Category: Module 3

Personal Story Memo: Braves Parking

For me, my story on the Braves and the parking around SunTrust Park will be about the people. Given the new developments with this issue, the questions I have change a bit, but are still in flux with the public hearings on the proposed changes to the ordinance.

  1. If the ordinance remains the same, what were the reservations of this proposal, and how do these businesses and offices feel about it? This will be done mostly through cold calls and talking to people around the area
  2. How involved were the Braves exactly in these policies? I’ll have calls to make to the Braves, even if their willingness to talk might be minimal.
  3. What are the economic implications behind this? Are there similar or comparable models? I can call economics professors and experts like we discussed. This could be a potential sidebar.
  4. The hearings will now presumably be a big part of this story. What is said and argued on both sides will reveal a lot about the motives of both sides as well as the political motivations on both sides.
  5. Are there people affected who blindly support the Braves coming and are in favor of all of this? I imagine there are some who see the Braves coming as a positive and are willing to forgive potential shortcomings.
  6. From the Braves’ perspective, reiterating why it is they are making this move from a dollars perspective, and why they see fit to capitalize on as much as they can (i.e. $4.6 million from parking last season)
  7. This is kind of a throwaway, but I know we talked about it, and I’d love to get the Braves on record about the decision to count down the days until Turner Field closes and ask a few questions about the rationale and whether or not they considered how it might look from the outside beyond a PR move to get people associated with the team at the park to “celebrate.”

I’m really excited about reporting on this, as it is something that could not be more timely and pertinent with these revisions just being proposed and things getting finalized one way or another in the next month and a half. I look forward to digging in as things unfold, and these are the major things I hope to discover and report on.