On a damn-near perfect Sunday afternoon I got my first look at the new home of the Braves, SunTrust Park in Cobb County.
The game itself was about what you’d expect. Our pitcher was 42-year-old knuckleballer, who fell behind 0-4 early. Our “next big thing” shortstop kept striking out and it was up to Freddie Freeman to singlehandedly get us back in it.
In extra innings the Braves, being the Braves, stranded runners in scoring position twice before losing by two.
The drive in to the park was easy enough, and there seemed to be plenty of parking. We did go about an hour and half before the first patch so we could explore the new restaurants and shops, grab a bite to eat and a cold beer.
But every restaurant – and there are several from Fox Bros. BBQ to Yard House – was an hour to an hour and half wait. We walked around and found that maybe half of the retail was complete. As we got closer to 41, the store fronts were boarded up with “coming soon” signs in the windows.
We bailed on that plan and went to our seats early. Inside, the concession lines were long and gummed up the concourses, making it a slog to get to our seats.
It is a smaller park. The first home run went maybe 360 feet – just over the left field wall. Right field is 325 feet away from home plate. And there are three random trees in straightaway center behind the wall with no explanation. I think I saw a water feature out there which didn’t quite seem to be working.
The area around the park is a huge improvement over The Ted, even if it’s not quite there yet. I wish we had been able to create something similar around the old stadium, but after four decades, it wasn’t going to happen.
Cobb County lured the Braves with a $400 million investment from the taxpayers, so thank you for that. To be fair, we, as Atlanta taxpayers, forked over a hell of a lot more for the billion dollar robosphincter on Northside Parkway. Apparently we made our choice, and it was professional football (and soccer.)
Atlanta’s major league baseball team had been based in downtown Atlanta since 1966, first at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, then at Turner Field, aka The Ted.
ATKII 