Fulton County Commissioners Seek Partnership with Atlanta Regarding Turner Field's Future

Staff Report

By a unanimous 7-0 vote, members of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution calling on Atlanta city officials to partner with Fulton County regarding future development on the current Turner Field site. In the legislation co-sponsored by Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves and District 5 Commissioner Joan Garner, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners request that membership on the city’s Turner Field Task Force include a sufficient number of Fulton County representatives to reflect the County’s one-third (1/3) interest in the Turner Field improvements. The BOC is seeking to be included in discussions about what to do with the current property when the Atlanta Braves vacate the facility for SunTrust Park in Cobb County following the 2016 season.

“Though Turner Field is located in the City of Atlanta, Fulton County government has always been one of the partners in the development on the site,” says Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves. “We want to ensure that interests of the entire community are considered when it comes to what happens next on Hank Aaron Drive.”

The City of Atlanta and Fulton County are partners in the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority. The authority has operated Turner Field and leased it to the Major League Baseball club since the former Olympic Stadium was converted into a baseball park in 1997. Fulton County Commissioners say they made the decision to formally request a greater role in the future of the stadium and its surrounding area after hearing from stadium neighbors that they wanted additional input on what will happen to the property when the Braves vacate the facility.

“Residents of Summerhill and other surrounding neighborhoods have asked to have some say in what will happen to their communities in the future and hopefully Fulton County can provide that voice,” says Chairman Eaves.

The resolution calls on Fulton County to identify outstanding issues relating to Turner Field and prospective uses of the property, including the impacts upon the surrounding community and to cooperatively (with the City and the Recreation Authority) establish goals and timetables related to the future of the property.