Source: New York Times

Date Published: 7.20.2025

Link: Who is Behind a $5 Billion Development in Atlanta? Yup, a Sports Team.

In Atlanta, a massive, mostly unused crater of land called the Gulch that once was the original center of the city. Tony Ressler, the owner of the NBA team the Atlanta Hawks decided to spearhead the investment of billions of dollars into developing apartments, hotels, retail space, a music venue, and more on the land. The construction is planned to last until 2031. The Gulch is bordered by the stadiums for most of Atlanta’s largest sports teams, hence why not only Ressler but also the Falcons owner Arthur Blank and many other influential Atlanta sports figures are investing in the project. The article catalogues examples of sports teams in other cities investing in similar projects, although this one in Atlanta is by far the largest in scale. Projects like these have consistently faced pushback due to fears of gentrification or the destruction of currently existing spaces.