Meeting with Wall Street analysts today in an office building across the street from SunTrust Park, the chief financial officer of Braves owner Liberty Media said next year’s move into the new Cobb County stadium should significantly boost the team’s revenue.
“History has shown that when sports franchises have gone out and done new projects — new stadiums — and developed around those stadiums, it has had pretty significant impact on their revenue numbers,” Liberty Media CFO Chris Shean said. “While we’re not saying that this is in the bank, we feel pretty confident that we’re going to get some uplift from this particular project through improved long-term sponsorship deals, better seating and pricing for premium seats, better value proposition for the seating, as well as all the opportunities surrounding the real-estate project and the mixed use (development).
“I think this is going to be much broader than just a ballpark experience. Hopefully, this is a destination that people will be coming to for all kind of lifestyle events.”
Shean showed a slide presentation indicating the locally produced revenue of MLB teams increased by an average of about 19 percent upon moving into recent new stadiums.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday, Liberty Media disclosed that the Braves had revenue of $243 million last year, down from $250 million in 2014 and $260 million in 2013.
In today’s meeting, Liberty Media and Braves executives discussed the Braves operations and finances and the new stadium project with investment analysts. The meeting, broadcast on Liberty’s website, came three days after the company debuted three tracking stocks tied to its various businesses, including one tied to the Braves. The team remains owned by Liberty, as it has been since 2007.
