Cobb to Fund 45 Percent of Braves Stadium

Cobb County will finance 45 percent of the estimated $672 million cost for a new Atlanta Braves stadium near Cumberland Mall.

The county announced shortly before 10:30 this morning that it had worked out a "draft agreement" with the Major League Baseball franchise, which has committed to spending $372 million to relocate to the Interstate 285/75 intersection from Turner Field for the 2017 season.

County officials were quick to proclaim that none of the funding will result in a property tax increase for homeowners.

Instead, $260 million of the Cobb's $300 million commitment will come from existing property tax revenues, according to a summary of the financial plan (see first attached PDF).

According to the documents, a county authority will issue $368 million in 30-year revenue bonds, with the Braves obligated to pay $92 million of those bonds. 

The county will repay the remaining $276 million in bond debt with a combination of those existing property tax revenues, and car rental, hotel and other special taxes in the self-taxing Cumberland Community Improvement District (CID).

The Cobb Board of Commissioners is expected to act on a memorandum of understanding between the county and the Braves on Nov. 26. Cobb government spokesman Robert Quigley said that “fine-tuning” the agreement will continue in the meantime.

The Marietta Daily Journal first reported the county’s share this morning, quoting Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee as saying that the project "will be funded without a tax increase for over 95 percent of Cobb County residents. This is a public-private partnership and the Braves are paying for 55 percent of the cost.”

The publicly appointed Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority, which includes Lee and which will be the stadium owner, will issue the revenue bonds. 

Those bonds would be repaid from a combination of five funding sources, with the figures representing estimated annual revenues:

• An existing hotel/motel tax ($940,000);
• A new three percent rental car tax ($400,000, which the county must approve);
• A new special service tax within the Cumberland Community Improvement District (a 3 mill hike resulting in $5.1 million); 
• A new hotel fee of $3 a night for hotel stays within the CID ($2.74 million);
• Reallocating existing property tax revenues without raising the millage rate ($8.67 million).

In addition, Cobb would pay $14 million for local transportation improvements and another $10 million would come from revenues generated by the self-taxing Cumberland CID (see second attached PDF infograph).

The Braves, according to the summary, will pay $280 million up front, will be responsible for the design and construction of the stadium, and will retain all but the county’s share of naming rights, as well as parking and marquee advertising revenues.

The Braves will repay their share of the bonds through a combination of the following in annual revenues, totaling $6.1 million a year: 

• $3 million in rent;
• $1.5 million in naming rights revenue;
• $1.5 million in parking revenue;
• $100,000 in advertising revenue.

Earlier reports indicated that Cobb would be on the hook for $450 million of the stadium cost, but Cobb officials disputed that number, which was cited by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. 

Patch will have more reaction to the financing plan.