FanPost

An Up Close View of SunTrust Park!

I am lucky enough to have a close friend who is an A-List member with the Atlanta Braves, and I was extra lucky that he decided to take me along to the A-List open house at SunTrust stadium this past weekend. I know that many of us at Talking Chop are chomping at the bit to check out the new stadium, or unfortunately live in another state, so I took a good bit of pictures to share with everyone here. Before you ask, the Braves said numerous times at the event that we were free to take pictures and post them where we please. You can view without worry.

Some general thoughts before I begin posting pictures:

  • It could be because everything is brand new, but man, this stadium is looking good! They still have some road paving and landscaping to do on the outside, but the grounds are already in good condition.
  • The Battery area is still under construction and I was unable to make it into that area. Sorry folks, I am not that A-List.
  • I entered from the 3rd base side, but I did walk over to the 1st base entrance and the juxtaposition of the two entrances is striking. The 1st base entrance is near the battery and the sight lines are well designed and manicured perfectly. Also, this entrance is a short walk from the bars and entertainment in The Battery. I have pictures of the 3rd base side and you can see this area for yourself. It is not as visually striking
  • Parking - I have some faith that parking will not be a nightmare. We got to park in the Delta Parking Deck which is right next to the stadium and has 5 or 6 levels. Granted, this parking deck will probably be in high demand and will most likely be full during game days, but other parking lots lined the majority of Circle 75. This parking deck had quick access to get back on 75/285 if you take a left out of the deck. Also, there is another parking deck close to the left field seats with several levels. Unfortunately, I never saw the "Uber Drop Off" area.
  • Traffic - This part of town is not prepared for the pain coming their way. There are still roads that need to be paved, and various construction closures. Also, there are few traffic lights, and those that exist still seem to operate as a MLB stadium didn't just pop-up nearby. As is customary with metro-Atlanta, I was gifted with sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for about 30 minutes as I tried to leave the stadium. See that sentence in the bullet-point above where I said "...if you take a left out of the deck"? Well, I took a right out of the deck. Never take a right out of the Delta Parking Deck. Like...ever. I eventually got frustrated, got in trouble with my wife for yelling and cussing, and then busted a U-Turn and made my way to Windy Hill and 75 within 5 minutes.

With that out of the way, let me take you on a tour.

Outside the Stadium

3rd Base Gate

3rd Base Gate

This is a view of the 3rd Base Gate as soon as you walk out of the Delta Parking Deck. The stadium is still new, so everything was in pristine condition. The handicap parking is off to the right behind what would be my right shoulder. This is where all of the festivities were set up this day and where the majority of people entered.

Phil Niekro Statue

Phil Niekro Statue

Here is a statue of Phil Niekro that they set up outside the 3rd base gate. I must admit, I got a little emotional thinking about meeting Phil as a kid and now looking at his statue. Also, I think it is cool that the Braves finally have another Knuckler on the team...even if this version is probably going to stink this year.

Inside the Stadium

Inside the 3rd Base Gate

Inside the 3rd Base Gate

Once you enter the gate, this is the view you are welcomed with. I must admit, the signage and directions are much better at SunTrust than Turner. Also, just take a minute and look at how close we are to the field at this point. I have sat in seats at Turner that were further away from the field than this. Honestly, every seat in this stadium is close to the action. To the left of this picture is a lot of vending and many of your "premium" concessions such as Chick-Fil-A. To your right is the new Braves Hall of Fame.

Hall of Fame 1

Braves Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame 2

Braves Hall of Fame

As I mentioned, it appears that the Braves have decided to remove all of their memorabilia out from behind a "paywall" and into the general walking area in the stadium, and holy crap...they knocked this out of the park! This section was blocked off so I was not able to walk up into the main attraction, but from what I could see they have various jersey's, bats and other cool memorabilia out for folks to see and touch. All very cool stuff and this is an area that I cannot wait to see up close.

*** Bonus - This stadium is finally giving Andruw Jones the love that he deserves. His image is the first one you see when you walk into the Hall of Fame from the 3rd Base Gate and Andruw is also mentioned in other parts of the park. I was a huge fan growing up and it is nice to see him finally get some attention.

Big A** Fans

Big A** Fans

I may be in the minority, but I was SUPER EXCITED about what you see in this picture. That my friends is a fan from the Big A** Fan company and they are all over the stadium. The air flow throughout the stadium was exceptional and the inside of the stadium felt about 10 degrees cooler than the 72 degree day. Let's hope those fans continue to work that hard during July and August!

Seating

Visitor Dugout

View from 100 Section Behind Visitor Dugout

Upper 100 Section

View from upper portion of 100 Section

SunTrust Seats

SunTrust Seats

300 Section

View from 300 Section

Outfield Seats

View from Outfield Seats

I will let these pictures speak for themselves, but you can see now what they mean when they say that "there is not a bad seat in the house". The Braves really did take extra care to ensure that you were close to the action and can see well.

I have more pictures, but this is already a really long post. To help keep this post shorter, I listed some final thoughts in a "Pros and Cons" format below:

Pros:

  • Every seat is angled to ensure that you are facing home plate. I thought this would be a gimmick, but it really does help!
  • They extended the safety netting all the way to the end of both dugouts. Very smart and reassuring!
  • There is lots of shade! I was here at the stadium from 12PM to about 2:30PM and there was still good shade throughout the park. The Braves spent some time ensuring that the new stadium is not a giant easy bake oven.
  • The Press boxes got moved back so that there is more seating behind home plate. Very nice touch!
  • The seats feel like they are a little bigger than Turner Field. I am a big dude (270lbs) and I fit in them with a little room to spare. Legroom was also nice, but at 5 feet 9 inches, I cannot speak to how you 6 foot folks will feel.
  • Getting to and from the various concessions is much easier. At Turner Field I always felt like you had to walk forever to get what you wanted. Only select concessions were open this day (all behind home plate), but I took notice of what was available and made a mental note of my favorites. No more having to walk 2 miles to get some chicken fingers. Also, prices have gone up, but nothing outrageous. I spent $9.00 on a chicken finger and curly fries basket.

Cons and/or Indifferent Comments:

  • You can tell that this stadium has around 11,000 less seats, and it feels like they removed most of them from the premium areas. As you can see from the pictures, there are less rows behind the dugouts.
  • You see all of those lighter green seats behind home plate that extend to the 200 section? Those are the new, and expensive, SunTrust section. Unlike at Turner where they probably had about 500 SunTrust seats directly behind home plate, I would say they have expanded that section by four (4) times and took up premium seating spots to do so. Sitting behind home plate is going to be tough for your average Joe with a family.
  • As nice as it is to have seats in the shade in the upper 100 section, it seems like the the upper levels may actually block your view of the ball during a high fly/pop-up. I will have to wait for an actual game to see if I am correct.
  • I am not sure how I feel about the skyline view behind the stadium. Between the numerous advertisements in left field, and two giant glass buildings in right field, there is not much skyline to look at. The field feels like it was dropped into the middle of a commercial area and is almost what I would imagine it is like to sit in Boston or the Cubs stadium. Or, this could just be me acting like a grumpy old(er) man who resents change....

If you made it this far, congratulations, you enjoy reading have made it through 1600+ words! I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and I will be trolling the comment section throughout this week to answer any questions I can. In the meantime...GO BRAVES!

This FanPost does not express the views or opinions of Battery Power.