Welcome the Gwinnett Braves

by gondeee on Jan 15, 2008 3:54 PM EST in Minor League News Comment 8 comments

It is now official, per the press release:

At a news conference earlier today, it was announced that the Atlanta Braves AAA team will move from Richmond, Virginia to Gwinnett County, Georgia beginning in 2009. The announcement was made after the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners unanimous vote.

"We have known that Gwinnett County was interested in building a baseball stadium for about a year coupled with the fact that we have had some challenges getting a new AAA ballpark built in Richmond, made this attractive to have them in our backyard," said Terry McGuirk, Atlanta Braves Chairman and CEO.

The ballpark will be located at 2500 Buford Drive in Lawrenceville, on the west side of Buford Drive, just north of the Buford Drive and Old Peachtree Road intersection. The team will play the 2008 season in Richmond before relocating to the new state-of-the-art facility starting in April of 2009.

"I am extremely proud and excited for the actions that are being announced today," said Richard Tucker, Chairman of the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors. "The Atlanta Braves organization has no equal in Major League Baseball, and the partnership with the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau will bring a new level of enthusiasm for the citizens of Gwinnett County and the great State of Georgia."

And waddayaknow they already have a website up at GwinnetBraves.com. They are also already taking deposits on season tickets. This seems like a hostile take over. I mean, they already have a stadium drawing:

Well played sirs, well played.

0 recs | Comment 8 comments

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Too bad

I went to college in Richmond and enjpyed many an R-Braves game. I actually got to meet John Rocker. What's wrong with The Diamond? It's a nice stadium. I suppose it makes more sense for a Nats affiliate to move in.

by TradeAndruw on Jan 15, 2008 4:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

So...

...you guys take the closest thing I have to Braves and move it even closer to yourself?

Not very nice.

by Smoltzs Beard on Jan 15, 2008 4:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Why?

I can understand the need to have a AAA facility closer to home but 20 minutes from Turner Field???

The Braves have a problem selling out thier own stadium and on top of that, they are going to give I-85 corridor fans an alternative... drive to Turner and watch the big leaguers or around the corner and watch AAA??? Personally, I'd choose the latter!

I say attendance at AB games drop by 2,500 each game at home because of this.

Crosby The Anti-Gondeee

by crosby on Jan 15, 2008 7:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

It would be interesting to do a comparison

of the attendance at A-Braves games when the Buford Braves of Gwinnett are in town, versus when they're not.

by kray1000 on Jan 15, 2008 7:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Great...just what Buford people need...

...another way to act as if they are the gold and glitter of Gwinnett instead of its stinky armpit.

Crosby The Anti-Gondeee

by crosby on Jan 15, 2008 11:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Glad to know I'm not the only one

when i first read about this, i thought i'd be the only one not happy with it - i am a virginia native, living in atlanta, and when i visit family, i love to catch the r-braves, when the a-braves are not taking on the nationals.

i agree that having the r-braves so close to town is going to definitely take a dip out of the Ted's already questionable attendance; especially moreso when there are borderline players that have drawing power and some popularity but are still at the AAA level, in the ready. i don't live northside, but I do agree that casual fans and more importantly families of parents and children will gladly take the cheaper alternative in gwinnett than making the often troublesome commute down to the ted.

besides, i always thought that the purpose of having minor league affiliates somewhat far from the home club was to get the youngsters used to the concept of being on the road, so that when they get called up, they're not so deer-in-the-headlights with the thought of travel. tampa bay hauls in their AAAs from the durham bulls in north carolina, and off the top of my head, the yankees have their AA affiliate, the charleston riverdogs down in south carolina...

well, hopefully i'll be able to catch at least one or two more r-braves games at the diamond next season, because that will probably be the last braves minor league game i attend.

by royhobbs on Jan 16, 2008 12:26 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Actually...

..its not as unusual as you think. The Seattle Mariners AAA the Tacoma Rainier's are about a 25 minute drive south of Seattle. The A's triple A team is only in Sacramento. The Rockies AAA team is in Colorado Springs (a bit farther, but still).

I really don't see this as a problem or a benefit, as I said look around the majors more and more teams are opting to have their AAA team close the Big Club.

by RainDelay on Jan 16, 2008 12:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs