June 14, 2022 - Cobb’s Chief Financial Officer gave the county’s annual update on the financing for Truist Park and the Battery during the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, June 14th.  This update was postponed from a meeting earlier in the year due to scheduling conflicts.

CFO Bill Volckmann told the board despite the pandemic, the county’s general fund contribution to the financing remains well below levels established five years ago.  The general fund obligation to stadium financing - the part of the budget financed by property taxes - is below 1 percent of the budget, standing at 0.77 percent.  With preliminary figures coming in from the post-pandemic months, that obligation is predicted to decline even further in coming years, but Volckmann says predictions will remain on the conservative side. The CFO says outside reports exaggerate the impact on individual taxpayers, most of the increase in revenue comes from commercial property owners inside special service districts created for stadium financing.

You can watch the presentation in the accompanying video.

Some of the charts are difficult to see in the video, you can download the presentation here: 

Atlanta Braves Development President Mike Plant also updated the commissioners on the status of Battery Atlanta, the development that accompanies Truist Park.  Plant says the Battery lost only one tenant during the pandemic and has several scheduled to move in, which will fill up the complex.  Another office tower is planned for the area, in addition to the TK Tower complex that opened last year.

The Braves also released a new economic study on the development that predicts an overall benefit to the county and refutes other studies that show an inflated impact on Cobb County taxpayers.  This report was distributed to the commissioners, and you can download a copy here: