Here’s a fun thing from the Braves’ move to Cobb County: a big reason the Braves claim they are moving to Cobb County is because the parking is better up there. I think that’s somewhat disingenuous -- they’re moving because that’s where the people with the money are and where the stadium that will make them more money will sit -- but, sure, let’s go with the parking thing for the time being.
Turns out that, because some bridge over the interstate is going to cost more money than people first thought, there won’t be an easy way to get people from the parking to the ballpark. From the AJC:The bridge plan, rolled out soon after the November announcement that the team would relocate to Cobb County in 2017, is key in the Braves’ effort to provide enough parking spaces and get pedestrians from that area to the ballpark without walking along congested roads.
But new questions have surfaced about the bridge project and whether there’s money to pay for it in the existing stadium budget, which includes $14 million in local sales tax earmarked for transportation upgrades.
The bridge was originally slated to cost $3.5 million has risen to $9 million and that’s a huge part of that $14 million upgrade budget.
Or, thinking about it differently, the difference is less than half of what the Braves are paying Dan Uggla this season. So maybe the Braves could pitch in a little? Or is that something too impolite to suggest?
