Coalition Calls for Moratorium on Public Funding for Braves Stadium

Rich Pellegrino is a spokesperson for Citizens for Governmental Transparency. He says the coalition is making the request because a second ethics complaint filed against Cobb County Commission Chairman Tim Lee has not been resolved. He also says Citizens for Governmental Transparency does not feel the county has been transparent about the true cost of the stadium project.

“We’ve asked for transparency, we’ve asked for delays, we’ve asked for time to vet this proposed move. We feel that we’ve been given the royal runaround, that the true figures and the numbers, especially regarding costs, have been hidden at best and manipulated at worst.”

Chairman Tim Lee responded in a statement. He said, “Cobb County looks forward to the new jobs and economic prosperity the Braves stadium will bring to our community. We have remained steadfast in our commitment to an open and transparent process. All board actions on the stadium will continue to take place in public meetings and related documents remain readily available to the public on our Web site.”

A spokesperson for the Atlanta Braves responded with this statement:

“From the day this project was announced, the Atlanta Braves have worked with officials in Cobb County to provide transparency to the public as we partner to bring a world-class ballpark and mixed-use development to the local community and our fans that will generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. We have received the letter from this small group, which consists of people who have fought this project from the outset. Both Cobb County and the Atlanta Braves have taken time to meet privately with different groups who want a better understanding of the process, as well as the public at large, and addressed their concerns. We are confident that both the Braves and Cobb County have been transparent in this process and any reports to the contrary are erroneous and misleading.”

Last month, the Cobb Ethics Board dismissed an ethics complaint filed against the four commissioners who voted for the initial stadium agreement. The complaint alleged the commissioners violated their oaths of office. Several board members for the ethics commission said the complaint should go before a court rather than the board.

A second ethics complaint has been filed against Chairman Lee, but is still pending.

With interest, Cobb taxpayers are expected to pay at least $537 million dollars over 30 years for the new stadium. Government watchdog group Common Cause has said with additional costs such as maintenance and security that figure could stretch closer to $600 million dollars.