By Charlotte Sears
President, Atlanta
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

The decision to move the Atlanta Braves to a new stadium, SunTrust Park in Cobb County, has sparked a lot of discussion and debate. There has been a mix of concern about traffic and parking, and the media regularly debate the location and proposed development. One of the many things people are talking about is the potential impact on residential real estate – will having a new stadium nearby be a winner or loser for home owners in the area? People love baseball, but do they want to live close to it?

Baseball, of course, is the great American pastime. It’s a game that can be, and is, played everywhere – on neighborhood ball fields, in suburban backyards and even in the middle of city streets. It’s a game that brings people together, from pick-up games at cook-outs and family reunions to group outings to the ballpark. And perhaps more than anything, it’s a game that makes memories. As a child, I spent many a summer day sliding into home base, and when I close my eyes, I swear I can still smell the leather of my glove. As the character Terence Mann from the movie “Field of Dreams” said, “The one constant through all the years…has been baseball.”

Which brings us back to SunTrust Park – if you build it, will they come? Will that love of the game and the team (the Braves recently ranked 6th on a poll of favorite MLB teams) inspire Atlantans to make their home near the Braves’ new home? Is the appeal of being just a few miles away, or even within walking distance from an MLB park enough to create a demand for more housing or drive up property values? Studies on the topics are mixed, because the age and locations of baseball stadiums nationwide vary greatly.

In 2013, Trulia studied the asking prices for homes within a mile or two of baseball stadiums, and found that 20 of the 29 major league stadiums are located in neighborhoods that are more expensive than the city’s average. However, the nine stadiums in neighborhoods that are less expensive than the metro average tended to be a few miles outside of the downtown area, as the new SunTrust Park will be.

What appears to be of greater impact on home values is not necessarily the stadium, but what surrounds it. A common theme among these new ballparks is to include planned development as part of the package. So while the stadium in and of itself might not attract home buyers, the shops, restaurants and businesses that open up all around it quite likely will.

In keeping with that trend, the Braves’ new SunTrust Park has been positioned as a “play, work, stay” destination, promising more than 600 upscale residences, a 260-room hotel and office space and 400,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. A $55 million mixed-use development, including up to 300 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail space, was approved by Cobb planning officials recently, and a 28-home single-family subdivision received the greenlight in early July.

Companies are also moving into the area. Comcast announced plans to anchor a new nine-story office building at SunTrust Park, which will serve as its central division headquarters and house roughly 1,000 employees. Bennett Thrasher LLP will anchor Riverwood 200, a new 12-story office tower, and Kroger plans to open a store in nearby Cumberland Mall. In fact, it seems every other day there’s another announcement or rumor about more shops, restaurants, businesses and residential developments coming to the area.

The potential here is not only for an enhanced experience for Braves fans, but also an improved quality of life for residents of the surrounding communities. They’ll have closer access to the Braves, as well as to a greater array of amenities and job opportunities just minutes from their doors. The stadium is only one part of a bigger picture that may ultimately make the area even more appealing to home buyers.

No matter the location, baseball is a part of Atlanta’s heritage, and always will be. Will the stadium be a home run? Only time will tell. Despite all the change to our communities, though, baseball remains the constant.