By David Pendered
Cobb County Chairman Tim Lee is using the second anniversary of the Atlanta Braves announcement of their move to Cobb County to talk up the economic benefits Cobb will receive and is already receiving.
Lee sent an email Thursday titled, “Throwback Thursday: 2 Years Ago.” Lee sent the note from his campaign website, leeforcobb.com.
Here is the verbatim text of Lee’s message:
Friends,
Two years ago this week, the Atlanta Braves announced that Cobb County would be their new home beginning in 2017.
It’s an exciting week for Cobb as we celebrate one of the largest homeruns in our county’s history.
The months leading up to the Braves announcement were high pressured and stressful at times. But throughout the process, I worked to offer the serious leadership that secured the Braves move and ensured that Cobb County taxpayers would ultimately benefit from the project.
Today, the Atlanta Braves are living up to their commitment to build a world-class ballpark on time and on budget. Not only that, but the Braves’ mixed use development, The Battery Atlanta, is under construction and will result in $450 million in private investment and 2,000 jobs.
Thanks to serious, conservative leadership, Cobb County will realize a 60 percent annual return on investment from the SunTrust Park partnership. In fact, it will be the first private public partnership of its kind to result in a return on investment to taxpayers in the very first year.
On this historic two-year anniversary, here are some positive impacts we are already seeing as results of the Braves move to Cobb:
- Reduced millage rate and tax cut for Cobb County residents
- Over $300 million in private investment surrounding SunTrust Park
- Four Class A Office Towers that will house hundreds of jobs are under construction – the first new office towers in over a decade
- SunTrust Park is on time and on budget.
- Eight new residential developments in our community
- $1 billion in transportation improvements
- The bonds for SunTrust Park closed at $1.6 million less than originally budgeted
- A world-class mixed used development is underway that will provide living, shopping, dining and entertainment options 365 days a year
- A projected 60 percent return on investment for Cobb taxpayers
Much has happened in two years and I look forward to great things to come. I hope you are as proud as I am to call Cobb the home of the Braves. With your continued support, we will ensure that Cobb County remains the best place to live, work and play ball!
Sincerely,
Tim Lee
Chairman
Cobb County
He forgot to list there will be no pedestrian bridge and no MARTA extension. Enjoy your new neighbors and all of the traffic.
There’s been no proof that stadiums provide an economic benefit. But hey, keeps traffic down in ATL, I guess. If Cobb wants economic benefit, expand MARTA.
Ballparks almost never produce the economic promises they tout enough to offset the major investment made with public tax dollars. Good luck throwing your money at a traffic nightmare, they will be leaving you with the bill in 20 years for Alpharetta or Los Angeles.
Pardon my puke.
The only way for this to truly work is for the Braves to win like 5 championships and become a dynasty. Otherwise, it’s just going to be a tremendous tax burden and an unavoidable traffic cluster on game day.
At it’s current location which has 1/4 the density it’s a nightmare to get off on University Ave. I can’t begin to imagine what game day is going to look like over there.
A boondoggle. Driving south through Cobb County into Atlanta will become a nightmare. We Cobb taxpayers should not have had our money contributed to this project. Tim Lee is toast next election cycle.
To the naysayers on here…if it was just a “stadium only” being built your negativity might be warranted. What is being built is a world class shopping and entertainment district, a 5 star hotel and the Comcast office building that will house 1,000 brand new jobs alone. Even without the stadium this would be a huge plus to the community. In addition, all the development that is happening around the stadium would probably not be happening but because of. Your inability to see the benefits of a billion dollar investment in the Cumberland area is embarrassing. I can’t wait to be able to say #ToldYouSo
World class shopping center? Not sure how an Ann Taylor, etc is world class.
Carl Holt They haven’t announced any of the retailers yet…so stay tuned. Admittedly “World Class” may be a stretch on my part but everything I am hearing is that the targeted retailers and restaurants would make it a destination even without a stadium involved. I do believe in more transit options but lets not pretend this is a low quality project destined for failure just because we don’t like the location.
They got some of the best intown restaurants to open up new spaces. But we’ve had these intown for years and don’t need a publicly funded stadium to get them.
Until He is proven right that this was a worthwhile investment…and then he will be reelected for sure.
I would be very gung ho about this development too if it weren’t for the 300 million in public tax dollars to build it and another who knows how much in bridge and road building we are footing the bill for. Give me half a billion dollars and I’ll build you the best dang Atlantic Station in the burbs you’ve ever seen too.
Keep dreaming Thomas House.