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Baseball in Gwinnett – Implications
Written by Colin on January 22, 2008 – 3:03 pmSo there’s some feedback coming from the community regarding the Braves’ decision to move their AAA team to Gwinnett. Here are some thoughts coming from different groups of people.
Atlanta: We’re hearing mostly positive feedback from Atlanta – another baseball team in town can’t hurt, right? Another smaller crowd sees no need to add a third team to Georgia – citing attendance issues for the big league team that would be worsened by the presence of another baseball team in the metro area.
Gwinnett: I’m hearing two crowds from Gwinnett – some people want the Braves best farm team nearby and easily accessible. Another set is worried about the traffic and other implications that will only get worse with another stadium. They claim that the taxpayers will end up paying some for the stadium (the plan is for the team to pay back the county for the entire cost of the stadium), and that the team will worsen the issues already faced by Gwinnett and the metro area.
Richmond: Everyone from Richmond is sorry to see the team go. I would be sad to see the Braves leave as well – it’s not like they have a big league club in town as well. However, the attendance rate in Richmond has been around 38% – hardly wildly successful.
Rome: We’ve had some of our own readers express their concern over the impact of the Gwinnett team on the Class A Rome Braves. Their main concerns are that attendance will drop and rehab assignments will be sent to AAA Gwinnett instead of Rome’s Class A ballclub. I think this is a legitimate concern but the Braves feel the benefits will outweigh the potential downsides. I think we’ll see rehab assignments go to Class A – Gwinnett may be closer, but it’ll be easier to shuffle the roster of the Class A team, not the AAA team. I’m not saying that we’ll never see rehab assignments go to the AAA team, but I think we’ll see the majority stay at Class A. Yeah, we’ll see some difference in attendance in Rome likely, but that’s going to be hard to predict. I know I’ll want to go see both teams – the AAA team will let us see the higher level prospects, and Rome will let us see the younger guys.
More will come as we know more – but I think that the overall impact on the Atlanta Braves fan community is going to be positive. Hopefully our fans up in Richmond don’t abandon the franchise and will continue to support the Braves throughout the years.
Posted in Minor Leagues | 7 Comments »
By Tom Stanley on Jan 22, 2008 | Reply
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Stanley
By Joey Smith (Smitty) on Jan 23, 2008 | Reply
I see this as a very positive thing. Especially for me, personally. I work in North Atlanta right off of 85, so it means a 20 minute jaunt after work for me to see a good baseball game.
Plus, I am hoping the Braves really use this venue to re-hab their guys and put their top prospects. I won’t go to less games downtown, but that is already more of a special occasion than a casual outing given the distance and expense.
Welcome to Gwinnett, Baby Braves!
p.s. Rue, you did an outstanding job on the Bravescast recently.
Blessings,
Smitty
By Rue Grant on Jan 23, 2008 | Reply
Thank you. I have to say, i was pretty nervous, and i wasn’t expecting half of the questions they asked me.
Anyhow, I don’t think we’ll see a huge attendance difference in Rome, and the reason is geographic. HOnestly i’ve never driven up to Rome for the sole purpose of going to a game, especially considering Atlanta is much closer to me. I think that goes for people in that area too. I do’nt feel as though people make a frequent jaunt up to Rome to see the minors. Sure, maybe once in a while, but i’d say people from the Gwinnett, Loganville, Conyers, Buford area are less likely to make a habit of it. So you lose those people maybe a few times per season. But I do think that the regulars will stay in Rome, and Gwinnett will draw a few more fans. Granted, Gwinnett’s stadium is only about 30 minutes from downtown (or 15 minutes if you drive like Jonathan, an hour if you drive like me), and I think we might have a hard time selling out that stadium frequently. However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages to having that team there. So, in summary from my overly long rambling, I don’t see much of an attendance change in Rome at all, and a bit of a struggle at first in Gwinnett, but a very positive move for the club overall.
-Rue.
By Jonathan on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
I’m going to agree that, generally, it’s not going to affect attendance for Atlanta or Rome. I don’t see any problem with a third team in the area to help feed the baseball fix. It’ll be great to see our rehabees close to home, and I’ll still plan to venture to Rome for a game or two this season (as I’ve not been to one yet).
By Joey Smith (Smitty) on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
I see this as a very positive thing. Especially for me, personally. I work in North Atlanta right off of 85, so it means a 20 minute jaunt after work for me to see a good baseball game.
Plus, I am hoping the Braves really use this venue to re-hab their guys and put their top prospects. I won't go to less games downtown, but that is already more of a special occasion than a casual outing given the distance and expense.
Welcome to Gwinnett, Baby Braves!
p.s. Rue, you did an outstanding job on the Bravescast recently.
Blessings,
Smitty
By Rue Grant on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
Thank you. I have to say, i was pretty nervous, and i wasn't expecting half of the questions they asked me.
Anyhow, I don't think we'll see a huge attendance difference in Rome, and the reason is geographic. HOnestly i've never driven up to Rome for the sole purpose of going to a game, especially considering Atlanta is much closer to me. I think that goes for people in that area too. I do'nt feel as though people make a frequent jaunt up to Rome to see the minors. Sure, maybe once in a while, but i'd say people from the Gwinnett, Loganville, Conyers, Buford area are less likely to make a habit of it. So you lose those people maybe a few times per season. But I do think that the regulars will stay in Rome, and Gwinnett will draw a few more fans. Granted, Gwinnett's stadium is only about 30 minutes from downtown (or 15 minutes if you drive like Jonathan, an hour if you drive like me), and I think we might have a hard time selling out that stadium frequently. However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages to having that team there. So, in summary from my overly long rambling, I don't see much of an attendance change in Rome at all, and a bit of a struggle at first in Gwinnett, but a very positive move for the club overall.
-Rue.
By Jonathan on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
I'm going to agree that, generally, it's not going to affect attendance for Atlanta or Rome. I don't see any problem with a third team in the area to help feed the baseball fix. It'll be great to see our rehabees close to home, and I'll still plan to venture to Rome for a game or two this season (as I've not been to one yet).