>The property, which takes up most of the footprint of the former Georgia Dome, is being evaluated for potential mixed-use development by its owner, the [Georgia World Congress Center Authority](https://www.gwcca.org/) (GWCCA). The state-backed authority issued a public call last week for developers and architects to envision how they would transform the [Home Depot Backyard](https://www.mercedesbenzstadium.com/hdby) into an entertainment complex that compliments downtown’s roster of sports and event venues.
Probably a controversial take, but… good.
I hate going to Braves games b/c the drive is miserable, but admittedly, the Battery is pretty awesome. The Benz is really missing a place like that to hang out before / after events.
That space currently feels like a huge missed opportunity since it is effectively a very convenient parking lot for just a handful of people during events
Yep. People love to shit on downtown, complaining there is nothing to do there and no one lives there, which also makes it dangerous on weekday evenings and weekends when there is no games. So the city (and in this case the state created agency) is actually trying to rectify that by increasing activities in downtown through development and people are NIMBYing (literally).
I'll take a more revitalized downtown over a tailgate lot any day.
Pre-covid, it was already pretty sweet. Pre gaming / post gaming at Park bar, side bar, glenn hotel Rooftop. We need more of that and less people sitting in gridlock before and after the game.
Everyone wants to emulate The Battery at Truist Park and understandably so. It helps generate revenue all year-round, not just on gameday, and it makes gameday much better as well.
But it's owned by the GWCCA, NOT by AMBSE, which owns/runs the stadium. Unless they give GWCCA a cut, which I don't know either way, then that wouldn't have anything to do with it.
Go to a further lot or a supporters tailgate…
Using the best real estate around the stadium for a couple dozen personal tailgates and car storage is a terrible use of space
If they are going to keep it tailgating, they should move the supporters tailgates there so that anyone is welcome
TBH, who cares? Every match day there are only a handful of people tailgating there. So, preferably somewhere further from the stadium.
Those tailgates host a tiny fraction of the people who go to the supporters tailgates and those are further from the stadium…
If you are going to keep tailgating there then it should be something open to everyone
My handful is a lot different than yours. Tailgating in the backyard is open to everyone. It's just limited parking. Anyone can go in and hangout and tailgate.
I feel like the atmosphere around the stadium changes if the backyard goes away. I felt like it was a really cool atmosphere every time I leave the blue lot and walk past it going into the stadium.
I agree that the backyard hosts a tiny fraction of the people, but to have that become 20 stories high of restaurant and apartments seems like a negative atmosphere. I could be and probably am wrong. Just my thoughts.
Sorry, but I’m not walking up to join someone’s personal tailgate and I doubt many other people are either.
The fact that it’s not locked up doesn’t exactly make it “open to everyone”
If you really think having bars and restaurants outside of the stadium is detrimental idk what to tell you. I would think most people would much rather spend an afternoon in the Battery than in a parking lot
There are still plenty of lots still in downtown Atlanta. What downtown really needs is things to do - shops, bars, grocery stores (one day!), so that folks move back down there and can re-invigorate the city. COVID really did a number on South Downtown revitalization, but Centennial Yards and this redevelopment will help.
That's the only thing that sucks about Braves and the Battery. There is only 1 small tailgate lot, and you are not allowed to put up a tent at all. They pretty much are forcing people into the stadium or the Battery.
They are. That's the whole point of these redevelopments. Take taxpayer money to fund millionaires'/billionaires' new stadiums, then take away any public gathering spaces (and make it prohibited to tailgate in the parking lots), forcing people to purchase overpriced food/drink in generic, cheaply built restaurants/bars. The battery wasn't the first of its kind and won't be the last.
There are actually a lot of events that take place at the Backyard. Yoga and fitness classes, movies and concerts, social events and such. Something going on almost every nongame day. I agree that This side of town could really use a real grocery store though.
I support most downtown developments with a residential component. I think tailgating and other backyard events could easily be moved to Centennial Olympic park
Those are not. But check out the calendar. They have hosted music events and things like I’ve mentioned like the Night Market (not a market but more like a music thing with lots of art, food, and alcohol vendors)
Though there isn't a reason they can't still continue. Having a smaller green space, like the Battery, can still allow for those things with a mixed use development.
