Braves Dispute Claim By Atlanta Mayor That They Missed Turner Field Deadline

The Braves are "disputing a charge" by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed that the franchise "missed a deadline earlier this week to tell the city when the team plans to leave Turner Field," according to Carla Caldwell of the ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE. The Braves in an e-mail sent late Thursday to WSB-TV wrote that they are "confused by comments made by Reed about the missed deadline." The Braves said that the "only deadline that has ever existed is the one in the team’s current operating agreement with the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority." That agreement "gives the team until Dec. 31, 2015 to make its exit plan known." The Braves' lease at Turner Field expires Dec. 31, 2016. WSB early Thursday reported Reed said that the Braves "missed a deadline on Monday to alert the city if the team will renew its lease at Turner Field" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/29).