Wednesday
Feb172010
« G-Braves stadium to be called Coolray Field »
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 4:23PM
Well it is a year late in coming, but the Government-funded Gwinnett Braves have a naming sponsor for their ballpark near Mall of Georgia. Coolray Heating and Cooling has agreed to a 16-year deal with the Atlanta Braves to place its moniker on the stadium. That's fine and dandy, but here is the curious part:
Excuse me? Terms were not revealed? Terms should be revealed immediately! After all, the Gwinnett County Commission blew our tax dollars building a ballpark for a minor league team we did not need. Then, in part because of the millions of dollars committed to the facility, the county had to then raise our taxes when the recession hit. So, yes, the Gwinnett taxpayers have a right to know the terms of the deal post-haste! We have a right to know the net amount of our tax dollars that have been sunk in financially propping-up an organization that can afford to pay exorbitant salaries to major league ballplayers but expecting Average Joe Citizen to fork over his hard-earned money to pay for their "place of business." In a time on the national political scene where corporate executives - highly-paid employees who come much closer to being worth the money they earn than grown men playing a boy's game - the taxpayers of Gwinnett County should be fully informed just how much of our money will wind up subsidizing a professional sports franchise.
Starting April 8, the Government-funded Gwinnett Braves will officially play their home games at Coolray Field, but the facility will always really be Gwinnett Taxpayers Stadium.
Terms of the 16-year deal with Coolray Heating and Cooling were not revealed.
Excuse me? Terms were not revealed? Terms should be revealed immediately! After all, the Gwinnett County Commission blew our tax dollars building a ballpark for a minor league team we did not need. Then, in part because of the millions of dollars committed to the facility, the county had to then raise our taxes when the recession hit. So, yes, the Gwinnett taxpayers have a right to know the terms of the deal post-haste! We have a right to know the net amount of our tax dollars that have been sunk in financially propping-up an organization that can afford to pay exorbitant salaries to major league ballplayers but expecting Average Joe Citizen to fork over his hard-earned money to pay for their "place of business." In a time on the national political scene where corporate executives - highly-paid employees who come much closer to being worth the money they earn than grown men playing a boy's game - the taxpayers of Gwinnett County should be fully informed just how much of our money will wind up subsidizing a professional sports franchise.
Starting April 8, the Government-funded Gwinnett Braves will officially play their home games at Coolray Field, but the facility will always really be Gwinnett Taxpayers Stadium.
Reader Comments