What Should Become of Turner Field?

Now that the Atlanta Braves officially will be bolting the city for Cobb County following the 2016 season, what's next for Turner Field and the neighborhoods that surround it?

As early as Monday’s Atlanta City Council meeting, Councilwoman Carla Smith is expected to introduce legislation to create a task force comprised of city and neighborhood leaders to tackle the issue of redeveloping the area around the stadium.

Smith, whose district includes Turner Field and the Summerhill neighborhood where the 16-year-old stadium is located, told WABE recently that, “One of the things that I would like to see come out of the committee is I’d like to do a new redevelopment plan for that area and in that I’m sure we’ll see mixed, residential, and commercial [development].”

Even though the Braves have spent almost $125 million improving Turner Field, the City and Fulton County Recreation Authority most likely will have the stadium be demolished once the team leaves. The day after the Braves shocked the region last month with their announced intentions to relocate, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed stood before a packed room of reporters and affirmed the idea that the stadium area would be redeveloped into a thriving neighborhood for the middle class.

“I think that we're going to be able to make a pretty significant announcement about the development of a 60-acre tract at a time when East Atlanta is absolutely exploding and doing well, at a time when we need to make sure that there's a place for middle class families to live. I guarantee that we’re not going to leave a vacant Ted (Turner Field).”

But some city taxpayers and many longtime neighborhood residents have grown tired of such empty promises from city officials over the years, especially when the neighborhoods have remained in the same condition with little improvements to safety since the day Turner Field opened.

The clock is now ticking, but come 2017, what would you like see happen with Turner Field to best benefit the area and the neighborhoods around it?