Professional baseball players have already gathered for their annual spring warm-up games in Florida and Arizona, and soon they will head north for a new season. In 2017, if all goes according to plan, the Atlanta Braves will start hosting their home games in a new stadium in Cobb County located near I-285.

We decided to ask residents of Reporter Newspapers communities if the proximity of the planned new stadium would lure them to more games than they now attend. Here’s what they had to say.

Q: Will you attend more Atlanta Braves games after they open their new stadium in Cobb County?

“Sure. If there was [a stadium] right in my backyard, why not?” Ralitza Spassova
“Sure. If there was [a stadium] right in my backyard, why not?”
Ralitza Spassova
“No. Probably not. I love the [present] location – that’s what makes [Atlanta] a city. Most every other city has a ballpark in the city.” Michael Stover
“No. Probably not. I love the [present] location – that’s what makes [Atlanta] a city. Most every other city has a ballpark in the city.”
Michael Stover
“Oh, yeah. I think there’s a good chance of that. It’ll be so much easier to get there. People seem concerned about additional traffic, but we’d go on the weekends. I’m excited about it.” Mary Millar
“Oh, yeah. I think there’s a good chance of that. It’ll be so much easier to get there. People seem concerned about additional traffic, but we’d go on the weekends. I’m excited about it.”
Mary Millar
“Absolutely. We love the Braves, but now because it’s so convenient. It’s what? Ten minutes from our house? Now that my kids are getting older, my 5-year-old son loves going.” Jaime Foster
“Absolutely. We love the Braves, but now because it’s so convenient. It’s what? Ten minutes from our house? Now that my kids are getting older, my 5-year-old son loves going.”
Jaime Foster
“Probably more. It’ll be just down the street from me. I’m a Braves fan. We’ll probably go more, but I’m not looking forward to the traffic.” Jackie Dennis
“Probably more. It’ll be just down the street from me. I’m a Braves fan. We’ll probably go more, but I’m not looking forward to the traffic.”
Jackie Dennis
“No. I’ll go to the same number. We go a couple of times a year. I’ve got a 13-year-old, so I see lots and lots of ball games each year, just not Braves games. I have mixed emotions about the moving. I understand, but I hate to see [the stadium] out of downtown.” J.P. Matzigkeit
“No. I’ll go to the same number. We go a couple of times a year. I’ve got a 13-year-old, so I see lots and lots of ball games each year, just not Braves games. I have mixed emotions about the moving. I understand, but I hate to see [the stadium] out of downtown.”
J.P. Matzigkeit
“I don’t like at all that it’s moving out of the old stadium after less than 20 years. But we’ll also be able to basically walk to the games now.” Hunter Hartley
“I don’t like at all that it’s moving out of the old stadium after less than 20 years. But we’ll also be able to basically walk to the games now.”
Hunter Hartley
“No. Since the strike, I haven’t gone to a game hardly since. That completely turned me off of baseball. When they’re making all that money and then going on strike. I’d rather watch Georgia Tech.” Brent Rowlett
“No. Since the strike, I haven’t gone to a game hardly since. That completely turned me off of baseball. When they’re making all that money and then going on strike. I’d rather watch Georgia Tech.”
Brent Rowlett
“If it was football or basketball, then maybe, but I don’t go to games now. I don’t even have a team I favor in baseball. It’s too much traffic in a little area.” Robin Berger
“If it was football or basketball, then maybe, but I don’t go to games now. I don’t even have a team I favor in baseball. It’s too much traffic in a little area.”
Robin Berger
“We go on weekends, so it won’t really affect the number of games we go to. I was surprised about the decision, like everyone else was. I was disappointed. I think it caught everyone off guard. But we won’t boycott them, that’s for sure.” Kathy Parker
“We go on weekends, so it won’t really affect the number of games we go to. I was surprised about the decision, like everyone else was. I was disappointed. I think it caught everyone off guard. But we won’t boycott them, that’s for sure.”
Kathy Parker
“It’s immaterial. No, I don’t care where I have to go. I just go to see the Braves.” Hope Follmer
“It’s immaterial. No, I don’t care where I have to go. I just go to see the Braves.”
Hope Follmer
“Sure. It’s closer. Last year, we only went to one game, but we used to go more. We’ll definitely go more often.” Sandia Chen
“Sure. It’s closer. Last year, we only went to one game, but we used to go more. We’ll definitely go more often.”
Sandia Chen
“Once they move closer, yes, because there will be less trouble getting there. But once you’re on the Perimeter, you’re going to be stuck in traffic because there’s no MARTA going there. Now, it’s traffic both ways. I’ll see how traffic is and then decide. We go four or five times or year when they’re in season, so we’ll give it a shot.” Ayesha Nesbeth-Aguila
“Once they move closer, yes, because there will be less trouble getting there. But once you’re on the Perimeter, you’re going to be stuck in traffic because there’s no MARTA going there. Now, it’s traffic both ways. I’ll see how traffic is and then decide. We go four or five times or year when they’re in season, so we’ll give it a shot.”
Ayesha Nesbeth-Aguila
“I think we probably will. We do worry about the traffic, but the thought of [a game], followed by a 15-minute ride home rather than the MARTA ride to the car and drive home we take now... We go two to three times a year and this would probably double that. Now, it’s just an ordeal to get down there. It’s appealing to me, but I certainly have my concerns.” Scott Ramshur
“I think we probably will. We do worry about the traffic, but the thought of [a game], followed by a 15-minute ride home rather than the MARTA ride to the car and drive home we take now… We go two to three times a year and this would probably double that. Now, it’s just an ordeal to get down there. It’s appealing to me, but I certainly have my concerns.”
Scott Ramshur

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