Atlanta floats public safety surcharge on ballgame, concert tickets
ATLANTA - The Atlanta City Council is considering imposing a public safety fee on every ticket to every ballgame, every concern, and every major ticketed event.
Backers of the measure says state approval could even bring Braves games at Truist Park in Cobb County under the plan.
Most people who want to attend big events in the city already know the price tag that is attached. But those hefty ticket prices could be fattened even more if the city of Atlanta gets its way.
But would attendees be willing to pay a surcharge on those tickets if they knew it would help fund public safety, police departments, corrections, and fire departments?
"This would be very significant for our firefighters. I’m just doing some background on our fire trucks. Twenty years ago, it was around $14 million to replace our fleet, in today’s money that’s $46 million," Atlanta Fire Union president Nate Bailey told the Atlanta City Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee on Feb. 13.
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Bailey along with public safety chair Dustin Hillis has prepped city legislation to mirror a statewide effort under consideration at the capitol.
The measure could pull in an extra $10 million a year by some estimates.
Nate Bailey and Dustin Hillis
So, in Cobb County, local officials could get in on the action with their own baseball ticket public safety bill.
So, which venues could be in and which ones would be exempted. The minimum seating capacity is 9,500.
Bailey explained how it would work during the meeting:
City Council member Antonio Lewis: "So, if a community has an event at Lakewood Amphitheater, that neighborhood association have to be a part of this tax as well?
Bailey: "It would only be for the tickets purchased for the venue. So, if someone buys a ticket for a concert at Lakewood, if it’s a $100, they would now pay $103, and those $3 would go into a fund."
Each municipality would set its own fee if everything goes through at the state level.