According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Georgia Supreme Court recently heard oral argument concerning the validity of municipal bonds used to fund the Atlanta Braves’ proposed new stadium, SunTrust Park. The Plaintiffs, representing the Cobb County taxpayers, alleged that Georgia’s Constitution prevents public funding of a private project without a voter referendum. However, the Defendants claim that Braves games in the new stadium, which will cost $672 million of which $397 million is being financed by the municipal bonds, fit within the state’s parks and recreation provision. Further, the Defendants allege that overturning the Cobb County Superior Court’s decision to validate the bonds would go against decades of precedent.
Jason Fixelle is the Sports Highlight Editor for the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law and a current second year student at Harvard Law School (Class of 2016).