Cobb County unanimously approves Atlanta Braves stadium agreement

Less than two weeks after a set of images depicting the new Cobb County ballpark for the Atlanta Braves were released, the county commissioners were set to vote on the proposed deal that would finance the new stadium. As expected, the agreement was approved, and that opens the door for the two sides to begin real work on the construction of the stadium.

Dan Klepal and Brad Schrade from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution weighed in on the news:

"Cobb Commissioners voted unanimously, 5-0, on the operating agreement that will bound the county to borrow up to $396 million to build the Atlanta Braves a new stadium scheduled to open in 2017.Commissioners also approved several other aspects of the deal that will keep the Braves in the new stadium for 30 years."

In addition to the fact that the vote was unanimous, the AJC also released some of the final financial details from the agreement. The stadium project has been approved at an overarching total of $622 million, with $392 million in public contributions that include bonds, and between $230 million and $280 million from the organization itself “at the team’s discretion.”

Because we are a sports-first outlet, you won’t hear a great deal of political debate on this front, but instead, this is an undeniably positive outcome for the Braves organization. The far-reaching impact of this new monetary infusion has already been felt with ownership’s willingness to extend the budget for the 2014 season, and that should be expected to continue as we head toward 2017 and the opening of the new venue.

Stay tuned for more updates as they arrive, but until that point, let this serve as a reminder that we are less than three years from a new stadium.