Turner Field

Atlanta Braves, National League

7/10

Did not get a good shot of the outside here either. Sorry.

Batting Practice prior to game time.

I more or less crashed the gates here, I was ready I guess.

I rolled into "Hotlanta" in June 2012, after seeing an abbreviated day game in Jacksonville the night before and riding out a Tropical Depression in Lake City, FL. The interstate to Atlanta was rumoured to be closing and not wanting to take any chances, I made a dash north. The weather cleared near Valdosta and from then on it was a warm, clear, but humid day. After a trip to the Atlanta Cyclorama, I headed for Turner Field, to watch the Braves battle the Diamondbacks.

The big plus for Turner field, at least to me, is the fact that it was built to be the Olympic Stadium for the 1996 summer games, which took place here. After the games, rather than having just another white elephant in town, the stadium was partially demolished to become the new home of the Braves. The fact that anyone could show any foresight in this situation, as Atlanta already had the Georgia Dome, is kind of remarkable. But, the finished product is markedly average, with nothing too crazy standing out about it.  Egress from the parking lots across the road was disastrous, with a 20-25 thousand person crowd still turning into an hour, just to get out of the lot. People roamed the parking lots on large tricycles with coolers on them, selling water.

The atmosphere here was also nothing remarkable. Fans were mildly interested in the proceedings. On the concession side of things, I had a Chik-fil-a sandwich(or two) from a stand on the concourse, where I think the proprietors just bought them at a location and hauled them down. I don't remember a whole lot else in this regard.

The biggest shock of all regarding this place is that 2016 will be it's last season hosting the Braves. The powers that be had demanded renovations to Turner to keep the Braves around and after making no progress with a city that is already building the Falcons and a new MLS team a stadium. The Braves decided to move to the outskirts of Atlanta, 15 miles northwest of downtown. The new park is technically in suburban Smyrna, but will apparently get an Atlanta address prior to opening. The main complaints were evidently a bit of a dodgy neighbourhood and the park being about 2/3rds of a mile from any subway station. Still, the park only lasting for 19 seasons prior to closing is a bit of a letdown, especially given it's unique history. I honestly had not considered one more visit in the final year, however, if I do my cross country loop trip this summer, maybe it will have to get a stop.

Update 2023: The Braves moved on to SunTrust Park after the 16 season and I've since gone to a game there as well. This place got an extensive renovation and reopened for Football season in 2017 as Center Parc Stadium for Georgia State football. I'm glad it's still seeing use, but it's still mildly disappointing that the Braves left after only 20 years.

Linescore

2012-06-26

                         123   456  789  R H E

Arizona             001   000   000  1 8 0

Atlanta              140   000   21x  8 17 0

Time: 3:01  Temp: 88F  Att: 23,513

SunTrust Park

 Atlanta Braves  (National League)

8/10

The actual front doors are not the main point of entry for most fans, this is as good a shot as I got.

Pre-game finishing touches are put on the field, while some of the condo buildings of The Battery are prominent in right field.

It's hard to believe, but this is the 3rd best photo I got here somehow.

I stopped here in the early part of the 2018 season having come down from Baltimore. I'd already been to a Braves home game in 2012, when I'd been to Turner Field not far from downtown Atlanta. This new ballpark, opened in 2017 about 15 miles from there, in suburban Cumberland pretty much right next to the I-75/I-285 interchange. It's a pretty impressive building, in the middle of an entirely new neighbourhood called The Battery which includes a bunch of pre/post game bars and restaurants, as well as a fair number of condo buildings, some of which have a decent view of the field. The park has a wrap around concourse, with lots more open areas in center field. There's the usual museum displays, which for this franchise, given that the Atlanta area is it's third home, are pretty interesting. 

The food was not very remarkable either way according to my 3 year old memory. The fans were interested, and present, but it was early in the season and a bit cool for Georgia, so it was only so rambunctious. I neglected to bring a jacket and with the game headed for extra innings and temperatures approaching the 50 degree mark, it was time to leave. The game, the 2nd of the season-opening series against the Phillies, ended up going 11 innings. Make no mistake, this is a fancy new ballpark with all the amenities you'd expect and the area around the stadium is a lot more active than Turner, but it's all very artificial. I feel like there's something that's lost by the team moving outside of the city centre, but it could just be me. I'm racking my brain here, but I just can't think of another major league team that plays in the suburbs. Probably the closest in terms of where it's located is Oakland, but it's surrounded by parking lots, so not a great comparison. Still, I also remember sitting in a parking lot at the old ballpark for an hour, just waiting to get out, so it's not without merit that the Braves felt the need to move.

I'd give this place an 8/10, as the facility is pretty impressive, regardless of where it is. Food and Atmosphere were not bad, but not notable either. This place is now branded as Truist Park, as a bank merger caused the naming rights to change hands, but I don't bother trying to keep up with corporate sponsors. I'm not too sure when the southeast will see my shadow again, but with this place at a literal crossroads, I'm sure I'll find my way back soon enough.

Linescore

2018-03-30

                       123   456   789  10 11 R H E

Philadelphia    011  011   000   0  1   5 10 0

Atlanta            002  100   010   0  0   4  9  3

Time: 4:16  Temp:62F  Att: 35,123