Braves ditching The Ted for suburbs

Went to my first game at SunTrust today.

For all the hand-wringing about the traffic nightmare, we were in our car driving south on I-285 20 minutes after the final out was recorded (this was after a 10-minute walk back to the car). And we were back at our hotel down near the airport 20 minutes after that.

I realize it was a Saturday afternoon game so there was little-to-no non-game traffic, but the attendance was 38,000. In a similar situation at Turner Field, you'd have been a half-hour just getting out of the parking lot.

Whoever designed the parking lot layout and game day traffic pattern gets a gold star from ol' Steak.

 

I've heard the traffic was pretty OK, too.
Never would have believed it, but there it is.

 

Recently attended my first game there as well. I had to begrudgingly admit it was a pretty cool stadium. I still think the overall feel of it is still that of just another stadium, but the amenities are much better than The Ted. The food and beer selection was great. The stuff just outside was very cool. The girlfriend was a big fan of the idea of spending a day shopping in The Battery and then going to a game. And there are plenty of places for me to drink while she shops.

Parking was weird. There are only two small lots where tailgating is allowed, and both are about a 10-15 minute walk to the stadium. This is a big change from the Ted. But I will say, getting out of there and getting home was a lot easier than I anticipated. Mine was also a Saturday game, so take that into account.

As someone who lives in the city, I still hate the location. But I think I've gone from "Fuck this stadium" to "Fine, it's a stadium."

 

I will be there for a couple games the first weekend of August. Anything in the park a must-see? Anything cool to look at around the outside?

 

There is one area in the lower section that has a short walk through the history of the franchise with a bunch of memorabilia from the years, kind of like a Monuments Park for the Braves. I was moving fast and about four beers deep, but that was pretty cool. I think I saw Sid Bream's jock strap in there somewhere.

Also, there is a Terrapin/Fox Brothers restaurant just outside the stadium. If you are looking for good local beer and local BBQ, those two are some of the best.

 

I hope like hell that was just an exhibition. You didn't even need a leftfielder! The shortstop could cover that.

 

The wisdom of building taxpayer subsidized stadiums is again demonstrated.

Cobb prepares plan to close parks in face of budget gap

 

But the food in the stadium is really good!

 

Impossible. New stadiums are supposed to be special job creators which are supposed to increase tax revenue to make them profitable for municipalities.