The Atlanta Braves aren’t just building a baseball team — they’re building a real estate empire. With Truist Park as its crown jewel, the Braves have spent the past decade transforming the surrounding area into one of the country’s most successful sports-anchored mixed-use developments. And they’re far from finished.
The $93 Million Braves Power Play
In April, Braves Development Company — the team’s real estate arm — made its boldest off-field move yet, acquiring the sprawling Pennant Park office complex for $93 million.
The deal includes six office buildings totaling 760,000 square feet and a massive 2,700-space parking infrastructure. It is all just a pedestrian bridge away from Truist Park. The Braves aren’t planning a major overhaul of the property, at least not yet, but the acquisition fits a clear and calculated vision: financial diversification.
As CEO Mike Plant explained on this week’s earnings call, the Braves are “evaluating assets and opportunities in the surrounding area of Truist Park and the Battery Atlanta” that enhance their mission of delivering premier sports and entertainment experiences. Translation: The Braves see themselves not just as a ballclub but as a lifestyle brand—and real estate is their playbook.
The Battery Is Booming
The Pennant Park buy is just the latest chapter in the Braves’ off-field expansion. The Battery Atlanta — their 2-million-square-foot anchor development — is already thriving. Office space is reportedly 99 percent occupied.
Tenants like Shake Shack (which just inked a 25,000-square-foot lease at Two Ballpark Center) and Truist Securities (relocating its HQ to Five Ballpark Center) aren’t cherry-picking locations. They’re buying into the Braves’ broader vision of a walkable, high-traffic, experience-driven destination.
Add in The Henry, a mixed-use megaproject now under construction that will include 650 apartments, 54 condos, and a 250-key hotel, and you’ve got a suburban development model most MLB teams would kill for.
A New Business Model for Baseball?
What the Braves are doing isn’t just smart — it’s revolutionary. By leveraging Liberty Media’s 2023 spin-off and becoming the only MLB franchise to publicly report earnings, Braves Holdings has cracked open the books on what’s becoming a new blueprint for financial sustainability in pro sports.
In Q1 alone, their mixed-use revenue hit $19 million, and overall revenue surged 27 percent to $47 million year-over-year. That’s not a side hustle — that’s core business. We are in an era where teams often scramble to balance TV deals, attendance, and on-field costs. The Braves, however, are building a parallel revenue engine that doesn’t depend on batting averages or win-loss columns.
Suburban Atlanta’s Gold Rush
Let’s not ignore the ripple effect. The Braves’ success has inspired a wave of similar developments across metro Atlanta. Lincoln Property Company is rolling out The Shoppes at The Gathering in Alpharetta. It is a 43,700-square-foot lifestyle-focused retail concept echoing The Battery’s blueprint. Walkable, amenity-rich districts are becoming the standard, and the Braves are leading the charge.
The bottom line is that the Atlanta Braves may be fighting for wins on the diamond, but they’re already champions off the field — building an empire one square foot at a time. And if the last decade is any indication, they’re just getting warmed up.
