i Stadiums of Status: Civic Development, Race, and the Business of Sports in Atlanta, Georgia, 1966-2019 By Joseph Loughran Senior Honors Thesis History University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill May 1, 2020 Approved: ___________________________________ Dr. Matthew Andrews, Thesis Advisor Dr. William Sturkey, Reader i Acknowledgements I could not have completed this thesis without the overwhelming support from my mother and father. Ever since I broached the idea of writing a thesis in spring 2019, they not only supported me, but guided me through the tough times in order to create this project. From bouncing ideas off you to using your encouragement to keep pushing forward, I cannot thank the both of you enough. I would also like to thank my advisor, Dr. Matthew Andrews, for his constant support, guidance, and advice over the last year. Rather than simply giving feedback or instructions on different parts of my thesis, our meetings would turn into conversations, feeding off a mutual love for learning about how sports impact history. While Dr. Andrews was an advisor for this past year, he will be a friend for life. Thank you to Dr. Michelle King as well, as her guidance throughout the year as the teacher for our thesis class was invaluable. Thank you for putting up with our nonsense and shepherding us throughout this process, Dr. King. This project was supported by the Tom and Elizabeth Long Excellence Fund for Honors administered by Honors Carolina, as well as The Michel L. and Matthew L. Boyatt Award for Research in History administered by the Department of History at UNC-Chapel Hill. Without their financial support, I would have been unable to complete the firsthand research that makes this project special. Finally, I would like to thank two peers that supported this project throughout. First, my friend Teddy Batchelder, who completed his own Honors thesis in History and pushed me to write one as well. Without his urging, I am not sure that I would have considered a thesis project in the first place. Lastly, I would like to thank my girlfriend, Mary Elise, for her constant support throughout the project and for occasionally reading drafts, despite her lack of passion for sports. Her encouragement drove me to make this thesis the best it could be. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………….. i Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………… ii Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter 1 – The Hammer and the Pistol: Atlanta’s Introduction to Professional Sport ……... 13 The Coalition and Racial Politics in Atlanta ………………………………………… 14 White Flight in Atlanta ………………………………………………………………. 20 The Teams Arrive ……………………………………………………………………. 22 The Braves Get Company ……………………………………………………………. 33 Hammerin’ Hank …………………………………………………………………….. 36 The Record …………………………………………………………………………… 40 Chapter 2 – Atlanta’s Golden Moment: Examining Atlanta’s Civic Message Through the 1996 Olympics ……………………………………………………………………………………… 47 Bidding Process ……………………………………………………………………… 49 Preparation for the World ……………………………………………………………. 61 The Games …………………………………………………………………………… 74 Chapter 3 – Out of the Park: Different Plans for Stadium Construction in 21st Century Atlanta 84 Background ………………………………………………………………………….. 87 Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Falcons) ………………………………………………….. 89 Truist Park (Braves) ………………………………………………………………… 101 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….. 114 Appendix A: Transcript of Interview with Andrew Young ………………………………… 120 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………….. 129 1 Introduction Filled with people in bombastic outfits and brightly colored cars, the streets of Atlanta were buzzing. Prominent black individuals from all over the United States packed the Southern city in the fall of 1970 to see the return of boxing champion Muhammad Ali to the ring. Black celebrities such as Sidney Poitier, Henry Aaron, and members of The Supremes attended the fight, as well as key civil rights figures like Coretta Scott King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy.1 Sports Illustrated’s Mark Kram called the crowd “the most startling assembly of black power and black money ever displayed.”2 Los Angeles businessman Clarence Howard alleged that “There was a greater collection of ‘players’ housed at the Regency Hyatt House in Atlanta… then there are in the NFL.”3 Boxing historian Bert Sugar described the scene as “Gone with the Wind turned upside-down.”4 The velvet, leather, and fur clothes combined with the custom, colorful limousines created a surreal scene in Atlanta.5 Ali’s comeback fight showed the magnitude of black power in the new South to the nation in the immediate aftermath of the civil rights movement. The scene peaked on October 26, 1970, when Ali knocked out white boxer Jerry Quarry in the third round in front of a packed house at Atlanta’s Civic Auditorium.6 The bout had added significance for Ali because it marked his first fight in over three years. The champion boxer refused to be drafted into the U.S. Armed Forces for the Vietnam War, citing religious and 1 Leigh Montville, Sting like a Bee : Muhammad Ali vs. the United States of America, 1966-1971, First edition. (New York: Doubleday, 2017). 