The Braves opened up SunTrust park for the media on Thursday and yours truly got an invite to the event. While there is not much additional information here is your own tour of the stadium.
First off are the dimensions of the field coming in at 335' to left, 402' to center, and a shorter 325' to right. Those are right around the same as Turner Field (335' to left, 400' to center, 330' to right), however, the size of the fence increases from left to right. The left field fence comes in at 6' tall, center field is 8'8" tall, and right field is 16'. Also located in right will be a party suite available to rent with a view of the field, and as John Schuerholz himself said, an opportunity to heckle opponents.
The next stop on the tour was the view from home plate itself. Straight across you will see light poles for light in center which is something they don't have at turner. Also of note, the lights are LED so it will be interesting to see if they do anything with that for significant moments in a game.
Stop #3 is a view from the field level (please excuse the gentleman to the left) right behind first base. If it looks particularly close, that's because it is. SunTrust is significantly more intimate than Turner Field and likely every seat will have a better view than its counterpart over at Turner.
From there we move up to the terrace level, which again is significantly closer than the old terrace level.
This is the view from the main road leading into the stadium. Back right of the picture you'll see one of the parking decks in construction. Bottom left of the picture is rumored to somewhere you can watch some of the games outside.
Finally, the last part of our tour is the view from the Chop House. First off, it is over twice the size of the original Chop House. Second, there will be an entrance from outside the stadium directly into the Chop House. Third, again, it feels extremely close to the actual field of play. There will also be a patio area, and lounge area.
My take: The new stadium looks to cater to all types of fan. For those who just want to watch the game - the seats are much closer to the field and you get a great view no matter where you sit which helps create a much more intimate feel. For those who like more of the party aspect of sporting events, there will be plenty of places to enjoy a beverage and talk with your friends. With better food, better views, and more to do in the surrounding area, SunTrust Park does a good job of catering to all types of fans.