Braves moving to suburbs in 2017 and I, for one, am not happy.

The Game Room
101

Okay, anecdotal for sure, but here goes.

I’m a season ticket holder. Have been for years, other than a two year gap when I had to cut back on some luxuries. Live in Lawrenceville. As someone up thread said, getting from Gwinnett Co. To Turner field is no big deal. Add to this fact hat I work in Midtown and can currently go to games on week nights straight form work.

Love it.

Fast forward to 2017. I KNOW what traffic is like across the top end perimeter. I used to commute to a job in fucking Smyrna. Seriously, I challenge anyone to come up with a suckier commute than that. I had to hit both 285/85 and 285/75 clusterfucks, and the one at 400. It’s only going to get worse with gameday traffic.

On top of that no subway or bus service worth mentioning. Ever been on CCT? It’s a commuter bus service, not the same thing as real mass transit. God knows Vobb and Gwinnett will never let MARTA extend there. Might bring those city-folk out here, y a know.

So, I’m a current season ticket holder. I’m one of those red dots on the map. And there are lots of us here in the NE part of town. I like Turner Field. It’s a beautiful place to see a game. I’ve been to hundreds of games there. I’ve never once been harassed by the crack dealers that apparently roam the parking lots, according to some.

I’m not going to be all absolutist and say I’ll never go to a game at the new stadium. But I can state without any hesitation that I will no longer buy season tickets. No way I’m commuting across 285 unless someone is paying me.

And, I don’t know really how or why I feel this way, but I just don’t think a team with Atlanta in its name should be OTP. That s Outside The Perimeter for the non-locals. I know Cobb is considered part of Atlanta metro, but it’s not the same. BTW, I’d feel the same way about that if they moved to Gwinnett.

Maybe I’ll start going to more Gwinnett Braves games. Cheaper, closer, and minor league baseball is fun in its own quirky way.

102

Well said. And that is the problem with people who look at the ‘heatmap’ and say, well this is closer in the heatmap. Yes, but it is shaded heavily to the Northwest of town. Those on the Northeast are going to have a much harder time getting there based on how traffic functions in Atlanta. Those straight North may even have a more difficult time (though I don’t think for a second they are going 400 to 285 - they’ll try to find alternate paths).

Going into the city during rush hour is fine - its directly opposite from rush hour traffic - in addition, one can come in from the North and Northeast and find a train station that takes you from the perimeter into the city (which helps if you want to have a few drinks and want a train ride to sober you up). In addition to that, the rush hour traffic headed out of the city is so high because people are going from the Northern suburbs to the city - and some of those folks go to games directly from work.

In addition, the big problem with this location isn’t necessarily that they are moving from downtown Atlanta. The problem is where they are moving to. Even if they moved to the corner of 285 and 85 or up 400 - at least MARTA can mitigate some of the damage. And if they went up 400, that is directly in the center of the ‘heatmap’.

103

Rush hour doesn’t matter to the vast majority of football games - due to their occurring on Sundays. Driving to downtown tends to be against traffic in just about any city during rush hour. It also tends to allow people to use mass transit.

You can put football stadiums just about anywhere because of the Sunday thing. That’s why Cowboy Stadium is where it is and the Meadowlands is where it is.

Oh, also, the Meadowlands teams - Giants and Jets had bigger problems last season and so far this season with filling their stadium than the Falcons did (though the stadium at the Meadowlands is larger - albeit so is the metro population). Food for thought.

104

Better stuck in traffic than making it easier for those people to get to Cobb County from downtown, I guess :rolleyes: (rolling eyes at anti-MARTA folks, not you, Quintas)

105

I’m not sure what any of the points are supposed to be, above. Yes, this is worse for some people. Any time you move anything that’s true, but it isn’t the point. It’s also a whole lot better for most people, which is why 65-70% of the informal polls are showing Braves fans as supporting the move.

If you live in Marietta or Roswell, then the new stadium is going to be on your way home. If you’re working or living in Buckhead, it’s right down Northside Parkway. Easy as hell. This only sucks for the people who live way on up the 85 corridor, and the people who live right next to the midtown area. And Lawrenceville is way the hell out. I know it sucks for those people, but that’s the price you pay for living 35 miles outside of town.

A reverse commute isn’t a selling point when you’re going away from home at 7pm. It’s why our attendance has sucked for the past decade.

106

Do you know how bad Northside Parkway is during rush hour? And who goes home to Roswell through 75? You go up 400. The only people its good for are those who live up 75 - basically folks that live in Smyrna, Vinings, Marietta, and Kennesaw and likely folks that live in Sandy Springs. For everyone else, its just as quick to go downtown as it would to go to 75/285 - even if you live in Roswell, going down 120W in rush hour isn’t going to shave off much time as going down 400 to 85 (and with the toll booth on 400 going away, there isn’t even that issue).