2 Mark Kram, “Smashing Return of the Old Ali,” Sports Illustrated, November 2, 1970. 3 “Ali Fans Came Dressed to Kill for Days,” Los Angeles Sentinel (Los Angeles), October 29, 1970. 4 David Davis, “Knockout: An Oral History of Muhammad Ali, Atlanta, and the Fight Nobody Wanted,” Atlanta Magazine, October 1, 2005. 5 “Ali Fans Came Dressed to Kill for Days,” Los Angeles Sentinel. 6 Davis, “Knockout," Atlanta Magazine. 2 political beliefs. Every state in the country systematically denied him a boxing license and every sanctioned boxing commission stripped him of each of his heavyweight titles.7 So how did Atlanta, a city in the heart of the deep South without a celebrated boxing past, manage to host a fight featuring the world’s most famous and controversial athlete?8 Why did city leaders want to host such a divisive fighter in a conservative area of the country? While Ali is the focus of his fight against Quarry, those in charge of the Southern city that hosted the fight aspired for the rest of the nation to recognize Atlanta as a “modern” city as it attempted to move out of the Civil Rights era. The Ali fight was another example of civic leaders in Atlanta using athletics to boost their city’s national profile. In the preceding five years, the city welcomed three professional sports franchises and built a major, multi-sport municipal stadium just south of downtown Atlanta. Business leaders and politicians, led by Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr., partnered to attract teams to their city. All three major sports leagues – the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and Major League Baseball – chose Atlanta to host their first franchises in the Deep South. Atlanta’s unique demographics also allowed the fight to happen. The city’s population was over 50% African American and featured a biracial governing coalition in 1970 that gave African American legislators significant political clout. Leroy Johnson, the first African American state senator in Georgia since Reconstruction, broached the idea of an Ali fight to white Atlanta mayor Sam Massell. Georgia’s lack of a state boxing commission meant that Ali did not need a license to fight in the state. The last remaining hurdle for the fight was the 7 “Muhammad Ali Refuses Army Induction,” History.com, accessed March 2, 2020, https://www.history.com/this- day-in-history/muhammad-ali-refuses-army-induction. 8 Maurice J. Hobson, “Ali and Atlanta: A Love Story in the Key of the Black New South,” Phylon (1960-) 54, no. 1 (2017): 79–96. 3 approval of Governor and arch-segregationist Lester Maddox, who Massell managed to convince based on Maddox’s belief in second chances. 9 The lack of an organized boxing apparatus was not the primary reason that Ali was able to fight in Atlanta, though. Johnson, Massell, and other local politicians in Atlanta realized that they would not be voted out of office for hosting an Ali fight due to his status as a hero among the black community in Atlanta and in America. The fight would also continue to promote the economic ambitions of city leaders in Atlanta and blend nicely with the city’s “A City Too Busy to Hate” marketing tagline. The slogan, created by Mayor William Hartsfield in the 1950s, centered around the idea that the citizens of Atlanta put racial conflict aside to focus on the common good of the city, specifically its economic ambition. Atlanta’s political and economic elite have used sports to promote the city’s status on an international scale from the mid-1960s to present day. Sports originally provided a way to boost Atlanta’s national and international reputation as a major and modern city, which then helped drive the city’s prospects for business and economic growth. However, the acquisition of these sports teams and events has almost always had major tradeoffs. In return for the large-scale municipal gain that sports can provide, Atlanta’s leaders used either public money or public land to fund and build sports stadiums, housing for the Olympic Village, and other large-scale projects. In several cases, teams promised to use their stadiums to develop the area around the stadiums, only to leave those promises unfulfilled. This thesis will explore the relationship between sports and economic development in the South’s most influential city since the Civil Rights movement. Many other cities have used major sports to accomplish the same goals as Atlanta. However, Atlanta’s racial dynamics and unique social structure have intertwined with 9 John Matthew Smith, “The Resurrection: Atlanta, Racial Politics, and the Return of Muhammad Ali,” Southern Cultures 21, no. 2 (2015). 4 sports in a variety of ways, which this paper will explore in depth. This thesis argues that Atlanta’s political and business leaders have used major professional sports teams and events to advance the city’s international reputation and business prospects, often without the input or even to the detriment of the city’s impoverished, predominately black lower class.