Georgia State, two smaller groups bid for Turner Field

When the Atlanta Braves announced plans in 2013 to leave for Cobb County, Mayor Kasim Reed promised Turner Field would be replaced by one of the largest developments for the middle class the city had ever seen.

In the time since, he’s said multiple suitors — from California to the Middle East — have inquired about the site.

But it was revealed late Monday that only three groups, including the highly-touted partnership between Georgia State University and real estate firms Carter and Oakwood Development, made a play for the downtown ballpark. Only the Georgia State team appears to have a credible shot.

The other two bidders are little known organizations, with one so obscure that no public records, nor any mention at all, could be found on the web or various databases.

The Georgia State-Carter team was joined in bidding by Mercury Youth Organization, a youth sports nonprofit formerly known as Mercury Track Club. The third bidder is Rita World Pearl Kingdom LLC.

Defending the scarcity of bidders Tuesday, Reed said in a news conference that at least three other major firms took a serious look. Among them, he said, were two casinos who failed to win his support because of community opposition to gambling.

“If we had sent a signal that gaming would have been appropriate, we would have had gaming bidders,” Reed said Tuesday.

The state legislature will likely examine legalizing casino gambling in the upcoming session starting in January.

Reed has said he opposes gambling, but that it would be “fiscal malpractice” not to listen to casino groups. He left open the possibility of supporting a gaming site elsewhere in the city.

The Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority, which owns Turner Field and is overseeing its sale, did not release the amount of the bids, development plans, nor details including how much land each entity hopes to acquire.

The Georgia State-Carter proposal is well-known, including a plan to reuse The Ted as a football stadium, student housing, apartments and retail.

According to Mercury Youth CEO Gus Pritchett, the organization proposes converting Turner Field into a basketball arena and track and field complex with a retractable roof. There also would be retail, and a baseball field that would commemorate Hank Aaron’s 715th home run with a water feature. Parking lots would be converted into a residential complex including a 40-story tower.

Pritchett, a track and field coach who said he has worked with a number of top-tier college and professional athletes, said his concept is a $1 billion vision he has had for nearly 20 years. Mercury would operate the facility and attract international athletic competitions.

“We’re talking about a world-changing, phenomenal situation here and we think we can do it,” he said.

Pritchett declined to discuss financing or potential backers, but said naming rights could be sold on the main arena. A brochure Pritchett provided to the AJC said financing has been “identified.” A 2011 tax filing with the Internal Revenue Service, the most recent that the AJC could immediately obtain, showed Mercury reported no revenue or expenses that year.

Pritchett said he has held discussions about concepts with an engineering firm that did work on Turner Field, as well as stadium design firm Rosser International.

Rosser President Eric Robinson said his firm has had discussions with Mercury, but his practice hasn’t been retained.

Attempts to contact the Rita World organization or identify parties involved in it were not successful.

Community wants delay

Reed, who has long been a vocal proponent of the Georgia State-Carter plan, said he hasn’t heard of either Mercury Youth or Rita World.

Neither has Matthew Garbett, a spokesman for the Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition. Garbett said Monday that he was surprised that groups other than Georgia State and Carter bid on the ballpark.

“We always suspected there wouldn’t be a lot of bids, especially when the person making the final decision has publicly supported one institution,” he said, in reference to Reed. “I think everyone else is just very surprised and interested to see what the proposals are for these other groups, and in fact, who one of the groups even is.”

Reed said another interested firm decided against Turner Field because, under the request for proposals process, the prospective developer is asked to incorporate elements of a community “Livable Centers Initiative” study now underway.

Many stadium residents called for the sale of the ballpark to be delayed until after the completion of the community study next year, but city officials said the ballpark must be sold prior to the Braves’ departure in late 2016.

Fulton County Chairman John Eaves said regardless of the bidders, he was glad for what he called an open process. His hope, he said, is for the “concerns and wishes of community be factored in the overall decision making process.”