Also you realize Kennesaw is the same distance outside of town as Lawrenceville is?

107

Oh, furthermore, going up Northside Dr. only really works if you live in South or West Buckhead. You aren’t going to take that if you live closer to Lenox, for instance.

108

I am not 35 miles from Turner Field. I live in a burb, yes, just like Marietta is a burb. But as I said above, I didn’t mind the drive to Turner Field. Future me will seriously mind a drive to Cobb Co. It’s not the distance. It’s the traffic pattern that makes it so much less attractive. 285 sucks Simple as that. I used to work near Perimeter Mall, then for my next company, i commuted to Smyrna. I will not spend another soul robbing minute on 285 unless I have to be there. Certainly not doing it 81 times a season for home games.

I’m less of a Braves fan today than I was last week. YMMV. Enjoy the new stadium. Hope it’s all the politicians are promising. I’m sure it will be built on time and under budget, and I’m sure those bonds and taxes on hotels or rental cars or whatever will work out fine. Ask Gwinnett County how great the forecasted numbers worked out for building CoolRay Field for the AAA team.

109

Yes, I worked at the IBM building there, and the one in Smyrna. It isn’t bad at all north of West Paces.

You aren’t even making sense at this point. You claimed above that the new location might be worse for people who live due north of it, despite the fact that they have to drive right past it to get to Turner Field. That is one of the stupidest things I’ve read in an exchange full of ridiculous spin.

People in Roswell don’t always drive up 75, but they sure as hell don’t drive past Turner friggin Field.

I have no idea what your Kennesaw statement is even supposed to mean.

ETA: I live in Historic Brookhaven, which is right next to Lenox. If I were going to a game at the new location, I damn well would go to Windsor, Mt Paran, and northside. It surely does work.

110

Nobody is arguing that this move doesn’t suck for you. I’m sorry for you, I really am. The sour grapes at the end are a little much, though.

111

Soooo… driving against rush hour traffic and driving into rush traffic are exactly the same thing? And people won’t want to go to a game close to their work, but will on their drive home? Talk about making no sense.

That’s not even mentioning what adding thousands of additional cars in that parking lot of an intersection will do to that drive home during the rush hour time.

You said Lawrenceville folks should suck it up since they live so far from the city… why exactly shouldn’t Kennesaw folks suck it up since they live the same distance?

112

So you live in Brookhaven and go to Smyrna, and it isn’t bad taking Northside NORTH in the morning and SOUTH in the afternoon? Yeah, its because you are going against rush hour traffic.

113

If you live north of the stadium and work downtown, you have to drive right by the thing on your way home, anyway. If you live and work due north of the stadium, then it’s the same route as to Turner Field, only 14 miles closer. There is literally no way your statement makes any sense whatsoever.

Kennesaw people have been sucking it up for years, and probably do for numerous other events all the time. I don’t know of many Kennesaw residents who are bitching that the city decided to put the aquarium soooo far away.

114

No, I work in the financial district. When I worked in Smyrna I lived in Sandy Springs, but I go to Cobb Galkeria now to see my sister in law, who lives and works right there.

115

An added parkway of traffic is going to make more than a few people miss the opening pitch and maybe a few innings or more. How many folks do you think are going to decide to head on over to see the Braves knowing that? Not to mention feeling exhausted (physically and mentally) from the drive. Do you think only people who buy tickets beforehand see the game? Lines of folks at the ticket line should dispel that notion.

116

Fulton already lets Cobb buses pick up and drop off passengers at its Arts Center station, even though they opted out of the taxes that pay for MARTA. I know it helps the working stiffs who ride MARTA get to and from places, but damn, Cobb ought to be paying MARTA taxes if it’s hooked into MARTA services.

117

The histrionics are just too much.

118

The amusing thing is you act like this is an idiosyncratic view, but I’m far from the only one who has noticed this:

119

Right. But they failed to mention the shortened drive home for those people. My point above still stands. If you work south and live due north, you have to go that way to get home anyway.

120

(I know it was a joke, but) Big Boss Man died in 2004, actually. (Which the article says).

I don’t know from Atlanta geography, but scrapping a 20-year-old baseball stadium seems wasteful. However, I can certainly see their concerns re: attendance. But that’s hardly limited to the Bravest. The Hawks and Falcons have had historically poor attendance numbers, and the Thrashers moved out of town. (Of course, having a terrible team will always lead to attendance problems. Chicago Cubs notwithstanding.)