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Tuesday, January 15, 2008
“Who needs city life?”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve tried to remember the last time I drove to Atlanta for dining or entertainment.
I’ve been thinking about this since big news broke Monday on ajc.com that the Class AAA Richmond Braves, the minor-league team of the Atlanta Braves, may move to Gwinnett. The team has played in Richmond, Va., since 1966. A formal announcement is expected today.
This is huge.
It’s huge even if it fizzles and the affiliate stays put or looks elsewhere for a stadium. It’s huge because of what it says about the county. It’s huge, really, because of what it says about suburbs in general. So often they get painted with a brush so broad it could fill Turner Field.
You hear it ad nauseam.
The suburbs lack entertainment and sophisticated (translation: pricey) dining. Nothing but racists live “out there.” The burbs are vast, disconnected wastelands. They’re a mess of cookie-cutter subdivisions and strip malls. Soul-less sprawl, some of which I’ve criticized.
But hey, this isn’t Decatur. Over-development is a metro Atlanta problem, not just a Gwinnett one.
Where you live depends on who you are, your needs. City living isn’t better than suburban living, and vice versa.
I love Atlanta. Have nothing against it. The city, though, caters generally to young, professional singles, kidless couples and urbane empty nesters.
The new Gwinnett appeals primarily to folk like me: married with children. Fortunately for us, the county has long stopped playing second fiddle. More and more, there’s scant reason for me, any of us, really, to take I-85 south. Let’s talk food.
Think independent, international eateries, not Taco Bell and not Buford Highway. We’ve got it all. Indian. Thai. (My family and I had some from an organic joint Friday.) Chinese. Caribbean. Dominican. Vietnamese. Korean. Blangladeshi. Pakistani. And American, of course.
Let’s talk sports.
The Gwinnett Gladiators, a minor-league affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers, play here. The Georgia Force, the Arena League football team, recently announced it will return to the Gwinnett Arena after playing for several years in Philips Arena. The ABA Atlanta Vision basketball team had its home opener at the Gwinnett Center on Friday. And, don’t forget high school athletics.
Let’s talk entertainment.
The Gwinnett Arena draws A-listers, from Elton John to Bruce Springsteen. Wild Bill’s, a colossal nightclub and performing arts hall, has found an audience. And smaller club venues - some offering live entertainment - are starting to find a niche.
Let’s talk shopping.
The mall options are mind-boggling, shamefully so. Discover Mills. Mall of Georgia. Gwinnett Place. The Forum. The Avenue Webb Gin. Huge.
You might argue there’s one area in which Gwinnett lags behind Atlanta: arts galleries, museums, the performing arts. Theater groups are closing the gap, though. And let’s be real: Not many of us pine to see a Picasso original or a Bearden collage. Maybe once every five or six years.
We’d much prefer to have a local baseball shrine, a pitch that helps define a broader sense of identity.
In a few years, a team and stadium might be right in our backyard.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
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