Board of Regents OKs Georgia State-Turner Field project

November 9,2016

Source: Dave Williams, Atlanta Business Chronicle

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents Wednesday approved Georgia State University’s plan to buy Turner Field and convert what has been a baseball park for nearly 20 years into a football stadium.

The $52.8 million project calls for Georgia State to buy the 38.4-acre Turner Field site from the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority for $22.8 million, then convert the ballpark into a 22,000-seat artificial turf stadium for the football Panthers, a $26 million renovation project.

The university also plans to spend $4 million to repurpose a portion of Turner Field’s Club Level for academic use and extend its existing lease of 3.1 acres of parking on the northern end of the property at a cost of $59,000 per year.

“I don’t know of any real estate project we’ve studied longer or harder,” Regent Philip Wilheit Sr. said before the unanimous vote. “I think it’s a great project.”

The Atlanta Braves completed their last game at Turner Field early last month. The team moves to its new Cobb County ballpark next spring.