 season with young superstars Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna, Jr.
Battery retailers now include the Braves Clubhouse Store, Archer Paper Goods, Mizuno, Select Shades, Tomahawk Harley Davidson, Baseballism, DressUp, Mizzen+Main, Sugarboo and Company, and an Xfinity Store.
And there are a lot more options to boost your blood sugar before or after a game, including CRU Food & Wine Bar, Sports and Social, The El Felix, Antico Pizza, Goldberg’s Fine Foods, Punch Bowl Social, Wahlburgers, Feed Fried Chicken and Such, Garden & Gun Club, Haagen-Dazs, Yard House, C. Ellet’s, First and Third, PBR Atlanta (A Coors Bar), Terrapin Taproom, Achie’s (on the ground floor of the Omni Hotel), and coming-sooners: El Super Pan (sandwich bar), and Burn by Rocky Patel.
While these consumption opportunities may seem like too much of a distraction from the business of baseball, The Battery Atlanta’s very existence is focused on that priority.
The Braves note that while The Battery “lives and breathes beyond the gates of the playing field, offering a neighborhood where fans can work, dine, shop, play and even live – it also plays an important role on the field by tapping into a new source of revenue for the team.”
In other words, revenue from leasing space to restaurants, bars and shops, will be invested into the baseball team, thus providing a funding source to build a “championship-caliber organization.”
The Braves describe their strategy as “a new era in stadium planning and construction and overall fan experience.”
“This is about delivering the greatest gameday experience to the fans and maintaining that excitement every day of the year,” notes Derek Schiller, President of the Braves. “That idea became SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta – the home of Braves Country.”
The Braves are not the only organization looking for returns on their new development.
SunTrust Park and the Battery Atlanta generated $3 million in new property, sales and other tax revenue to Cobb County, and $4.9 million in new permit fees. Cobb Schools, which receive a portion of sales tax revenues, benefited from SunTrust Park and The Battery as well, with $2.7 million in new tax revenues. In 2018, Cobb County property tax revenues are expected to triple, due in large part to the Braves’ investments.
The Cobb Chamber estimates the Braves have brought or attracted $2.5 billion in new investment to Cobb, including new housing options that played a role in increasing Cobb’s millennial population by 26 percent.
Other major revenue generating events in 2017 included Billy Joel and Metallica concerts, and Coca-Cola Roxy shows, such as T.I., Harry Styles, Lil Wayne, and Dave Chappelle with Jim Mayer.
Winter brought ice skating, Christmas tree Lighting, and the New Years’ Eve Bash presented by Xfinity.
And the Atlanta Braves foundation donated more than $300,000 to Cobb County organizations, including funding for IMPACT Teacher Grants; renovation of three youth baseball fields, and development of a Science of Baseball curriculum that supports the STEM requirements for Cobb Schools.
Tal Wright is an InsiderAdvantage Georgia contributor.
