The iconic Turner Field has come to a close with the last game on Oct. 2, 2016. After 19 years of Turner Field standing in Atlanta it has finished with victory win. Turner Field is made up of 49,586 seats, the home of a 40-man team that has around two million fans. The next chapter for the Braves is in motion. Has the next season is set to begin at the SunTrust Park in Cobb County. e
In memory of Turner Field, Hall of Fame member Chipper Jones, a legendary member of the Atlanta Braves with the record of 2,726 hits, 1,619 runs and 468 home-runs called Turner Field his home away from home, in an interview with Joe Mox. Jones was just one out of many members that shaped the Braves baseball team.
The new SunTrust Park will be more than just a baseball field, it will hold restaurants, shops and apartments. In addition there will be restaurants in the stadium, even one on field level. The Chophouse restaurant with be built behind outfield with a glass wall to give a view that the players see.
The Braves’ first game at SunTrust Park in 2017 will be a preseason game against the New York Yankees on March 31, while the first regular season game is scheduled for April 14 against the San Diego Padres.
According to the Braves’ website, the SunTrust Park will be the perfect marriage of classic ballpark feel, modern amenities and southern hospitality, creating a fan experience unlike any other. An intimate setting of 41,000 seats (20 percent smaller than Turner Field) will be designed to maximize sight lines, making every seat feel like the “best in the house.”
Sophomore Luke Schiller says, “Having my dad work on the board of the new park, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the park being built. I’m very excited for SunTrust Park, I think it will be a great edition to Atlanta and will make people want to come to the games. I think it is better than Turner Field in many ways, one being it is in a way more convenient area. It is also better because you don’t have to just come to the game and then leave. There is a new Avalon type of feel next to the stadium where you can hang out before and after the game. You also can just go there without actually going for the game.”
Junior Stewart Stamper says, “I am excited for it, however I don’t understand why we needed a new stadium. I loved everything about Turner Field”. Unlike Schiller, Stamper is not has excited for the new SunTrust Park, “I don’t think it will be better than Turner Field because there are so many memories and the atmosphere at turner field I feel like will be better”.
As the chapter closes on Turner Field, Braves fans look forward to the new SunTrust Park.
