Atlanta Braves' Smoltz drops plans for youth baseball complex

<p>Braves pitcher John Smoltz said Thursday he has dropped plans to build a youth baseball complex in Alpharetta.</p><p>"We are not going to do it," Smoltz told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a telephone interview Thursday.</p><p>The project had stirred opposition from nearby residents and from parents who feared that a popular girls' softball program would lose access to fields. Additional fields were planned on land next to the park owned by retired businessman Tom Haire.</p><p>"There have been numerous, I guess you would say complications," Smoltz told the newspaper. "There has been false information from the start. There have been attacks personally both on myself and Tom Haire."</p><p>At a meeting earlier this month, the city's recreation commission declined to vote on the matter, saying the proposal raised too many questions and no one from the Smoltz group was there to answer.</p><p>Smoltz said he had backed project at the request of the Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau. The tourism group said the complex was a way to boost tourism.</p><p>"It's unfortunate because it would have been a great, great endeavor for the city of Alpharetta," Smoltz said.</p><p>The ballpark proposal was announced to the public in April. Smoltz said he had envisioned regular clinics and tournaments on the level of the Little League World Series.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cd9c34)</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/9/116042