Bucking Trends, Atlanta's Baseball Team Decamps for the Suburbs

After playing just 17 seasons at downtown Atlanta's Turner Field, which was built for the 1996 Olympics, the city's baseball team is giving up their urban home for a new stadium 14 miles northwest of the city.

2 minute read

November 12, 2013, 5:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"The Braves will leave downtown Atlanta for suburban Cobb County, after a scant 20 years in Turner Field," writes Angie Schmitt. "The team chose the nexus of two highways 13.5 miles north of their current stadium as the site for a new ballpark. According to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Cobb County offered $450 million in public support for the stadium."

Increased highway access, larger parking lots, and a desire to be closer to its car-driving suburban fan base are driving the unorthodox move. According to Reuben Fischer-Baum, writing in Deadspin, of the 18 baseball teams to embark on significant stadium moves over the last 50+ years, "just five took teams farther from their urban core, and, of those five, four were shifts of less than a third of a mile."

"There's been increasing skepticism directed toward public subsidies of professional sports venues in recent years," notes Ryan Holeywell, in Governing. "Almost universally, independent economists say they aren't a good deal for taxpayers and typically don't generate anywhere near the sort of economic impact that team owners and public officials say they do."

"'That seems pretty outlandish, extravagant, stupid -- however you want to describe it,' Dennis Coates, an economics professor at University of Maryland Baltimore County, said upon learning of the deal. 'Not for the Braves. It's a great deal for them. But politicians who go along with that, and then start screaming about fiscal responsibility -- they need to be smacked.'"


Monday, November 11, 2013 in DC.Streetsblog

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

People with bikes ordering at food trucks outdoors.

Raleigh Launches Greenway Food Truck Pilot to Enhance Park Experiences

Raleigh’s new Greenway Food Truck Pilot Program brings local food vendors to popular greenway locations to enhance park experiences, support small businesses, and encourage community use of public spaces.

1 hour ago - City of Raleigh

"Units for sale - contact your local realtor" sign in front of homes.

‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods

A new report finds that roughly 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods have been impacted by housing cost increases and displacement.

May 19 - Next City

Turquoise blue Pyramid Lake near Reno, Nevada.

Nevada and Utah Groups Oppose Public Land Sell-Off Plan

A set of last-minute amendments to the budget reconciliation bill open up over half a million acres of federally managed land to sales.

May 19 - Inside Climate News

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.