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Atlanta's Class AAA affiliate could make move for 2009 season

There will soon be two Braves teams playing professional baseball in metro Atlanta, sometimes on the same day.

The Atlanta Braves will move their Class AAA minor-league team to Gwinnett County, according to people familiar with the deal.

Final details were being worked out Monday and a news conference has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Gwinnett Center, said Center spokesman Chris Hendley, who declined to discuss the topic.

The Class AAA Richmond Braves, the organization's highest-level minor-league affiliate, could play in Gwinnett as soon as 2009. The Braves' three-year contract at the Richmond, Va. stadium, known as The Diamond, runs through the 2010 season, but the Braves have the option to pull out after the 2008 season. A stadium for the Richmond Braves could be built on land the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve purchasing on Tuesday. Tuesday's commission agenda lists a $5 million "purchase and sale agreement" of about 12 acres of land owned by Brand Properties. Brand Morgan, Brand Properties owner, declined to comment on the sale or what the land will be used for, but did say he plans to attend a news conference at Gwinnett Center on Tuesday.

The land is located along Buford Drive, southeast of I-85 and near the Mall of Georgia.

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uga_dawgs24 wrote:I love it. Right in my backyard. Now it isn't like going down to turner field, but I will take a 5 minute drive to an hour one anytime.

Braves-Gwinnett deal troubles some residents

"I question the whole economics of this," Gwinnett resident Don Shaw said. "This isn't a good business decision."

Resident Vi Bean, who lives near the stadium site, said he also was concerned about crime and traffic from the stadium, as well as the effect on the property values of nearby homeowners.

"None of this was brought forward for any input from the community whatsoever," he said. He called that "unconscionable."

State law doesn't allow local governments to block access to documents relating to economic development efforts, or to make decisions in secret.

On the other hand, nothing requires those governments to trumpet what they're doing, said Alfie Meek, director of Gwinnett County's economic analysis division, which oversees economic development efforts.

Often, companies don't want competitors to gain access to sensitive business information, such as operating costs, salaries and other details the county requires to analyze requests for tax incentives.

Some are so worried about potential disclosures under the state's Open Records Act that they're unwilling to even consider doing business with the county, he said.

Such situations are common throughout the state, said Matthew Hicks, a lobbyist on economic development issues with the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.

Governments fear disclosure, too, because competing jurisdictions can use the Open Records Act to learn what's being offered and sweeten the deal, he said.

Among other things, economic development experts say premature disclosure of deals can elevate land prices and lead other communities to prepare potentially more lucrative incentive packages, costing the community desirable development and high-paying jobs.

Meek, an unabashed proponent of open government, said the trade-off between early disclosure and landing big, lucrative deals can sometimes be worth it.

"These projects still more than pay for themselves, they offer high-quality jobs to residents, they expand the tax base," he said.

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