Intro: The new Braves’ stadium, SunTrust Park, will be open in 2017 for fans and tourists to watch games after the completion of its construction. After 20 years of playing at Turner Field, the Braves decided to move to a place that would be more convenient to commute to as well as have more points of interest. The new park will be located between I-75 and I-285 and be close to the Vinings community. This community in Cobb County is white and male dominant according to the Vinings, Demographics article of Wikipedia. As a part of the new ballpark, SunTrust Park will have a surrounding “entertainment district” built for shopping, dining, entertaining, and relaxing (Wikipedia).
Despite the luxurious benefits of SunTrust Park, there are many downsides to the construction. The parking space for the park will reduce to 6,000 instead of 8,500 like Turner Field’s parking space, and the capacity of people will now be, “41,500, which is approximately 8,000 fewer than Turner Field,” (Wikipedia). Shuttles will take fans who were unable to park at the park’s lot to a separate parking lot that is about 2 miles away from the stadium; this will inconveniently add more time for the people to travel to the field and travel back to their cars. With such changes, the transition of the Braves’ location from Turner Field to SunTrust Park adds more boundaries between the communities of the white versus the colored, the wealthy versus the poor, and high versus low social standings.
Thesis: Turner Field’s new location establishes an external boundary that excludes cultures and economic classes other than wealthy white people. Internal boundaries also create a system that categorizes people by race, income, and social standing.
Cultural Exclusion
- Physical location: SunTrust Park is now located in Cumberland of Cobb County, which sets various boundaries between cultures of white and colored people (Wikipedia). The community has a high population of white males, thus forming an unwelcoming feeling for those who are different from that classification. Because the majority of the community is male and white, the people who will enter SunTrust Park will mostly be male and white. This is not an accident, as it is clear that the Braves team wants to decrease the number of colored people in order to make the park seem more appealing and up-scaled.
-
Photo from Braves Website Public Transportation: Due to the fact that SunTrust Park is in a mostly white neighborhood, those who live outside the area must use their cars to travel to the park. For many, cars are not affordable, and buses are the only source that is available to them. The park’s website shows different routes that direct fans to the stadium, however, the map seems to be confusing, thus limiting the number of people who are able to come to the park. The map also only shows an image of the area within 3-4 blocks away from the ballpark. Others who live farther away must find their own map to get to the baseball stadium.
Economic Class Exclusion
- Neighborhood Cost: The economic classes are distinctly separated from rich versus poor. The poverty that is apparent in the area near Turner Field is drastically different compared to that of SunTrust Stadium. Houses near the Turner Field area range from being bought from $15,000 to around $150,000. However, in the Cobb County, the cheapest house for sale near the SunTrust Stadium is currently at $120,000 which is near the most expensive one near Turner Field already.
Image from Word Press - Transportation and Parking: Parking as well as transportation are also exclusions. There is controversy on why MARTA is not allowed into Cobb county. Many citizens of Cobb County refuse to allow MARTA to come through as they believe that “unwanted people will come here and stay here” which is “unwanted” because it could make Cobb County similar to downtown Atlanta. Parking is also drastically different between the stadiums as there are 8,500 parking spots at Turner Field and 6,000 at the SunTrust Stadium. The fewer amount of parking spots essentially means that there will be fewer seats at the new Stadium. The number of employees is being cut down drastically and is providing $25 million more to the foundation (per season) where $8.9 million will be given to Cobb County.
The Caste System…
The environment of the park forms a caste system that categorizes people by culture and economic class. However, those are not the only categories that the environment of SunTrust Park sorts people into. The caste system also goes into categories of race, income, and social standing. The Braves’ organizers chose to eliminate those who are in need of money, are colored, and are insignificant to the baseball community.
Categorize by Race
As the area around Turner Field is struck with poverty, the suburb of Cobb County is the complete opposite. Most ticket purchasers are white, and they also come from Cobb County. As SunTrust Stadium moves to Cobb, it provides a better center for the primary ticket purchasers and it makes it much more convenient for them.
Categorize by Income
Income affects Turner Field becoming into SunTrust stadium more than we think. Moving the stadium contributes to the general idea of income in multiple ways; primarily it could possibly increase the income of the Braves foundation as moving to the suburbs does have a chance to boost its clientele. Secondly, it would continue to gain more of an income as they will now have fewer employees. The number of employees is being cut down drastically and is providing $25 million more to the foundation (per season) where $8.9 million will be given to Cobb County.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/suntrust-park/overview/economic-impact/
Categorize by Social Standing
Many people view the stadium removal from downtown being racial issue, however, it is mainly a class issue. Rick Grimes, a homeowner neighboring the stadium, sees thousands of new and different people a day but they all only have one common thing and says “the large majority of people who support the Braves are white folks.” After evaluating this statement, I realized that the words “large majority” input a huge factor that helps determine it being a class issue not a racial issue. Suburbs tend to be predominantly white people on the contrary of the prominent “large population of black residents.” These “large population of black residents” however, are fighting poverty, and that poverty is what is withholding ticket purchases; statistically ticket single ticket purposes are bought from the suburbs. Social class plays a large role in the movement of Turner Field because the area is filled with poverty, and that poverty is ultimately dividing Atlantans because the area with more ticket purchasers is not poverty struck.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/planned-braves-stadium-move-highlights-race-class-0
Conclusion:
The new “Turner Field” location and design promotes a narrow cultural and economic norm that promotes discrimination and enhances the divide between Atlantans.
References:
{Links}
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunTrust_Park
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland,_Georgia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinings,_Georgia
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/new_ballpark/
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/suntrust-park/overview/transportation/
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/suntrust-park/overview/parking/
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/suntrust-park/overview/economic-impact/
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/planned-braves-stadium-move-highlights-race-class-0
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Smyrna-GA-30080/pmf,pf_pt/70859_rid/any_days/globalrelevanceex_sort/33.875725,-84.484069,33.85862,-84.511364_rect/14_zm/
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2013/12/14/planned-braves-stadium-move-highlights-race-class
Be First to Comment