Greenville Braves moving to Mississippi

<p>The Atlanta Braves' Double A minor-league team is moving to Pearl, officials said Thursday.</p><p>The formal announcement came Thursday at a news conference in Jackson attended by team officials and Gov. Haley Barbour.</p><p>The team will move to Pearl after the Braves rejected a proposal Wednesday from the Greenville, S.C., City Council and Mayor Knox White to keep the team there.</p><p>The move, which takes place after this season, will end a 20-year run for the Greenville Braves. Greenville officials had offered a new $18 million stadium to replace Memorial Stadium, where the G-Braves had played since 1984.</p><p>Pearl offered the Braves a $25 million stadium built with private money. The stadium would have 7,500 seats and 20 luxury suites. It is expected to be ready next spring.</p><p>Mississippi has had Double A baseball before.</p><p>In 1975, the Jackson Mets of the Double-A Texas League, owned and operated by the parent club, were born. The Mets became the Generals in 1991, changing affiliation to the Houston Astros. During the mid-90s major league teams cut funding of minor league teams and the Generals moved to Texas.</p><p>Murray Wikol, founder and president of Michigan-based Bloomfield Properties LLC, said his company is building the stadium in Pearl as the cornerstone of a $32.8 million project to build a Bass Pro shop sporting goods store. It is scheduled to open in late 2005.</p><p>The state is contributing $8.158 million in incentives for the project, including $5.2 million in sales tax rebates under the Mississippi Tourism Incentive Program. Infrastructure work also is being provided at the state and local levels.</p>

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