Board of Commissioners Seeks Stadium Construction Overseer

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners plans on hiring a firm to ensure the construction of the Atlanta Braves’ new stadium in Smyrna is managed properly.

The Marietta Daily Journal reports that the commissioners are expected to select a firm during their Aug. 12 meeting. Commissioner Tim Lee told the MDJ that the “owner’s rep” would be responsible for keeping tabs on the four construction firms building the new stadium off of Circle 75 Parkway near Cumberland Mall.

Lee said that the owner’s rep would be responsible for identifying possible problems and passing them along to County Manager David Hankerson, who would in turn inform commissioners. The board wold then consult the Braves on the matter.

A list of finalist firms with experience in stadium construction was approved during the board’s July 8 meeting. The favorite at the time was Atlanta-based Heery International, a firm which had a hand in the construction of Turner Field, the Georgia Dome, and U.S.A. Baseball’s National Training Complex in North Carolina.

The second-ranked firm was Washington, D.C.’s Brailsford and Dunlavey, which assisted with the construction of their hometown Washington Nationals’ new ballpark, and also contributed to The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

$397 million in bonds to pay for the stadium have yet to be issued by the county, as there is a 30-day grace period to allow for appeals of the Cobb Superior Court’s decision to validate the bonds. Lee said an appeal is anticipated, but expects the Georgia Supreme Court would affirm the lower court’s decision and the county has allotted extra space in the timeline for the appeals process.

The Atlanta Braves are expected to open the 2017-18 season at their new Smyrna facility.