After eliminating 115 jobs and shifting $12 million from a reserve fund, Gwinnett County officials expecting additional bad news regarding revenue from an already-overbudget ballpark.
After eliminating 115 jobs and shifting $12 million from a reserve fund, Gwinnett County officials expecting additional bad news regarding revenue from an already-over-budget ballpark.
The total cost of the new ballpark for the Gwinnett Braves (Class AAA; International League) has mushroomed to $64 million ($77 million when you include debt service), up from the original $40 million price tag. Much of the new spending was approved last fall, but economic developments in the suburban Atlanta county has critics saying the ballpark should never have been approved.
Indeed, it’s pretty easy to see one area where the new ballpark will come up short: naming rights. In defiance of reality Gwinnett County officials expected to receive a million dollars annually in a naming-rights deal (with much of that going directly to the G-Braves). Now, however, it’s not clear whether any kind of naming-rights deal will be finalized; if one does not emerge, then the G-Braves will receive the rights to sell naming rights on their own and pocket all the proceeds.
More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.