Business
Business

Dump Braves name? Ga. minor league team considers options

Attendance has fallen sharply for the Gwinnett Braves, a minor league team for the Atlanta Braves. The triple-A team’s general manager, North Johnson, said he’s looking for tactics to reverse the slide at Coolray Field north of Lawrenceville near the Mall of Georgia. MATT KEMPNER / AJC

Credit: Matt Kempner

Credit: Matt Kempner

Attendance has fallen sharply for the Gwinnett Braves, a minor league team for the Atlanta Braves. The triple-A team’s general manager, North Johnson, said he’s looking for tactics to reverse the slide at Coolray Field north of Lawrenceville near the Mall of Georgia. MATT KEMPNER / AJC
By Matt Kempner
Sept 6, 2016

There are two kinds of winning: on the field and in the box office.

The Gwinnett Braves, the Triple-A minor league team of the Atlanta Braves, just snagged a playoff berth. But when it comes to attracting fans to home games near the Mall of Georgia off I-85, the team is hurting so bad that the general manager is considering changing the team's name.

North Johnson said he's tried just about everything legal he can think of to get people into the stadium the county built for the team. But attendance is the worst of 30 Triple-A teams in the International and Pacific Coast leagues.

One issue: Some people apparently confuse the team with its major league parent downtown. What name would attract fans?

Checkout one of Johnson's name ideas and the government help he wants to get some games back on TV, in my latest Unofficial Business column on myAJC.com.

About the Author

Matt Kempner is an award-winning journalist who seeks out intriguing twists about people and subjects beyond what the AJC might typically cover. A former columnist and editor, his past assignments have included business investigations, energy, the economy, entrepreneurs, big business, consumer spending, politics, government and the environment.

Follow Matt Kempner on facebookFollow Matt Kempner on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

Jeff Graham (right) executive director of Georgia Equality, leads supporters carrying boxes of postcards into then-Gov. Nathan Deal’s office on March 2, 2016. Representatives from gay rights groups delivered copies of 75,000 emails to state leaders urging them to defeat so-called religious liberty legislation they believed would legalize discrimination. (Bob Andres/AJC)

Why Hollywood didn’t publicly fight Georgia’s ‘religious liberty’ bill

The film and television industry of today is very different than the one that existed when Gov. Deal vetoed the religious liberty measure in 2016.

Slowdown in global shipping will soon hit Georgia. Are layoffs, shortages next?

Global shipping is slowing a month after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” escalation of the trade war. Georgia companies, workers and consumers could soon feel it.

Opinion: $160K BMW showed me combustion is essential to a performance car experience

In the BMW XM, once the 31 miles of electric range runs out, the gasoline engine is even more impressive than any electronic sound, gadget or software could ever be.

The Latest

A Rivian R1S is parked in the courtyard of the new Rivian “space” at Avalon in Alpharetta on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Bita Honarvar for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Bita Honarvar

Rivian shaken more by tariffs than DOE threats to pull $6B Georgia plant loan

An Atlanta health technology company lands huge Silicon Valley investment

Trump wants to tariff foreign-made films. But how? Could it boost Georgia?

Featured

Débora Rey and her husband Martín Verdi liked Trump's "get tough on undocumented immigrants" stance but they didn't think he would go after legal immigrants like their son. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

They voted for Trump and now their son is in ICE detention

A green card holder from Argentina is detained in South Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center. His parents, who voted for President Trump, now regret their choice.

He’s out: Man accused of trying to kidnap child at Cobb Walmart posts bail

A man accused of trying to snatch a 2-year-old boy from his mother’s arms at a busy Walmart was granted bond after spending 45 days in jail.

Kemp will not run for U.S. Senate, igniting a GOP scramble in Georgia race

The governor’s decision reshapes one of the nation’s top Senate contests against Democrat Jon Ossoff.