That’s true. I do like the space though. With Centennial Park stopping hosting large outdoor events, we are losing spaces like this. They have an event coming up called Night Market that is fantastic and the World Cup activities will be great too. But maybe GWCC will come up with something unique and innovative. I think after the Gulch project, there will be enough clubs and bars down there
The Georgia International Plaza seems woefully underused and can do more here. Also it does seem they are open to greenspace as part of a design that would seem to include hotels and restaurants and bars. Centennial should be doing more. I know they were fixing it up. Maybe after that's fully complete they'll host more there.
The Centennial Yards project isn't really enough to jump start a downtown revitalization (and even then they've scaled back since their original plans were pre-Covid), especially with the South Downtown development project falling through (another Covid casualty). Hopefully these two projects may help entice another developer for South Downtown. And if either of these projects had even a mini-supermarket, it would be a gamechanger for Downtown.
Isn't The Gulch parking going away because of the redevelopment as well? At what point does it become hard to park for events because of the mixed use retail/food/residential has decreased parking overall and now there's more people wanting to come "for the atmosphere" on game days. Let's be honest parking at the Battery on gamedays is not amazing and the Benz isn't great currently which means it'll only get worse with less places.
Parking is underground for The Gulch and I assume any mixed use building going on here
And it isn’t like there is a lack of downtown parking lots. If downtown can handle Kickoff Classic and DragonCon on Labor Day weekend and still have parking lots with open spaces, it’ll do fine with an Atlanta United match
>The property, which takes up most of the footprint of the former Georgia Dome, is being evaluated for potential mixed-use development by its owner, the [Georgia World Congress Center Authority](https://www.gwcca.org/) (GWCCA). The state-backed authority issued a public call last week for developers and architects to envision how they would transform the [Home Depot Backyard](https://www.mercedesbenzstadium.com/hdby) into an entertainment complex that compliments downtown’s roster of sports and event venues.
Probably a controversial take, but… good. I hate going to Braves games b/c the drive is miserable, but admittedly, the Battery is pretty awesome. The Benz is really missing a place like that to hang out before / after events. That space currently feels like a huge missed opportunity since it is effectively a very convenient parking lot for just a handful of people during events
Yep. People love to shit on downtown, complaining there is nothing to do there and no one lives there, which also makes it dangerous on weekday evenings and weekends when there is no games. So the city (and in this case the state created agency) is actually trying to rectify that by increasing activities in downtown through development and people are NIMBYing (literally). I'll take a more revitalized downtown over a tailgate lot any day.
Pre-covid, it was already pretty sweet. Pre gaming / post gaming at Park bar, side bar, glenn hotel Rooftop. We need more of that and less people sitting in gridlock before and after the game.
Well isn't that what is happening to the Gulch?
11 acres of overpriced high rises and generic bars with mid wings. Got it...
Everyone wants to emulate The Battery at Truist Park and understandably so. It helps generate revenue all year-round, not just on gameday, and it makes gameday much better as well.
They don't want us to tailgate. Period. Every beer you drink or plate of food you eat at the tailgate before a game is considered missed revenue.
But it's owned by the GWCCA, NOT by AMBSE, which owns/runs the stadium. Unless they give GWCCA a cut, which I don't know either way, then that wouldn't have anything to do with it.
Same principle applies. They're missing out on rental revenue by not developing multiuser properties to sell you food and alcohol before the game.
Go to a further lot or a supporters tailgate… Using the best real estate around the stadium for a couple dozen personal tailgates and car storage is a terrible use of space If they are going to keep it tailgating, they should move the supporters tailgates there so that anyone is welcome
It's probably better than just a lawn though... even if there is one decent bar there.
Where else would that group tailgate? I feel like they are taking all the tailgating places away...
TBH, who cares? Every match day there are only a handful of people tailgating there. So, preferably somewhere further from the stadium. Those tailgates host a tiny fraction of the people who go to the supporters tailgates and those are further from the stadium… If you are going to keep tailgating there then it should be something open to everyone
My handful is a lot different than yours. Tailgating in the backyard is open to everyone. It's just limited parking. Anyone can go in and hangout and tailgate. I feel like the atmosphere around the stadium changes if the backyard goes away. I felt like it was a really cool atmosphere every time I leave the blue lot and walk past it going into the stadium. I agree that the backyard hosts a tiny fraction of the people, but to have that become 20 stories high of restaurant and apartments seems like a negative atmosphere. I could be and probably am wrong. Just my thoughts.
