Atlanta Braves to Have New Home in 2017

After the 2016 season, the Atlanta Braves will no longer call Turner Field home.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Today, the Atlanta Braves announced plans to construct a new stadium located in Cobb County. The location is set for the northwest corner of the I-75 and I-285 intersection. The team informed the city that they would move from Turner Field at the end of their lease which expires at the end of the 2016 season.

The reason for the new stadium and location? Braves president John Schuerholz said the following:

"We believe the new stadium location is easy to access while also giving our fans a first-rate game day experience in and around the ballpark and making it a 365-day-a-year destination."

Josh Barnhill of Tomahawk Take adds some information he heard from a local radio station.

• the land has already been secured
• the lease at Turner Field ends in 2016
• there were problems with the current property that couldn’t be overcome, i.e. parking, surrounding area, etc.
• it is in Cobb County but will still have an ‘Atlanta’ address
• part of the property will be used for a mixed use community (restaurants, shops, etc.)
• it will be 12 miles from the current location
• building the stadium will provide over 5K new jobs and $235 million in payroll
• no plans yet, but there should be around 45,000 seats
• it will be a destination will all kinds of world-class amenities – should be the best in all of MLB
• probably 6-8 months from breaking ground on the stadium

Within Barnhill’s post, he supplies links for a map of where the new stadium will be and a bird’s eye view of the secured property.

Among these bullet points, it was tweeted by Mark Bowman of MLB.com that Turner Field would require $150MM “in infrastructure work”. Bowman notes that a primary reason for the move is location in regards to traffic and parking, as noted by Barnhill as well.

David O’Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also hints of Turner Field’s location in comparison to the proposed location of the new stadium.

Better access could certainly mean higher attendance, thus generating higher revenues. O’Brien also tweets that with this move, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia will “assume” the title of the NL East’s oldest stadium.

The Bank opened in 2004.