Posts
The Braves Pivot
Post 1: How "Operation Intrepid" Built the Blueprint (2013-2017)
The Hidden Engine Series
By Randy Gipe | February 2026
No press. No public notice. Just a handshake agreement on a blank-slate, 75-acre site that would become the model every sports team now copies.
This is the origin story of The Battery Atlanta—and the template for the hidden engine.
The Problem: Turner Field Had No Moat
Before 2013, the Atlanta Braves played at Turner Field in downtown Atlanta. The stadium itself was fine—built for the 1996 Olympics, converted for baseball, adequate capacity, decent sightlines.
But it had a fatal flaw from an ownership perspective: The Braves didn't control the surrounding land.
Turner Field sat in a neighborhood with:
- Limited parking (most fans parked blocks away)
- No adjacent commercial development potential (existing residential areas, public streets)
- Lease complications (city-owned facility, Braves were tenants)
- Infrastructure aging without clear funding mechanism
The Braves could sell tickets and concessions. They could negotiate local media rights. But they had no ability to capture the surrounding real estate value that a stadium creates.
Meanwhile, newer ballparks were being built with integrated mixed-use districts:
- St. Louis Cardinals' Ballpark Village (retail, restaurants, offices)
- San Diego Padres' Petco Park (East Village development)
- Texas Rangers' plans around the new Globe Life Field
The Braves ownership (controlled by Liberty Media at the time) saw the pattern: Modern stadium economics required owning the development, not just the venue.
The Secret Dinner: "Operation Intrepid"
In July 2013, Mike Plant—the Braves' Executive Vice President of Business Operations and later President of Development—had a private dinner with Tim Lee, Chairman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.
The meeting was so quiet that even most Braves executives didn't know about it. The internal codename: "Operation Intrepid."
👥 THE KEY PLAYERS
Mike Plant (Braves):
- Executive VP of Business Operations (2003-present)
- Later: President of Development, Braves Development Company
- Background: Former Turner Broadcasting executive, joined Braves 2003
- Role: Architect of the entire Battery concept and execution
- Still leads Braves Development as of 2026
Tim Lee (Cobb County):
- Chairman, Cobb County Board of Commissioners (2012-2016)
- Conservative Republican in a historically Republican suburban county
- Saw the Braves as economic development catalyst (jobs, tax base, prestige)
- Willing to use public financing for infrastructure
What they agreed on:
- Cobb County would provide a site (75 acres near I-75 and I-285 interchange)
- County would fund public infrastructure (~$300 million: roads, parking, utilities)
- Braves would privately finance stadium construction (~$370-400 million) and ALL mixed-use development (~$400 million initial)
- Braves would fully control the surrounding commercial land
- Opening target: Spring 2017 (impossibly tight 36-month timeline)
Why Cobb County?
- Suburban location closer to Braves' season-ticket base (north Atlanta suburbs)
- Interstate highway access (I-75/I-285 interchange = regional draw)
- Willing government partner (Lee championed the deal politically)
- Blank slate—no existing neighborhood opposition, no eminent domain battles
- Cobb's ability to issue bonds without public referendum (legal structure in Georgia)
The deal was struck in secret. Four months later, it went public.
The Announcement Shock (November 2013)
📅 THE REVEAL TIMELINE
November 11, 2013:
- Braves hold surprise press conference announcing move to Cobb County
- Effective immediately: New ballpark targeted for 2017 Opening Day
- Turner Field lease ends after 2016 season (Braves exit early from Atlanta)
- Media and Atlanta city officials caught completely off guard
November 20, 2013 (full details unveiled):
- Total project cost: $1.072 billion
- Stadium: $672 million (Braves private: ~$370M; Cobb public: ~$300M for infrastructure/parking/roads)
- Mixed-Use Development (The Battery): $400 million private (Braves controlled)
- Site: 75 acres along I-285 in Cumberland/Smyrna area
- Braves commit to 30-year lease with Cobb County
Public/political reaction:
- Atlanta officials furious (felt blindsided, accused Braves of bad faith)
- Cobb County residents mixed (economic development vs. traffic concerns vs. public financing)
- Some county commissioners opposed (narrow vote to approve financing)
- Legal challenges filed (ultimately unsuccessful)
- National sports media: Focused on stadium move, mostly ignored the Battery development significance
What almost nobody noticed at the time: The Battery Atlanta wasn't an afterthought or nice-to-have amenity. It was the entire financial point of the move.
