REPORT: Mississippi Braves moving to Columbus, GA for 2025 season

The mayor of Columbus, GA has announced that the Mississippi Braves are officially moving for the 2025 season

The Mississippi Braves, AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, is officially moving. 

Columbus mayor Skip Henderson announced on Tuesday afternoon that Columbus, GA's Golden Park stadium will be the new home for the Mississippi Braves for the 2025 season. 

We reported back on Christmas Eve that Columbus was working to lure the Mississippi Braves with renovations to their historic Golden Park stadium, built in 1926. The venue has previously been the home of multiple different minor league teams, most recently the Class A "Columbus Catfish" from 2003-2008. 

The city council for Columbus voted last month to start the process to borrow $50M for facility upgrades, with a Request for Proposal issued on December 26th and with completed bids due by January 24th. 

The 42-page document requests both design and construction services to bring Golden Park up to Major League Baseball's updated minor league facility standards, which were updated in 2022. 

The RFP does not list the needed changes to be made to the ballpark, but MLB's updates are mostly for player and staff amenities, including covered pitching and hitting tunnels, proper nutrition spaces, and dedicated locker rooms for both umpires and female staff. It is not known in which areas Golden Park is deficient at this time.  

The RFP very clearly specifies that the project "must be completed by April 2025", with the contract set to be awarded next month.

The Mississippi Braves have confirmed the news, announcing that they were departing Pearl, MS after the 2024 season in a social media post.

A Letter to Our Fans pic.twitter.com/tYSMNywWPM

— Mississippi Braves (@mbraves) January 9, 2024

It is expected, although not yet announced or confirmed, that the team will go through a name-change as part of the relocation. In the last few years, several minor league teams have made the switch from using the parent organization's name to a distinct branding. Atlanta's High-A affiliate in Rome underwent their re-branding just last month, announcing their new moniker as the Rome Emperors at an event in the ballpark. 

Previous reporting: Columbus, GA is trying to lure Braves AA affiliate Mississippi to relocate for 2025 season

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