Stadium public funding likely to cost tens of millions a year | www.myajc.com

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has said the Cobb will fund the project at $450 million, though the Braves and Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee dispute that number without providing any additional information.

Either way, it is unlikely that the public money used to pay off construction bonds will come from the county’s general fund budget, which relies mostly on property taxes.

Selling bonds to raise construction funds is a common method of financing public projects. Investors are repaid with interest over a set period, usually 20 or 30 years for major projects.

The Cobb-Marietta Coliseum Authority will own the facility and issue the debt, meaning it will also have to raise the funds to make the payments. One authority board member told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday that it will likely issue revenue bonds, that will rely on specific sources to raise the money.

Those sources could include hotel-motel taxes, Cobb ticket surcharges, money from Cumberland Community Improvement District fees or sources from the facility itself, such as rent payment from the Braves.

“It seems to me there will have to be a good deal of creativity in order to generate the amounts they’ll need,” said Joey Smith, an economist with the University of West Georgia.

Terry Chastain, an attorney with Balch & Bingham who represented the Perimeter Community Improvement District, said he also expects funding to come from a variety of sources, including a hefty chunk from the Cumberland CID, which levies a tax on businesses within its borders.

“I think you can stitch it together in different ways,” he said, noting the CID could fuel infrastructure improvements while hotel-motel taxes could also fund a portion of the deal. “They can cobble the money together … but I haven’t seen concrete financial plans, so it’s tough to know.”

Many in the business community expect the Cumberland CID will be a key player. Cumberland sent out an email this week touting the Braves’ potential relocation. Braves officials are expected to appear at the Council for Quality Growth breakfast meeting next week, an event headlined “Why Move Your Business to a CID.”

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