re: The ATL Thread: Offseason Edition

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The only event held so far at the Braves ballpark site happened in September, when several hundred people were invited to the stadium groundbreaking.

The Braves arranged for parking at nearby lots and shuttled guests to the site. But even that small event brought out signs and office building attendants to warn off people looking to park in private lots.

“Building Tenant and Building Visitor Parking Only,” a handful of signs read.

The Galleria Office Park, with its 5,500 parking spaces on the far side of the pedestrian bridge, also do not want Braves fans parking there. Connie Engel, a partner with Childress Klein Atlanta, said that while her company supports the Braves move, it has declined the Braves offer to lease parking spaces because “the needs of our office tenants come first.”

Tad Leithead, chairman of the Cumberland Community Improvement District, which is providing $10 million for infrastructure improvements around the Braves site, called solving the parking issue “complicated.”

“The property owners in the vicinity of the Braves stadium are excited about the Braves being there, but at the same time they want to have parking for their tenants,” Leithead said. “They don’t want their tenants or shoppers at the mall to not have enough parking because of a Braves game.

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