In Atlanta, Two Stadiums Collide With Dreams of a New Downtown

Over the next few years, two professional sports teams are in a position to radically reshape much of the fringe of Atlanta's downtown core. South of downtown, in Summerhill, Mechanicsville, and Peoplestown, the Braves’ planned departure for a brand-new ballpark in suburban Cobb County is just the latest in a string of upheavals that began with the construction of the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium nearly 50 years ago. Across town, the Westside neighborhoods of Vine City and English Avenue are similarly bracing themselves for what will come of the more than $1 billion soon to be invested in erecting a new football stadium for the Falcons, while simultaneously dismantling the 21-year-old Georgia Dome.

To varying degrees, these neighborhoods have started to revitalize in recent years – a controversy by its own right. Depending on whom you ask, Atlanta's changing stadium landscape could halt or accelerate this process, both with potentially disastrous consequences.