The day of the Braves’ surprise announcement, my home and professional lives collided.
My wife and I moved to Marietta in 1999, despite having to drive 20-plus miles to work. To us, the commute is a worthwhile trade-off for close proximity to the Marietta Square, the view of Kennesaw Mountain and a wonderful sense of community. While “Mayretta” isn’t Mayberry – the city and environs boast increasingly cosmopolitan restaurants and amenities – it retains the small-town charm that attracted us.
So I was as stunned as anyone to learn this month that the Atlanta Braves – one of the region’s biggest “brands” – was planning to move from downtown to a new stadium in Cobb County, just minutes from my adopted hometown.
The news sent me into high gear professionally. I oversee most of the AJC’s local news and sports coverage, so responsibility for the Braves-heading-OTP story landed heavily on my shoulders.
But I’m also a Cobb taxpayer, a northside commuter and a Braves fan. And I think those perspectives helped influence my leadership of our coverage for the better.
My initial reactions ranged from “Braves games will be so close to home!” to “Are my taxes going to go up?” to “How will I get home (from the AJC’s Perimeter office) on game nights???”
I urged our editors and reporters to press officials on those questions. People I saw in the gym, at church and at friends’ homes around Cobb were asking the same things.
Why were the Braves leaving a perfectly good stadium (where I’ve cheered the team dozens of times)?
How much would Cobb taxpayers pay towards the stadium? How would the financing work?
And how would commuters be affected on game nights – not only in the area of the new stadium, but in the broader region?
When Cobb leaders refused to release details of the public’s financial obligations towards what would be a public facility, I pushed for a front-page story spotlighting their lack of transparency.
Many Cobb residents hailed the news as a boon to the county. And I sincerely hope they are right. My wife and I have a lot invested in our community: we support local merchants and donate time and money to Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society, Cobb-based MUST Ministries, the Marietta Pilgrimage Tour of Homes and other institutions.
But I was troubled by the absence of information on who would pay and how - as a taxpayer as well as a journalist.
Truthfully, I’m a veteran editor with an unwavering belief in the AJC’s mission to hold leaders accountable and ask tough questions on behalf of taxpayers. If the Braves were moving to Gwinnett County, I would have taken much the same attitude.
But the fact that it was my home county gave me an even deeper sense of obligation to my neighbors.
A couple of days after the Braves announced their plans, I posted this message on my personal Facebook page.
I’m not taking a position on the Braves stadium, but I feel strongly that the public deserves to know how much taxpayers would pay towards a publicly owned facility and how the deal would work. At the moment, Cobb political leaders are refusing to discuss these crucial questions. The AJC will press for answers until we have them and can share with all of you.
My post received numerous “likes” from friends, most of them Cobb residents.
Some people might interpret the AJC’s coverage as the work of naysayers who stand on the sidelines and criticize. I see our watchdog approach as essential to ensuring that my community remains a great place.
You don't need me or anyone else to tell you whether the Braves' move to Cobb is a good or bad idea. But it is the AJC's duty to ensure that you have the information you need to make up your mind, particularly while the question is still unsettled. Cobb commissioners are set to vote on the deal Tuesday, Nov. 26.
Is this a wise use of public funds? Are the promised economic benefits to Cobb likely to be realized? What are the implications for commuters? (On that latter point, see our coverage in today’s AJC.)
Without the answers to these vital questions, the public can’t arrive at informed conclusions.
We'll continue to seek those answers. And I'll be doing my part - as an AJC editor and a Cobb resident.
