Columbus City Council Approves Renovations to Prepare For Braves AA Affiliate
The AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves is officially one step closer to moving to Columbus, Georgia.
One of the major obstacles in front of the relocation, which was officially announced in early January, has finally been cleared after weeks of delays.
The Columbus City Council officially approved the hiring of Brasfield and Gorrie, LLC to both design and construct improvements to historic Golden Park that are required to bring the facility up to MLB's Minimum Facility Standards for hosting an affiliated minor league team.
The proposal, which was debated at a Council meeting on February 13th but halted short of a vote, was approved by a vote of 6-4.
Concerns from two weeks ago included both resistance to signing a contract for the construction without the bonds having officially been issued and what was felt by some as incorrect priorities of how to spend public funds that could be directed elsewhere.
While some comments were expressed in the meeting about the city's ability to pay back the bonds in the future, the measure still passed, with Councilor Judy Thomas switching her support from an objection last meeting to approving of the measure on Tuesday night.
Mayor Skip Henderson, viewed on a live stream of the meeting, remarked that approving the measure was a way for the councilors to "prepare for the future for Columbus, Georgia", explaining that the issue was being unable to sustain current spending "if we don’t look for new ways to create more revenue."
But it's unknown if a renovation and a new tenant for Golden Park will bring in enough revenue to offset the public spending required to renovate the nearly 100-year-old ballpark.
A recent study from Dr. John Charles Bradbury, an economist at Kennesaw State University, reviewed public policy towards spending money on sports venues and concluded that stadiums were "poor public investments", with even minor league ballparks that included mixed-use development failing to "generate the revenue needed to service the debt issued to finance the project."
Golden Park is located in south Columbus and is surrounded by other sports and civic facilities in the "South Commons" area, including AJ McClung Memorial Stadium (football), Columbus Civic Center (concerts, indoor football, ice rink), and Johnathan Hatcher Skatepark. There are no funds earmarked in the project for work on other parts of the South Commons, but Mayor Henderson expressed "optimism" that any remaining money could be applied to other facilities in the area.
What's the deadline?
But now, the clock is ticking. It is believed that ballpark renovations must be fully completed before Opening Day of the 2025 season, coming next April. The request for proposal gave April 2025 as a rough timeline to be "substantially complete" with the work, as well as emphasizing the bidder's responsibility to provide both design and construction services during the process. The list of required upgrades is not currently available, but due to the age of the facility, which was built in 1926 and last renovated in 1996, is believed to be quite extensive.
Brasfield and Gorrie, LLC has completed numerous baseball facilities for both college and professional teams in the Southeast, including being one of the primary contractors for Atlanta's Truist Park.
