Atlanta United soccer site preparations planned to begin
Preparations for Atlanta United's soccer complex could soon begin with the removal of DeKalb County fuel tanks currently located on the site near Memorial Drive.
The DeKalb Commission is scheduled to vote Sept. 22 on spending up to $500,000 for SP Petroleum Transporters to remove, relocate and install fuel tanks. The contract first appeared on the commission's agenda last week but wasn't voted on.
About $200,000 of the contract would pay for work on the future soccer grounds, and its funding would come from $3 million budgeted by the DeKalb Commission in July for land clearing and demolition on the site, said DeKalb spokesman Burke Brennan.
Another $270,000 of the contract would go toward moving fuel tanks from the Callaway Building in Decatur, funded from the county's Fleet Maintenance Division budget. The building has asbestos problems and will probably be demolished.
Incentives for the soccer team approved by the commission include $5 million for land preparation and $7 million for the county to lease office space at the complex.
In exchange, Atlanta United will spend about $35 million to build the Major League Soccer team’s offices, a 3,500-seat stadium and practice fields on 41 acres of county land.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
