Hello there, my name is Aaron Nobles and this is my first blog. I work as the computer lab paraprofessional at an elementary school in Rome, GA and coach soccer at Rome High School. I have always loved sports and follow them very closely. Soccer has always been my favorite sport because my dad was a teacher/soccer coach and I grew up playing the game starting when I was three and I still play today at the age of 25. I will cover a lot of different topics in the world of sports in this blog, however a lot of it will be about soccer. Being from Georgia, I am impartial to the Atlanta sports teams and the Georgia Bulldogs. In terms of soccer, I am a fan of first off the US National Teams, but also FC Barcelona, Portland Timbers FC, Charlton Athletic FC in England, and Swansea City FC in Wales. Enough about me, off to the real topic of this blog.
Today, the Atlanta Braves announced that they will be building a new stadium in Cobb County, at the juncture of I-75 and I-285. When I first read this I was shocked, because Turner Field will only be 20 years old when this stadium is complete, and that just seems a bit ludicrous, since Turner Field is still a great ballpark. However, throughout the day, I have read different articles about their decision making on this move and it is beginning to make a little bit more sense. The fact is that the Ted is a little hard to get to, and traffic in downtown Atlanta for typical game times is an absolute pain in the butt, and with the closest MARTA station being about a mile away, it is a total hassle. The need to make almost $150 million in upgrades to the stadium seating, lighting, and plumbing is a hassle to the Braves, and then the need for more upgrades to improve the fan experience makes it more of a hassle to stay at the Ted. In addition to this, there really isn't anything to do or anywhere to eat that is within walking distance to Turner Field, at least, not anywhere that you would feel safe going to. With the new location, there is room for development on the property, plus there is plenty of development around the location already. With the cost of the new stadium estimated at only about $500 million more than the upgrades to Turner Field, and with it looking like Cobb County will fit at least $400 million of the bill, this makes sense for the Braves.
So, the move to a new stadium makes sense for the Braves, but what to do with Turner Field? Well, I have several proposals, and yes, they all include an MLS franchise in Atlanta. I believe that there are several good and viable options for a stadium for an MLS franchise in Atlanta and I believe that Turner Field can fit other purposes as well.
I know that the plan as of right now is for the Falcons new stadium to be home to a potential MLS franchise, and I at first thought that would be a great plan, but with the news coming out a few weeks ago that the new Falcons stadium is going to have artificial turf as opposed to natural grass just made this less appealing to MLS. Now, I know that there are several MLS teams that play on artificial turf fields, and some even in soccer specific stadiums, like in Vancouver and Portland. However, the weather in Portland makes turf more suitable to playing on, and Vancouver plays in a dome, so it makes sense as well. Seattle and New England play on turf at NFL stadiums, but the climates of those cities makes it more suitable to playing on turf. In Atlanta, however, if you have a retractable roof stadium, there is absolutely no reason for the field to be turf with our climate and the ability to put a roof over the field when it rains too much. And it doesn't really get too cold to need to worry about that, because Green Bay, Philadelphia, and Denver all have much colder climates and all have natural grass fields. With that being said, I believe that the Falcons new stadium is not the most suitable option for a MLS franchise.
With that being said, I believe that one option for Turner Field is for it to be remodeled and made into a smaller soccer-specific stadium for an MLS franchise. This was done on a much smaller scale already in Portland where they turned a minor league baseball stadium, which was already hosting the Timbers, into a soccer-specific stadium for the MLS Timbers. This would have to be done on a much different scale in Atlanta due to the fact that Turner Field is much larger than the existing MiLB stadium was in Portland. However, the problems that you run into with this is the same problem the Braves are facing now, a lack of development around the stadium and the lack of a MARTA station close to the stadium. While the problem of the MARTA station is not easily fixed, the development around the stadium can be fixed, as the MLS stadium would be much smaller, the amount of parking needed would go down, and one of the parking lots near the stadium could be redeveloped into shops, restaurants, and bars, which would make the area much more appealing to the masses as they are coming to a game. However, with all of this, there comes a pretty lofty price tag, to an extent of the amount, I do not know, but I would assume that it would probably be in greater than the $200 million in upgrades the Braves estimate Turner Field needs for it to remain viable to them.
This brings me to what I believe to me the most viable option for Turner Field and for the opportunity for an MLS franchise in Atlanta. I believe that decreasing the size of Turner Field and turning into a football stadium for Georgia State makes the most sense, because the campus is not too far away from there, and there is a lot of parking space there for tailgating. Either that, or maybe Atlanta can finally do something right some 20+ years later by turning Turner Field back into what it originally was, an Olympic stadium, to host Track and Field events. Atlanta is home to a lot of runners, and they could probably get some big events back at the stadium for Track and Field, maybe even the US Olympic Trials at some point.
I think that the most viable option for a soccer-specific stadium for an MLS franchise in Atlanta is on the same property that the Braves new stadium will sit on. The plan is already to have some mixed-use development on the property, and what better to have than another stadium, this time for a soccer-specific MLS stadium. In the 18-30 age group in the US, soccer is second only to the NFL in the sport that is most liked. In Atlanta, there are countless clubs around the north Metro area, and you can find soccer parks all over the place in Cobb, Forsyth, and Gwinnett counties. By that time, about 30 miles up the road will be one of the largest sports complexes in the nation right off of I-75 in Emerson, as well.
I firmly believe that the Braves are making the right decision to move to Cobb County, and I believe that this brings about a lot of change and that Turner Field still has a lot of use, they just have to find the right use for it. I also believe that this will further help the prospects of Atlanta getting an MLS franchise, and hopefully a soccer specific stadium for them to play in.
No comments:
Post a Comment