The stadium would bring 2.5+ million fans annually (81 home games + events). The Battery would capture those fans year-round with:
- Office space (corporate tenants, Braves front office)
- Retail (restaurants, shops, team store)
- Hotels (visitors, business travelers)
- Entertainment venues (concerts, comedy, live music)
- Residential (apartments with ballpark views)
- Parking (controlled by Braves, fees collected)
Every dollar from that development would be owner-controlled, outside MLB revenue-sharing, independent of on-field performance.
The Designers: Who Built the Template
The Braves didn't invent stadium-anchored development. But they perfected the fully integrated, built-simultaneously model. Previous developments were added incrementally. The Battery was master-planned from day one.
🏗️ THE DESIGN TEAM
Populous (formerly HOK Sport):
- Global leader in sports venue architecture
- Designed the ballpark itself (now Truist Park, originally SunTrust Park)
- But critically: Also designed the integration between stadium and Battery
- Sightlines from Battery plaza into the park, open concourses, walkable connections
- Philosophy: Stadium as anchor, not fortress—permeable and inviting
Wakefield Beasley & Associates:
- Atlanta-based architecture/planning firm
- Led the mixed-use master plan for The Battery
- Responsible for: Site layout, building placement, circulation, retail/office/hotel mix, public plaza design
- Phased approach: Core retail/dining first (2017 opening), office towers later (2018-2020), ongoing expansion
HGOR (later Kimley-Horn):
- Landscape architecture and site engineering
- Green spaces, streetscapes, pedestrian experience
Lease Crutcher Lewis (construction):
- General contractor for Battery buildings
- Coordinated with stadium construction (separate contractor for park itself)
The Innovation: Most previous stadium districts were built incrementally—ballpark first, then years later developers would add surrounding projects. The Battery was planned and built simultaneously:
- Groundbreaking: September 2014 (stadium and Battery together)
- Construction: Parallel tracks—ballpark rose while Battery retail/office went vertical
- Opening: March 31, 2017 (stadium) with Battery core (restaurants, shops, hotel, office phase I) opening same week
36 months from dirt to opening. Unprecedented speed for a fully integrated project of this scale.
The Build: 2014-2017 Construction
The execution was a logistics marvel:
Phase 0: Land Assembly (2013-2014)
- Cobb County acquired 75-acre site (mix of commercial, parking, some residential)
- Limited eminent domain (mostly willing sellers, commercial properties)
- Site prep: Demolition, grading, utility relocation
Phase I: Foundation & Core (2014-2015)
- Ballpark foundation and lower bowl steel
- Battery: Underground parking garages (2,500+ spaces), foundations for retail/office buildings
- Roads and infrastructure (new interchanges, traffic signals, water/sewer)
Phase II: Vertical Construction (2015-2016)
- Ballpark: Upper deck, roof structure, video board, seating installation
- Battery: Retail buildings (2-3 stories mixed-use), hotel tower, first office building, plaza hardscaping
- Tenant fit-outs begin late 2016 (restaurants, shops)
Phase III: Final Finishes (Late 2016-March 2017)
- Ballpark: Turf installation, scoreboard programming, concession build-outs, seat installation, testing
- Battery: Final restaurant openings, retail launches, landscaping, signage, parking systems activation
- Coordination: Ballpark and Battery had to open together—logistically complex
Opening Weekend: March 31 - April 2, 2017
- First game: Braves vs. Yankees exhibition (March 31)
- Regular season opener: April 14, 2017 vs. Padres
- Battery: ~20 restaurants/bars open, hotel operational, retail core activated, office tenants moving in
- Estimated foot traffic opening week: 100,000+ (games + curiosity visits)
The Battery at Opening: What Was Built
Scale:
- 1.5 million square feet of leasable space (retail, office, hotel, entertainment)
- 600,000+ square feet of office space (phased 2017-2020)
- 200,000+ square feet of retail/dining
- 264-room Live! by Loews hotel
