All-Fiber Home Run

Braves, Comcast Make a Play

By Keith Loria on Jun 5, 2015 in Technology

The Atlanta Braves and Comcast have entered into a landmark multi-year technology and real estate partnership that will call for multi-terabit network capabilities to SunTrust Park and the surrounding community, creating the most technologically advanced mixed-use development in the U.S.

Under the terms of the deal, Comcast will provide video, voice and high-speed Internet connectivity throughout the 60-acre development, which includes the new ballpark, retail shops, restaurants, an office tower, hotel, an entertainment venue and residential units. Comcast will become the signature tenant in the office project.

“From the outset, we said the Braves would set a new standard of excellence in every aspect of this project, and building the most technologically advanced ballpark in history and redefining fan connectivity is key to accomplishing that,” Terry McGuirk, Atlanta Braves chairman, said during a live news feed. “Our partnership with Comcast will keep us head-and-shoulders above other sports venues and mixed-use communities around the country and allow us to meet our fans’ high expectations for engagement, awareness and access. Shoppers, hotel guests and office tenants will also enjoy an experience unlike any other community.”

The development’s all-fiber network will be capable of delivering multi-gigabit speeds throughout the complex on game days and every day in between.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported last month that Braves ownership Liberty Media is spending $452 million to develop their new mixed-use project adjacent to SunTrust Park, putting the total cost of the ballpark and mixed-use project at $1.1 billion.

Located at the intersection of I-75 and I-285 in the bustling Cumberland CID, SunTrust Park will flow directly into the surrounding development, creating a vibrant atmosphere with unique shops, restaurants, offices, residences and entertainment venues that are accessible 365 days a year.

The new nine-story office tower will house more than 1,000 Comcast employees and the space will include an Innovation Lab, a dedicated home for the company’s growing workforce of technologists, engineers and software architects. Comcast will have exclusive use of the office space. The building will also feature another 15,000-20,000 square feet of restaurant and hospitality space facing into the SunTrust Park plaza.

According to McGuirk, the team is relying on the office space, hundreds of residential units and hotel rooms, and a trove of new restaurants and retail to keep the complex alive even when the Braves aren’t playing.

SunTrust Park is being developed by the Braves in partnership with Cobb County, the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority and the Cumberland CID, and will be completed by Opening Day 2017. The office tower is being designed by Atlanta-based architect Wakefield Beasley & Associates and will also open in 2017.

Additionally, the Braves complex has already spurred nearby development, with at least four developers announcing plans for major commercial and residential projects near the new stadium, including a $100 million project called Stadium Walk on a 13-acre site just north of the stadium and Belmont, a 48-acre mixed-use property in the heart of Smyrna, just two miles from the stadium.

This post originally appeared on Multi-Housing News.