Agreements approved by Cobb commissioners related to the new Braves stadium:
- Stadium Development: Defines the responsibilities of all parties in planning, designing, building and paying for the new Braves stadium.
- Stadium Operating: Defines how the stadium will be managed, maintained and used, including responsibilities for stadium expenses.
- Bond resolution: Authorizes public debt of up to $397 million for the project. Only $368 million will go for the project; the county also plans to borrow enough to fund 15 months of interest during construction and all the financing costs.
- Stadium Construction Management Agreement: A joint venture of four firms will oversee construction of the stadium. The joint venture will be led by Minnesota-based M.A. Mortenson Co., with Brasfield & Gorrie, Barton Malow Co., and New South Construction. Mortenson built the Minnesota Twins new ballpark. The firm will soon provide the county with a "Guaranteed Maximum Price" for stadium construction later this year.
- Assurance Agreement: Contract in which the Braves agree to use stadium project funds to pay contractors and other stadium construction expenses.
- Construction Administration Agreement: Establishes the framework within which the Braves will administer, manage, direct and oversee the various aspects of the construction process.
- Non-Relocation Agreement: The Braves promise to play in the stadium for the entire term of the 30-year lease.
The Deal
Stadium Project Budget: $622 million
Public Contribution: $392 million
- $368 million in bonds*
- $14 million in transportation sales tax
- $10 million cash from businesses in the Cumberland Community Improvement District
*Does not include up to $29 million in additional county debt to pay the first 15 months of interest and up-front borrowing costs. The interest rate at the time of the issuance will determine the exact amount borrowed. The maximum bond issuance could be $397 million.
Braves Contribution: $230 million, which can be increased up to $280 million at the team's discretion.
County's maximum annual payment: $25 million**
**This is the legal maximum annual debt payment. The exact amount will depend on interest rates at the time of the bond issuance. County officials have estimated the annual payment is unlikely to exceed $24 million.
County annual revenue sources for bond payments:
- Renewal of countywide property tax levy: $8.6 million
- Braves rent: $6.1 million
- New property tax from Cumberland-area businesses: $5.1 million
- New nightly hotel room fee: $2.7 million
- Existing hotel-motel tax: $940,000
- New rental car tax in unincorporated Cobb: $400,000
The Deal
Stadium Project Budget: $622 million
Public Contribution: $392 million
- $368 million in bonds*
- $14 million in transportation sales tax
- $10 million cash from businesses in the Cumberland Community Improvement District
*Does not include up to $29 million in additional county debt to pay the first 15 months of interest and up-front borrowing costs. The interest rate at the time of the issuance will determine the exact amount borrowed. The maximum bond issuance could be $397 million.
Braves Contribution: $230 million, which can be increased up to $280 million at the team's discretion.
County's maximum annual payment: $25 million**
**This is the legal maximum annual debt payment. The exact amount will depend on interest rates at the time of the bond issuance. County officials have estimated the annual payment is unlikely to exceed $24 million.
County annual revenue sources for bond payments:
- Renewal of countywide property tax levy: $8.6 million
- Braves rent: $6.1 million
- New property tax from Cumberland-area businesses: $5.1 million
- New nightly hotel room fee: $2.7 million
- Existing hotel-motel tax: $940,000
- New rental car tax in unincorporated Cobb: $400,000
The Braves pitched a shutout Tuesday night — or, rather, the team’s supporters in Cobb County did.
At a packed public meeting, county commissioners approved a series of seven legal agreements with the team, and several community agencies that will be involved in building, operating and paying for a new $622 million ballpark in the Cumberland Mall area. The meeting was over within two hours, and the commissioners approved the deals without questions or debate.
The votes mark a critical step in the Braves relocation from downtown Atlanta to Cobb County, with play to begin in the new stadium in 2017. Braves executives sitting in the front row exchanged hearty handshakes after the last of the votes were taken.
“Today was an historic day,” Braves executive vice president of sales and marketing Derek Schiller said during a press conference after the meeting. “We celebrate a great moment in our relationship with Cobb. We’re ready to build this ballpark.”
The meeting was dominated by supporters of the stadium who executed a strategy to shutout the voice of critics. They were lined up for the 12 speaking slots by 1:45 p.m., for the meeting that started at 7. They effectively snatched up all the speaking slots for the public comment portion of the meeting. A handful of critics were escorted from the room when it became clear early on they would not be allowed to speak and they approached the front of the room to ask the commission to create more speaking slots.
Commissioners denied the request and all 12 speaker slots were filled by stadium supporters.
Attorney Justin O’Dell, who has an office on Marietta square, was unapologetic that stadium deal critics were shut down. He said supporters knew the meeting rules, arrived early, and deserved every speaking slot.
“I quit my day at 2:45 today, meaning I didn’t get paid after 2:45,” O’Dell said. “It was important enough that we read the rules. It was important (for us to) say thank you” to the Braves for choosing to invest in Cobb.
Frustration by stadium critics, who have complained the public hasn’t had enough time to thoroughly review key documents before votes, burst into view at the opening of the meeting.
Several critics of the deal made their way toward the front of the commission meeting room and asked to be given an opportunity to speak. For a minute, the scene turned tense when they would not relent the floor. They were critical of the process of limiting the floor to a dozen public speakers for such an important vote.
One of those critics, Ben Williams, with the Cobb chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, afterward accused the commission of “ignoring the voice of the people.”
Another critic, Rich Pellegrino, said the process was stacked against people who couldn’t leave work early and spend hours in line waiting to speak. Pellegrino, with the group Citizens for Governmental Transparency, said he arrived at about an hour before the meeting but it was too late to get on the list to speak.
“We’re working people,” Pellegrino said. “We’re not on corporate welfare. It’s a slap in the face.”
Cobb County Commission Chairman Tim Lee said its rules were followed “in the best interest” of everyone in attendance.
All of the agreements were approved unanimously, except for bond documents which allow the county to borrow up to $397 million for the project. Those documents were not made available to the public until Friday evening, after 6 p.m. Commissioner Lisa Cupid voted against the bonds resolution, she said, because of the timing of that release.
There was never any question that stadium supporters would carry the night. Afterward, Lee said he was excited “to bring a world-class organization to the community.”
“We had a good night tonight,” Lee said. “I’m proud to be able to call the Atlanta Braves home to Cobb County moving forward. We are in a great, great place.”
Tuesday’s succession of historic votes cements the county’s deal with the Braves, that started with the stunning announcement in November that the Braves would leave their downtown home and move to the suburbs.
The Braves deal has been contentious from the start, with opponents complaining that the county negotiations lacked transparency and failed to seek public input. Critics say that trend has continued through last week, when the county made public the bond documents at the start of a three-day holiday weekend — drawing the ire of government watchdogs.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spent weeks reviewing various iterations of the draft documents, and found that the county had pushed the Braves for a minimum investment in their mixed use development and a completion date, but got neither. The stadium development agreement also opens the possibility the county to spend above its $300 million “cap” for project.
Lee vowed that the county will not spend above the cap, and said that provision was written into the contract so the county could use funds from grants or other outside sources.
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