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-Roger Goodell September 18-24, 2014
Volume 87 • Issue 6
So What Happens to Summerhill After the Braves Leave?
By Terry Shropshire “It’s just a game,” some have said. But anyone with even a modicum of common sense and any vestige of wisdom knows that professional sports have never been “just a game.” When you hear the oft-regurgitated phrase, “it’s just a game,” it comes from individuals who have little to no discernment as to the vast economic, political and cultural impact that professional franchises and collegiate sports programs have on a community, a region and a state. The construction of the new Georgia Dome, which comes with a price tag north of a billion dollars — including tens of millions in taxpayer dollars — but, will employ thousands of Atlantans, is a prime example of the economic and social impact sports teams and their accompanying facilities have on a community. And that’s just for the Atlanta Falcons football team. The announcement that the Atlanta Braves baseball team would be moving from its longtime home at Turner Field, just south of downtown Atlanta sent seismic quakes reverberating throughout the political, financial and cultural infrastructure in the city and the state — not to mention the Summerhill community that housed the franchise and withstood decades of crowd inconveniences, detours and clogged roadways. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the Summerhill neighborhood that surrounds Turner Field are still reeling from the aftershocks of the announcement nearly one year after it was made. Now that they’ve settled into the realization that the
Braves will pack up the franchise and move to suburban Cobb County that straddles the outer northwestern edge of the city, man have to wonder what’s next. In an almost defiant stance taken during a press conference at Atlanta City Hall this past week, Reed assured the city that the Summerhill neighborhood surrounding Turner Field will be okay with the absence of the Braves. “We’re not walking around here moping. I hate losing. But there are times when other people make plays,” he said, later adding: “We’re not losing anything. The Braves are still in the region, so I don’t feel like this is a loss.” In the months since the Braves brain trust announced the team’s imminent move in November 2013, the mayor has worked to secure a future for the land south of downtown. Plans include a proposed $300 million development by Georgia State University, which is devouring downtown real estate square inch by square inch. GSU officials are negotiating to build a university sports complex and mixed-use development. Reed leveraged the platform of the press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 16 to also allay fears of the Hawks leaving town, and he rightly seized the opportunity surrounding the controversy to pressure the Braves to make their plans known about exactly when they are moving out. Reed said he called the press conference — the same day as the Braves groundbreaking — because he was traveling in China last week during much of the Hawks’ controversy. The inner
dysfunction of the Hawks franchise made national headlines in the past week and a half, after a part-owner’s racially-charged email and a separate executive’s remarks were made public. It was also revealed during the same week that general manager Danny Ferry also uttered inflammatory words about prized free agent Loul Deng by referring to his personality quirks as “he has a little African in him,” to imply that Deng is underhanded and slick. Ferry has since asked for, and been granted, an indefinite leave of absence from the team and no one — pundits and fans alike — expect Ferry to ever return to the team. City spokeswoman Anne Torres confirmed that the city decided on Tuesday morning to hold the press conference, but said suggestions the office was attempting to distract from the Braves’ celebration were “ridiculous.” Reed did offer a statement about his commitment and the franchise’s move, explaining that Cobb County officials are offering more than double what the city of Atlanta would be able invest with tax dollars for requested renovations to the stadium. “The Atlanta Braves are one of the best baseball teams in America, and I wish them well. We have been working very hard with the Braves for a long time, and at the end of the day, there was simply no way the team was going to stay in downtown Atlanta without city taxpayers spending hundreds of
See Summerhill from Page 2