In this case, one part of this most recent vacation travel offered me an opportunity to follow up on something that received comment in this blog some time ago. Yes, I got to take a peek at the site where the Atlanta Braves' new stadium (already named SunTrust Park, which I suppose means the bank is ponying up the dough for naming rights at first at least) is being built.
It is in Cobb County, outside (by its own fierce declaration) of Atlanta, wedged into a parcel near where I-75 and I-285 meet. It's not too hard to find, although it's not exactly a direct shot from either freeway.
I even took a few pictures:
A few off-the-cuff observations:
Some of the features suggest the new park will have a lot in common with the team's current home, Turner Field (p.k.a. Olympic Stadium, remember?). Still plenty of time for the look to turn out quite differently, of course. And I have no idea where they're going to put parking. You can see that's not exactly a major thoroughfare running by the site either.
Just for funsies, a few pictures from the decrepit stadium, and the interminable walk thereunto from MARTA:
So anyway, nothing about the views above did much of anything to change the opinions expressed in the earlier blog. The location is going to be a logistical nightmare of vehicles, probably lacking sufficient parking (and of course nobody is going to be taking MARTA to the game, not if Cobb County has anything to do with it). It will be a plague environmentally, not only because of all those cars but also because a spot that actually managed to have some green space to it isn't going to have any green space anymore. Those two freeways are going to be pretty severe before and after games, as if they aren't -- ahem -- challenging already. Some of the secondary roads in the immediate area are either going to have to be expanded dramatically or get overwhelmed dramatically.
What was interesting, though, was a series of billboards seen around Atlanta, including very near the Braves' stadium site. They were promoting one of the other sports franchises in the city, the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks have already appeared in this space before, first a little more than a year ago in the wake of a racially-charged scandal in the team's front office, and more recently (and more briefly) in the wake of Thabo Sefolosha's acquittal in New York City. In between the team had an interesting and surprising season, by far their most successful ever, before falling in the playoffs (at least to some small degree affected by Sefolosha's absence due to that broken leg).
Their season is just underway, of course, and they're off to a decent start. What I found interesting, though, was the slogan they chose to promote themselves in and around Atlanta, including even that billboard near the new Braves' stadium:
TRUE TO ATLANTA
OK, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but are the Hawks throwing shade at the Braves?
I mean, is somebody not being true to Atlanta?
So this slogan apparently dates to last year, in the midst of the scandal and renaissance season, and appears to be continuing into this year (or at minimum nobody's taking down the billboards). As the letter notes, the franchise also endeavored to get into bridge-building and greater community involvement, as well as, you know, being a good team. Given the long-term mediocrity in which the Hawks had been mired, one doesn't necessarily have to read the slogan as shading others. But to brand yourself as being "True to Atlanta" is hard not to read as suggesting that somebody else is being untrue to Atlanta, particularly when nestled up next to the suburban stadium one of the other franchises is building in their re-enactment of 70's-era white flight.
Perhaps my sensitivites are more acute on such a subject in the wake of the announcement of the team seeking to become Atlanta's fourth major-league franchise, in Major League Soccer.
MLS franchises have taken to being extremely responsive to their fan bases, regarded as a necessity in building a franchise in a far less extravagantly funded league than the longtime four major sports leagues in this country. In the case of the Atlanta MLS franchise that included actually leaving the naming of the franchise up to that fan base (via surveys and focus groups). The name chosen by the fans was...
Atlanta United FC.
In case you don't follow soccer all that closely, this is a bit like an NCAA athletic program choosing the name Bulldogs, Eagles, Tigers, or Wildcats. It's rather common. It's a formula used by a lot of programs around the world, from the lofty Manchester United Football Club to any number of other lower-level clubs. Even in MLS this will be the third team to use the "United" label, after currently-existing DC United and fellow expansion club Minnesota United FC (which is currently playing in the second division NASL and due to move up at the same time as Atlanta United FC or soon after). Across the four divisions of US soccer, Atlanta will be the twentieth team to use "United" as the predominant element in its name.
So, why so formulaic a name?
At least some fans responded with a fairly literal read of the name; Atlanta as a city that needs uniting. And at least one fan cited the aforementioned "True to Atlanta" slogan as an example. (The team itself puts forth its explanation here.)
Uniting a city is a pretty tall order for a sports franchise, even if is a lofty and noble idea. Sports fandom, though, is by its nature tribal, and tribal things have a pretty strong tendency to be at least as exclusive as inclusive. Since in most cases there's only one franchise per city for each sport (cities such as New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago being exceptions sometimes), that isn't necessarily as prominent a problem (collegiate affinities, on the other hand...). But it can still touch off some identity politics among fan bases that may or may not overlap.
If the Braves weren't decamping to the 'burbs (and to those particular 'burbs) none of this would be remotely noteworthy. But they are. And that two of the city's other franchises are at the same time seeking to tie themselves ever more closely to the city that the Braves have evacuated feels like something is going on. I don't live in Atlanta and don't plan to anytime soon or ever, and aside from occasional interest in the Hawks I don't follow the city's teams (and no, I won't be jumping ship to Atlanta United FC; Sporting KC is still my team, even from half a country away). But I can't help but wish that the baseball team would have to call itself the Cobb County Braves (but that's just me being contrary; I hate the Angels using the city name of Los Angeles too), and I can't help but wonder how this stew of loyalties and identities is going to play out, and just how much some of these franchises are going to be able to keep their promises.
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