Three natural gas lines run through the site, a key reason the land hadn’t previously been developed.
The pipeline relocation will cost around $14 million in total, according to Braves officials.
The site must be cleared and leveled before actual construction can start. The Braves and Cobb County hope to achieve that goal by year’s end.
The pipes run about eight feet underground (or, at least, they did before the crews started digging).
Two of the gas lines belong to Colonial Pipeline Company, while the third is owned by Atlanta Gas Light Company.
The new ballpark is designed to make use of the natural slope of the property.
None of the area signage indicates any connection to the Atlanta Braves. The only clue that this is the new stadium site is the location.
Workers and heavy machinery are out in full-force.
The team is confident that the new stadium will be completed in time for the 2017 season.
Signs mark the edges of the stadium site, warning against digging further.
Plans call for a mixed use development to surround the ballpark.
The new stadium will be located near the intersection of I-75 and 285. While it has an Atlanta address, it is in Cobb County.
The Atlanta Braves’ up-and-down streakiness has left them one game behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East (at least, that is, until the Nats play tonight). In the midst of this season’s roller-coaster ride, some may have forgotten about the team’s new stadium in Cobb County set to open in 2017. And the warm and fuzzy feelings from the weekend’s Hall of Fame inductions of Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux might have just been enough to put outrage about the planned relocation on the back burner for most fans. (We stress: Most; not all.)
Here’s what you may have missed. Cobb County commissioners unanimously approved the stadium deal on May 27, leading to site clearing starting around three weeks ahead of schedule. A zoning change was again unanimously approved on July 15, allowing the whole site to be developed–not just the land the ballpark would cover. And on Friday, a Cobb judge approved the county’s plans to issue bonds to cover its share of the new ballpark.
It can be difficult to understand what all of that means, so check out the slideshow above to see what the future home of the Braves looks like right now.