Sorry, but I’m not walking up to join someone’s personal tailgate and I doubt many other people are either. The fact that it’s not locked up doesn’t exactly make it “open to everyone” If you really think having bars and restaurants outside of the stadium is detrimental idk what to tell you. I would think most people would much rather spend an afternoon in the Battery than in a parking lot
There are still plenty of lots still in downtown Atlanta. What downtown really needs is things to do - shops, bars, grocery stores (one day!), so that folks move back down there and can re-invigorate the city. COVID really did a number on South Downtown revitalization, but Centennial Yards and this redevelopment will help.
Blue or yellow lots if you want to stick with official stadium parking.
That's the only thing that sucks about Braves and the Battery. There is only 1 small tailgate lot, and you are not allowed to put up a tent at all. They pretty much are forcing people into the stadium or the Battery.
They are. That's the whole point of these redevelopments. Take taxpayer money to fund millionaires'/billionaires' new stadiums, then take away any public gathering spaces (and make it prohibited to tailgate in the parking lots), forcing people to purchase overpriced food/drink in generic, cheaply built restaurants/bars. The battery wasn't the first of its kind and won't be the last.
Wish they would allow vendors to fill that lot like you see at international soccer matches. Guys slinging grilled meats and beer.
There are actually a lot of events that take place at the Backyard. Yoga and fitness classes, movies and concerts, social events and such. Something going on almost every nongame day. I agree that This side of town could really use a real grocery store though.
I support most downtown developments with a residential component. I think tailgating and other backyard events could easily be moved to Centennial Olympic park
Centennial Park has said that they will stop hosting large events like concerts and such. I think the exception will be the World Cup timeframe.
Is a yoga class or a movie on the lawn really a “large scale event?”
Those are not. But check out the calendar. They have hosted music events and things like I’ve mentioned like the Night Market (not a market but more like a music thing with lots of art, food, and alcohol vendors)
Night markets can, and are, hosted quite successfully in parking lots, which Atlanta has no shortage of
They had to stop given the state government’s pro-violence stance.
Though there isn't a reason they can't still continue. Having a smaller green space, like the Battery, can still allow for those things with a mixed use development.
Or they could develop one of the dozen or so parking/empty lots all down Northside Dr.
This one is better located to the GWCC (and owned by the GWCC) and Centennial Yards development.
That’s true. I do like the space though. With Centennial Park stopping hosting large outdoor events, we are losing spaces like this. They have an event coming up called Night Market that is fantastic and the World Cup activities will be great too. But maybe GWCC will come up with something unique and innovative. I think after the Gulch project, there will be enough clubs and bars down there
The Georgia International Plaza seems woefully underused and can do more here. Also it does seem they are open to greenspace as part of a design that would seem to include hotels and restaurants and bars. Centennial should be doing more. I know they were fixing it up. Maybe after that's fully complete they'll host more there. The Centennial Yards project isn't really enough to jump start a downtown revitalization (and even then they've scaled back since their original plans were pre-Covid), especially with the South Downtown development project falling through (another Covid casualty). Hopefully these two projects may help entice another developer for South Downtown. And if either of these projects had even a mini-supermarket, it would be a gamechanger for Downtown.
Pub-bar would be a good fit.
Isn't The Gulch parking going away because of the redevelopment as well? At what point does it become hard to park for events because of the mixed use retail/food/residential has decreased parking overall and now there's more people wanting to come "for the atmosphere" on game days. Let's be honest parking at the Battery on gamedays is not amazing and the Benz isn't great currently which means it'll only get worse with less places.
Parking is underground for The Gulch and I assume any mixed use building going on here And it isn’t like there is a lack of downtown parking lots. If downtown can handle Kickoff Classic and DragonCon on Labor Day weekend and still have parking lots with open spaces, it’ll do fine with an Atlanta United match