Cobb County faces $30M deficit in wake of Braves' SunTrust Park deal

Cobb County, the home of the Atlanta Braves since the beginning of the 2017 season, projects a $30-million deficit for the 2019 fiscal year, according to an email from the Cobb County Board of Commissioners received by Georgia economist J.C. Bradbury.

The Braves moved from Turner Field in downtown Atlanta to SunTrust Park when Cobb County promised more public funds to subsidize a new stadium. The county incurred $400 million of the $1.1-billion price tag for the stadium and adjacent projects.

Ex-Cobb County chairman Tim Lee described the 2013 deal with the Braves as the "biggest economic development deal in our county's history," and promised taxpayers "a 60 percent annual return on investment from the SunTrust Park partnership," according to Meris Lutz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Lee was voted out in July 2016.

The county will seek public input about the budget in June and July.

The board notes that Cobb County's parks department is the most likely target for cuts. It's already slashed 36 full-time jobs over the past decade while adding over 1,000 acres of parkland.