The new Braves stadium will be named after team Owner Ted
Turner, and the team will seek permission to name the address and
a surrounding street after former Brave Hank Aaron, according to
Haddad & Unger in the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. Aaron: "I would be
lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I would have loved to
have the stadium named after me, but what better choice could
they have made than to name it after Ted Turner." Former Mayor
Ivan Allen Jr., another person who was speculated to receive
naming honors, said that Turner is "the most deserving man for
what he's done for baseball." After making the stadium
announcement at a luncheon in New York, Time Warner Chair Gerald
Levin said the company has "no intention" of selling the Braves
or Hawks, which Turner Broadcasting owns, after the merger is
finalized. "It makes no sense" to sell the teams, Levin said.
By choosing to honor Turner, it is estimated that Time Warner is
forgoing about $1-3M a year in corporate naming rights fees
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 9/27).
TALK OF THE TOWN: Turner is the "most improved" owner in
team sports and "deserves to have his name on a baseball
stadium," according to Tim Tucker in the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION.
Tucker: "When I see Turner's name on the stadium, I'll see it
foremost as a tribute to his remarkable growth as Braves owner --
his growth from out-of-his-element meddler of one decade to the
consummate franchise builder of the next" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION,
9/27). The CONSTITUTION's Mark Bradley writes "naming the
reconfigured Olympic Stadium after Ted Turner won't please every
single interested party but is the absolute proper choice."
Bradley says that Turner has come to "symbolize Atlanta (and the
whole New South, for that matter) in a way not linked to favors
or patronage." Bradley: "To name it after Henry Aaron would
ignore the reality that the great hitter began and ended his
career in Milwaukee" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 9/27).
