The 2018 opening day schedule presented an exciting opportunity for me to catch a game in Atlanta on my way to Florida for an early spring vacation. The late March weather was a bit iffy throughout the game with the threat of thunderstorms looming to the west, but the rain held off until after the Braves completed their comeback win from five runs down to beat the Phillies 8-5.
Having seen my first Braves game at Turner Field just a few years ago (2013) and being very impressed with the stadium, I was a bit shocked to learn soon after that the Braves were planning on vacating Turner Field after only 20 years. The move to the northern suburbs also seem a bit odd given that trend for teams building new stadiums was to build them in downtown areas as part of some city revitalization plan. So I wasn’t sure what to expect when visiting SunTrust park and the area for the first time.
What I found was a beautiful ballpark and an awesome surrounding “village.” The Battery Atlanta, as the area is known contains many great dining options, shops, businesses, entertainment facilities, hotels and places to live. It is an area that was was developed and built around the park and makes for an excellent gameday experience. Although it might not be a winner in the eyes of some of those in Cobb County, for a visitor passing through and dropping in to catch a game, it was a great place to spend a few hours.
The inside of SunTrust park was great and had all the modern features you would expect from a new facility, but I found it a bit disappointing. It certainly had a lot of character, but again in comparison to Turner Field I didn’t find it to be significantly better. One of the things I liked about Turner Field was the wide concourse on the main level that had areas to sit and eat as well as room to stand and watch the game. The main level of SunTrust park seemed to be a bit smaller with fewer options to sit and stand. The upper level of SunTrust was even more compact, which made walking around the park a slow experience around some of the higher traffic concession stands.
Many of the unique features of Turner Field made their way over to the new park, such as Coca-Cola Corner, the Chick-fil-A cow, and the Waffle House concession stand. Some of the new sections of the park included the Xfinity Rooftop, the Coors Light Chop House, and the Home Depot Clubhouse. For the young fans, there is now a zip line in the Sandlot section found behind the centerfield backdrop.
The seating capacity at SunTrust park is rather small at 41,000 fans per game, but the park feels much larger when looking around. There are four levels of seating which makes it appear big, but each level is relatively small in comparison to other parks. The 400 level where I was sitting was only about 12 rows high and even those in the last row had a decent view of the action down on the field.
Overall SunTrust Park is a great facility and the surrounding area makes for a great experience, but I still question if the move to the northern suburbs was needed with the quality facility they already had in Turner Field.
GAME: Atlanta Braves (8) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (5)
BOXSCORE: https://www.baseball-reference.com/
