When the Braves announced the club would be moving out of Atlanta to Smyrna for a new stadium and surrounding entertainment area, it was met with skepticism. Fast forward years down the road, and Truist Park and The Battery have been a resounding success. Other professional teams have followed suit, and the Hawks are next.
Front Office Sports reports that Hawks owner Tony Ressler is progressing with a similar development near State Farm Arena and Mercedes Benz Stadium. According to FOS, “the project at the 50-acre Centennial Yards site will include housing (20% of which will be affordable housing), office space, retail, and parks.”
Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill, and Andrew Young are part of the ownership group, while a majority of the stake will belong to the real estate company CIM Group.
Ressler bought the Atlanta Hawks in 2015 for $730 million, and he’s had a tumultuous tenure as owner. Ressler has tested the trust of Hawks fans ever since he took over. He said the luxury tax didn’t scare him, then traded away a critical piece to save a few bucks. Ressler has been a large reason for the dysfunction within the organization.
Despite the Hawks forcing a Game 6 in their ongoing series against the Celtics, this club needs a makeover, whether that is personnel, culture, or both.
This new project will certainly benefit the Hawks, and Tony Ressler deserves praise for setting this all in motion, but nobody needs to forgive his past transgressions just yet.
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