- 200+ luxury apartments (subsequent phases)
- Central plaza: ~2 acres, outdoor events, concerts, viewing parties
Anchor tenants (2017 opening):
- Restaurants: Antico Pizza, Yard House, Punch Bowl Social, Goldberg & Sons Deli, Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, many others
- Retail: Team store, sporting goods, specialty shops
- Office: Comcast (regional HQ), Braves front office, SunTrust (naming rights bank), later Google offices
- Entertainment: Regal Cinemas (14 screens), live music venue
Revenue model (from day one):
- Office: Long-term leases (5-10 years), base rent + tenant reimbursements (taxes, insurance, maintenance)
- Retail: Base rent + percentage of sales (overage rent—landlord shares in tenant success)
- Hotel: Ground lease to Live! by Loews (Braves own land, operator runs hotel, revenue share)
- Parking: Controlled by Braves, $20-40/game, plus non-game-day office/hotel/event parking
- Sponsorships: Naming rights, signage throughout Battery (separate from ballpark sponsors)
Crucially: All of this is Braves-controlled, operated by Braves Development Company (Mike Plant still leads). Not MLB-shared. Not subject to luxury tax calculations. Just owner cash flow.
Why This Was the Template
The Battery Atlanta succeeded for reasons that are now copied everywhere:
🔑 THE BLUEPRINT
1. Full Land Control
- Braves lease the stadium site from Cobb County, but own or control the Battery parcels
- This means 100% of development upside (rents, appreciation) flows to ownership
- Contrast with Turner Field: Braves were tenants, no adjacent land rights
2. Public Subsidizes Traffic, Private Captures Value
- Cobb County funded roads, parking structures, utilities (~$300M public investment)
- This infrastructure enables the development—without it, Battery wouldn't work
- But Braves privately funded Battery buildings (~$400M+) and keep all the revenue
- Classic privatization of publicly-created value
3. Year-Round Activation
- 81 home games = ~40-45 days of traffic annually (including playoffs if applicable)
- Battery operates 365 days/year: office workers (M-F), weekend dining/entertainment, concerts, movie theater, hotel guests
- Stadium is the anchor, but not the main revenue driver (office/retail/hotel are)
4. High Margins on Incremental Revenue
- Once built, variable costs are low (~14-15% of revenue per SEC filings)
- Every additional lease signed = ~70-75% margin contribution
- This is why the model compounds: New tenants drop nearly pure profit
5. Independence from On-Field Performance
- Office leases don't care if the Braves win 95 or 75 games
- Hotel bookings aren't tied to playoff appearances
- Retail sales benefit from foot traffic (games help) but restaurants stay busy regardless
- This stabilizes cash flow—we'll prove this in Post 4 with the 2025 down year
The Expansion Continues (2017-2025)
The Battery didn't stop at opening. It's designed for ongoing phases:
2018-2020: Office Tower Phases
- Additional office buildings (Phase II, Phase III)
- Google leases space, other corporate tenants
- Total office inventory grows to 600,000+ sq ft
2021-2024: Residential + Infill
- Luxury apartments (several hundred units with ballpark views)
- Additional retail (more restaurants, entertainment)
- Plaza programming (concerts, watch parties, festivals)
April 2025: Pennant Park Acquisition
- $93.7 million cash purchase of 6-building office complex adjacent to Battery
- Adds ~200,000 sq ft of already-leased office space
- In-place leases = immediate rental income boost (we'll see this in the numbers, Post 2)
- Signals ongoing appetite for bolt-on acquisitions
Future phases (announced or rumored):
- Additional residential towers
- More retail/dining (tenant turnover and additions)
- Potential convention/event space
- Land near spring training facility (CoolToday Park in Florida) also being developed
What Almost Nobody Understood at the Time
When the Braves announced the move in November 2013, the coverage focused on:
- The stadium itself (41,000 seats, design features, naming rights)
- The political drama (Atlanta vs. Cobb County, public financing debate)
- The traffic concerns (will I-285 handle it?)
