Review of SunTrust Park: New home of the Atlanta Braves
To me, baseball is an art. Each of the 30 major league teams have a home field, which I feel, gives each team a different charisma and uniqueness. For several years, I have been on a quest to visit all 30 parks. Then the Braves built a new stadium. Back to Atlanta I go.
Before I share the ins and outs of SunTrust Park I want to preface this by saying Turner Field has a special place in my heart. It was where I attended my first MLB game, my first time watching the Yankees in person and where I got to watch my papaw live out his wish to see a major league game live (and John Smoltz pitch). Here is my review:
PRICE
The price of tickets was reasonable, especially for a new park. For a Tuesday night game against the Mets tickets were as low as $7. For a Wednesday day game, tickets were not much higher. I sat in section 113 (check map) for $50 a ticket.
TIP: the normal price was $63 a ticket but with a AAA card prices were cheaper for the section we chose.
FOOD
Can you go to a ballpark without eating ballpark food? Of course the price of food was ballpark priced but again reasonable for a new stadium. SunTrust has several food options from a Waffle House, Chick-Fil-A, healthy market (with gluten-free hot dogs), Tacos and Mayfield Ice Cream. Most are ballpark standards unlike some stadiums where sushi, edible cookie dough or chicken and waffles are options.
TIP: supposedly you can bring outside food in the stadium as long as it is in a clear gallon size bag
OUTSIDE THE STADIM
The Braves have added a little pre-game fun to the mix. An area that is called “The Battery” has a women’s clothing store, chocolate shop, several bars and even a Goldberg’s bagel that was hopping before the game started. If you want to hang before the game this was a cool area. It seemed to be modeled after Camden Yards.
Like most stadiums, there is a kid’s area, a “memorial park” of history and a team store inside the stadium.
CONCLUSION
The park is new, and like anything new there is a lot of shine and the newness feel. However, there was nothing GREAT about the stadium. I have seen older stadiums that I was much more impressed by. Turner Field had statues outside of Hank Aaron, Phil Neikro and Ty Cobb that were cool to see. None of the statues had been moved. The memorial park was like a serenity garden and no “history” feel to it. I was more impressed with the outside of the stadium than anything in it. It was nice, don’t get me wrong, but almost too nice for baseball.
