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Fiscal Impact Study Gives High Marks to SunTrust Park, The Battery

SunTrust Park

The Atlanta Braves‘ SunTrust Park and adjacent The Battery Atlanta are providing a strong annual economic impact for Cobb County, according to a new study. 

Opening for the Braves in suburban Cobb County last year, SunTrust Park is a $672 million ballpark that was funded through a public-private partnership. As part of the broader scope of the project, the Braves and other development partners funded The Battery Atlanta, an adjacent mixed-use development.

A new study finds that the project provides a promising economic impact for Cobb County. According to a study conducted by Georgia Tech’s Center for Economic Development Research, the ballpark and adjacent mixed-use development are behind an average, total, net fiscal impact of roughly $18.9 million annually. The study was commissioned by the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce. More from Curbed Atlanta:

Now, thanks to a study conducted by Georgia Tech’s Center for Economic Development Research, the financial impact of the ballpark and its adjacent mixed-use development, The Battery, has been quantified.

And with just under $19 million in annual net fiscal impact, the baseball-centric, live-work-play megaplex appears to be doing big things for Cobb County.

According to the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce’s assessment of Georgia Tech’s research, about $4 million of that goes to the county government, and nearly $15 million will go to Cobb schools each year for the next two decades.

In a press release, this study was billed as “the first comprehensive fiscal impact study of the ballpark and adjacent mixed-use development, as well as the first analysis of the resulting Halo Effect in the surrounding area of influence.” Though some of it opened with the ballpark last year, The Battery Atlanta is still a work-in-progress, with additional amenities set to be added down the road.

Time will tell the full economic effects, but SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta have been noted as potential models for prospective ballpark/development projects that are being discussed. That includes a proposal for a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark in Tampa’s Ybor City, as officials there are hoping that the facility can be tied to a larger redevelopment initiative.

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