Braves won’t seek tax breaks
Atlanta Braves officials have said for the first time that they will not seek property tax breaks on the proposed $400 million entertainment district they have planned for outside the new Cobb County baseball stadium — a decision that could cost them up to $18 million over 10 years, with that money flowing instead into school district and county government coffers.
“The Braves will not seek any property tax abatements from the Development Authority of Cobb County,” says a statement issued Thursday evening by Braves’ executive vice president of business operations Mike Plant.
The statement was issued through a team spokesman, who clarified on Friday that it also applies to whatever developer the team will hire to build the mixed-use facility of offices, shops, restaurants and a hotel.
The exact amount of the tax abatement is impossible to calculate because it depends on the “fair market value” of the development, and the tax rates at the time. The Braves have said they plan to build a $400 million development, but there is nothing contractually binding them to invest that much.
Property tax abatements are awarded by the Development Authority of Cobb County. They typically offer abatements on a sliding scale, which reduces the amount of the tax break by 10 percent a year. In a typical abatement, the developer would pay no tax in the first year, 10 percent in the second, 20 percent in the third, and so on, until they are paying 100 percent of the tax bill.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s estimated value of the tax break is based on a development with a $400 million fair market value, and current tax rates for the county and school district general funds.
The Braves announced in November their intention to build a new baseball stadium and entertainment district in the Cumberland Mall area. They intend for both the stadium and a major portion of the mixed-use complex to be open in time for the 2017 season.
Cobb County officials held a press conference Wednesday saying the stadium and entertainment district would generate $12.6 million in property and sales tax revenue in 2018. That’s compared to the county’s $17.9 million annual payment for the stadium debt it will issue next month.
The county has committed $300 million toward stadium construction costs, and another $35 million for 30 years of capital maintenance at the stadium.
When asked if the Braves promise not to seek a property tax abatement is good news, Lance Lamberton, president of the Cobb Taxpayers Association, replied it is “a case of the lack of more bad news.”
“In light of the fact they’re getting a massive taxpayer subsidy as a result of this deal, it would be the height of hubris to request tax abatements on top of that,” Lamberton said.
The county will make its annual payment on the stadium debt from several sources: $8.6 million from county-wide property taxes; $5.1 million from a property tax rate increase for businesses in the Cumberland area;$2.7 million from hotel room fee; nearly $1 million from the county’s existing hotel-motel tax; and $400,000 from a new rental car tax in unincorporated areas of the county.
About the Author
Dan Klepal is editor of the local government team, supervising nine reporters covering county and municipal governments and metro Atlanta. Klepal came to the AJC in 2012, after a long career covering city halls in Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky. He has covered Gwinnett and Cobb counties before spending three years on the investigative team.
