This week Cobb County Chief Financial Officer Bill Volckmann presented his annual report on the finances of Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta to the county’s Board of Commissioners. And in a time where state tax revenues are declining and a recession continues to loom, he had some very positive numbers to relay.
“This is a milestone moment for us in Cobb County,” Volckmann told the board. “We netted 400 thousand dollars above and beyond the requirements for the debt service for the first time since this investment began.”
Buoyed by the continued success of the Braves on the field which continues to bring in large crowds, Truist Park and the Battery generated more than $38 million in combined tax revenue during the 2022 fiscal year. That means they are now a net positive for Cobb taxpayers, for the first time generating more property tax revenue than they must pay to service their debt.
More numbers: That $38 million in tax revenue includes $9.4 million for the Cobb County Board of Education. Taxable property values around the Battery area have risen from $5 million in 2014, (when it was essentially just one office building) to a staggering $736 million in 2022. More than 10 million visitors came to Cobb to catch a game or enjoy the Battery last year.
And industry professionals have taken notice, Mike Plant, president and CEO of the Braves Development Company, says the Battery and Truist Park have become a model for similar developments around the nation.
“I think we’ve had 200 teams from all over the world come to (tour) the Battery and Truist Park. We think we have the secret sauce, and they believe that too,” Plant said during the meeting. “If you don’t have that public/private partnership working together, you will fail. Fortunately, that’s the model of success because of our relationship and working together to achieve these results.”
Back in 2015 when the Braves’ move to Cobb was being planned out and executed, there was a great deal of angst from locals and voter pushback against county officials, including then-Cobb Commissioner Tim Lee who was voted out of office in what was seen as a litmus test on the move. But eight years later as the Battery continues to grow, the Braves continue to win, and more money than ever is being generated for the county in what was once a barren lot between two highways – it’s hard to see the development as anything other than a home run.
“We see a lot of value that is coming to the county and residents in the community from the development,” Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said after the presentation. “We certainly know of the energy that site has generated and the ancillary development around the site because people want to be near that development. So it is very good to receive this positive report.”
