Turner Field Closes Deal, GSU Takes Reins

ATLANTA, GA -- Let the games begin.

The Turner Field deal that sent the Atlanta Braves to Cobb County and opened the way for Georgia State University Panthers to play football there in the fall closed this week, heralded by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Atlanta City Councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms and representatives of the developer and ballclub.

The deal is seen as a win by all parties involved as Georgia State gets its very own football stadium; the Braves get fancy new environs up Interstate 75; and the local neighborhoods get an urban renewal plan that will bring new retail, business and shopping options to the revitalized community.

"With the closing of the sale of Turner Field, Georgia State University and Carter [the developer] can now move forward with their redevelopment plans, which will give the state’s largest and most diverse university an expanded campus community," Reed said in a news release. "The redevelopment offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring new amenities, transit and infrastructure to the Southeast stadium neighborhoods of Summerhill, Peoplestown, Mechanicsville, Pittsburgh and Grant Park."

Read more: Bye-Bye, Braves: Turner Field Best Moments

The deal was the culmination of three years of planning and negotiating between Atlanta, Fulton and Cobb officials as the The Ted, home of the Braves for the past 20 years, was vacated by MLB workers late last year.

Reed said that the sale symbolized a monumental shift in fortunes for the area, which is a 5-minute drive from the skyscrapers of downtown Atlanta.

"When this chapter of Atlanta’s history is written, I believe the sale of Turner Field will be counted among the most consequential redevelopment efforts in the life of our city. For the first time in over 30 years, the promise of a best-in-class mixed-use housing and retail development will be realized."

The deal was put together by a consortium of area businesses, governmental entities and organizations, including the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority (AFCRA), GSU, the Atlanta City Council, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and developers Carter and Oakwood Development.

“The closing was a process that started before the holidays and ended just after New Year’s Day, achieving the result we have always sought, which is to facilitate the complete sale of Turner Field and its surrounding acreage by the end of the year,” Keisha Lance Bottoms, executive director of AFCRA, which shepherded through the stadium's sale, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Plans for the land around the stadium call for an urban village anchored by significant development on Capitol and Georgia avenues, according to a report produced in July by the Livable Centers Initiative and sponsored by the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Georgia State's real estate has expanded dramatically over the past 10 years, moving into infill developments around downtown and building new Greek housing along Edgewood Avenue.

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