- The fan experience (closer for suburban season-ticket holders)
Almost no one asked: What is the actual financial return on the Battery development, and why is that the real reason for the move?
Because the answer required reading:
- Bond documents (boring)
- Development agreements (legalese)
- Future quarterly 10-Qs (didn't exist yet—Braves were still inside Liberty Media tracking stock)
- Commercial real estate economics (margin structures, NOI, cap rates)
Sports journalists don't do this. Business journalists don't cover sports. The insight gap was massive.
But the numbers—once the Battery opened and Liberty Media later spun off Atlanta Braves Holdings as a public company (July 2023)—would prove it was always about the real estate.
The Template Spreads
Since 2017, nearly every new stadium or major renovation includes a Battery-style district:
- Texas Rangers (Globe Life Field, 2020): Texas Live! entertainment district
- Los Angeles Rams/Chargers (SoFi Stadium, 2020): Hollywood Park, $5B mixed-use
- Philadelphia Phillies (Citizens Bank Park upgrades): $2.5B South Philly Sports Complex redevelopment with Phillies Plaza
- Nashville SC (MLS, 2022): Mixed-use around Geodis Park
- Colleges: Wake Forest (The Grounds), Texas A&M (Aggie Park plans)
Even teams in older stadiums are retrofitting: Cardinals expanded Ballpark Village (phases II, III), Yankees explored Bronx development.
The Battery proved the model works. Now it's the standard playbook.
Next: The Numbers
Post 1 documented how the template was built. Post 2 will show why it's so lucrative: the complete financial breakdown from 2017 through 9 months of 2025 (with full-year 2025 data dropping tomorrow, Feb 25).
We'll pull every table from the SEC filings, show the margin math, calculate cumulative owner cash flow, and prove why this is the hidden engine.
The origin story is told. Now we follow the money.
SOURCES
Operation Intrepid / Announcement:
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution coverage (Nov 2013): "Braves to move to Cobb County"
- Cobb County Commission meeting minutes (Nov 2013, financing approval vote)
- Braves press releases (Nov 11, Nov 20, 2013)
- "Operation Intrepid" codename: Confirmed in later interviews with Mike Plant (Sports Business Journal, Atlanta Magazine)
Design Team:
- Populous project page (Truist Park / SunTrust Park)
- Wakefield Beasley press releases (Battery Atlanta master plan credits)
- Construction documentation (Lease Crutcher Lewis project listings)
Construction Timeline:
- Braves public updates (2014-2017 quarterly construction reports)
- Opening coverage: ESPN, MLB.com, local Atlanta media (March-April 2017)
Battery Scale/Tenants:
- Battery Atlanta official website (tenant listings, square footage)
- Braves Holdings SEC filings (10-Ks, 10-Qs 2017-2025: property descriptions, segment revenue notes)
- Commercial real estate databases (CoStar, tenant lease announcements)
Pennant Park Acquisition:
- Atlanta Braves Holdings 10-Q (Q2 2025, filed Aug 2025; Q3 2025, filed Nov 2025): $93.7M acquisition details, asset allocation breakdown
Template Spread:
- Comparable stadium projects: Public announcements, news coverage (Texas Live!, Hollywood Park, Phillies South Philly, etc.)
- Academic analyses: Sports venue development case studies
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