Braves Attendance Drop Meant Less Revenue in '15

Credit: Geoff Livingston/Flickr

The group which owns the Atlanta Braves announced Thursday that the team’s revenue decreased several million dollars during the recently-completed season due to poorer attendance and fewer concession sales.

Liberty Media said in Security and Exchange Commission filings that the team’s revenue dropped $16 million in 2015, with a decrease in attendance of approximately 4,000 fans per home game. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the team’s attendance was the lowest since 1990.

Although revenue was down, Liberty said that profits increased through decreased payroll and lower operating costs, the AJC says.

The filings claim that some $274 million has already been spent on the construction of SunTrust Park, the team’s new stadium in Cobb County. The county paid $149 million of the cost, according to the AJC.

Braves Chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk announced last month that the first tenants of “The Battery Atlanta,” the mixed-use development adjacent to the new park, would be Superica, Cru Food and Wine Bar, The Tomahawk Taproom, Antico Pizza, and a high-end steakhouse concept that hasn’t been named yet. McGuirk added that there will be many more restaurants coming to occupy the 90,000 sq. ft. of restaurant space planned at the development, the Marietta Daily Journal says.

McGuirk said The Battery would have 550 apartments, no condominiums, and parking for every retail and restaurant establishment on the premises. The name of the development has a double meaning, McGuirk explained; The Battery is a nod to the pitcher and catcher who work together during a game, but the Braves also hope the development will energize the surrounding area.