NEWS BRIEF: Braves stadium deal costing Cobb taxpayers millions annually, report says

The decision to move the Atlanta Braves from Turner Field to a new stadium in Cobb County is costing the county’s taxpayers about $15 million every year, according to a new report by J.C. Bradbury, a Kennesaw State University economic professor. He notes that Cobb’s experience with Truist Park is similar to other stadium projects that failed to generate large economic benefits to host communities. Much of the cost associated with the development seems to have come at the expense of existing Cobb businesses, so net gains to commercial activity have been relatively minor.

The growth of property value in the county is not atypical, Bradbury says, and stadium-induced tax revenue has fallen short of covering Cobb’s public investment in the stadium. In response, county spokesperson Ross Cavitt says Bradbury is “looking at the numbers differently than we do.” axios.com