There’s no chance it will happen, but Ted Turner wants to see the Turner Field site preserved as green space after it is demolished in 2017.
Interestingly enough, Turner’s first reaction wasn’t to keep the ballpark and former Olympic stadium intact; rather, his inclination was to come down against retail development in favor of green space. From AP:
”I’ve been so shocked by them moving the Braves out of Atlanta,” Turner, 75, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press before his Captain Planet Foundation gala. The event drew nearly 700 attendees, including environmental activist Erin Brockovich, to raise funds for its programs and to recognize environmental stewardship.
”I just learned the last couple of days that they intend to tear the stadium down,” said Turner, who previously owned the Atlanta Braves franchise. ”I thought maybe they’d find, yet, a woman’s soccer team or something like that. … But the idea of turning it into a green-space park would be wonderful.”
Turner has continued to spread the green message, promoting sustainable energy and furthering other environmental causes through his foundation. Turner thinks having green space would be beneficial for the area once Turner Field is gone.
Truth is, there aren’t many great uses for an old ballpark. For every rehabbed Bush Stadium in Indianapolis there’s a Metrodome or Candlestick Park, facilities that may generate a lot of warm, fuzzy feelings but not a viable economic plan for survival.
RELATED STORIES: New Braves ballpark hits resistance from school district, Tea Party; Could new Braves ballpark be derailed by lawsuit?; New Braves ballpark hits $1B with additional of entertainment district; Gone too soon, or good riddance? Thoughts in Turner Field’s future demolition; Braves to pay $372M toward new ballpark, Cobb County $300M; Turner Field to be torn down in 2017; Braves to leave Turner Field, will build new Cobb County ballpark
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