A Cobb Superior Court Judge on Friday signed off on the public financing plan for the Atlanta Braves stadium.
In a ruling issued late Friday afternoon, Judge Robert Leonard II validated up to $397 million in bonds that will fund a large portion of construction costs associated with the $622 million ballpark, which will be built near the Cumberland Mall and be completed in time for the 2017 season.
The bonds will be issued by the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority, and backed by county taxpayers.
In validating the bonds, the judge overruled a dozen objections lodged by citizens who sought to block the issuance on a variety of legal grounds — including that the facility will be “private” and taxes therefore can’t be used to pay for it; that there should be a referendum before public money is expended; and that there will be no public benefit from the stadium.
The judge ruled against each of those objections, and others.
Bond validation is a necessary, and typically routine, step in which a judge assures investors that bonds issued by a public agency are legal and binding. The judge also is asked to find whether the proposal is “sound, feasible and reasonable.”
“Accordingly, the court has heard and determined all questions of law and fact in this case and renders this judgment confirming and validating” the bonds, Leonard wrote.
The opponents can challenge the ruling to either the Georgia Court of Appeals or the state Supreme Court. Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott, who represents the Cumberland area, called it a step forward.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some challenges to the ruling, but it allows both sides to move forward and we need to keep the process moving,” Ott said.
The Braves are currently relocating gas pipelines at the site and anticipate construction beginning by January.
Braves officials declined to comment on the ruling through a spokeswoman. Commission Chairman Tim Lee did not respond to a message left on his cell phone.
Attorney T. Tucker Hobgood objected to the issuance on the contention that the baseball stadium will not be a public facility. He argued that it is illegal to allow tax dollars to be spent on a private facility.
Hobgood said he will likely appeal the judge’s ruling, and said a major issue for a higher court to consider will be whether the county can obligate taxpayers to repay a debt without a referendum. The state Constitution requires a vote before the county assumes debt. But in this case, the debt is being issued by the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum Authority, though taxpayers will repay it because of an agreement between the authority and county government.
County lawyers argued that the Braves arrangement is similar to that involving the Cobb Energy Center, which was financed by bonds issued by the coliseum authority.
“But they run that,” Hobgood said. “The Energy Center was not created solely and exclusively for a private enterprise.”
The Braves will pay the county $6.1 million a year for rent, but will retain all revenues.
Other residents who objected to the bonds say they will appeal as well. Rich Pellegrino, a member of Citizens for Governmental Transparency, which has called for a referendum on the public investment in the stadium, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the ruling.
“I was hoping there would be somebody in Cobb, in some official capacity, to stand up for the people,” Pellegrino said. “An appeal is definitely in play and is something we were preparing for.”
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