Truist Park

Truist Park (originally SunTrust Park) is a baseball stadium in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, in Cobb County, Georgia. Opened in 2017, it is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves.

The stadium was constructed in a public–private partnership with a project budget of $622 million. Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority issued up to $397 million in bonds for the project. The county raised an additional $14 million from transportation taxes and $10 million cash from businesses in the Cumberland Community Improvement District. The Braves contributed the remaining money for the park and The Battery Atlanta. In March 2015, a security filing from Braves owners Liberty Media allotted $672 million for Truist Park and $452 million for The Battery Atlanta, which adds up to a total cost of above $1.1 billion. The Braves will spend $181 million over 30 years to help pay off the county's bonds on the project.

The Braves hosted a soft opening for season ticket holders on March 31, 2017, in a preseason game against the New York Yankees. The first regular season game at the park was held on April 14, 2017, against the San Diego Padres.

SunTrust Banks originally bought naming rights to the stadium in 2014. After a merger in 2020, SunTrust became Truist Financial and the ballpark was renamed.

History

Leaving Turner Field

On November 11, 2013, the Braves announced that the franchise would leave Turner Field for a new park after the 2016 season. Turner Field had been the home of the Braves since the 1997 season. It was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium for the 1996 Summer Olympics, but was designed from the ground up to be converted into a baseball-only stadium after the Olympics ended—even though this eliminated the possibility of its use for other events such as track and field. The stadium was owned by the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority (AFCRA) and leased to the Braves for twenty years. The Braves had full control over the ballpark's operations. Turner Field was a relatively new facility, younger than 13 of the other 29 major league stadiums, but there were numerous issues that led the Braves to seek a new ballpark.

According to vice chairman John Schuerholz, Turner Field needed $350 million in renovations—$150 million for structural upkeep and $200 million to improve the fan experience. Braves executive vice president Mike Plant has stated that capital maintenance would be much less at the new stadium. While Turner Field was designed from the ground up with the Braves in mind, Plant said that it would require higher capital maintenance costs because it was value-engineered for the 1996 Summer Olympics. This has led to higher capital maintenance costs in the long run. Plant estimates that capital maintenance costs at the new stadium will be no more than $80 million after 30 years – less than the $150 million in capital maintenance needed for Turner Field after 17 years.

Braves executives said that fans were unwilling to come to games in Turner Field's later years due to metro Atlanta's infamous traffic congestion. They also claimed that parking around the stadium is inadequate; Turner Field was under-served by about 5,000 parking spaces. In addition, Plant has noted the downtown location "doesn't match up with where the majority of our fans come from." Plant said that while the Braves operated Turner Field, they had no control over the commercial development around the stadium. Other baseball stadiums built in recent years have been accompanied by nearby shopping and entertainment.

According to Plant, the Braves entered talks with the recreational authority to extend the team's original lease in 2013, but those talks broke down. Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed said the city could not afford to support the kind of renovations the Braves desired, especially while already funding a new stadium for the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons (what became Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

Planning

In summer 2013, the Braves and the Cobb County Commission Chairman Tim Lee made a short list of possible locations in Cobb County. The location chosen for the park is next to the highway interchange between Interstate 75 and Interstate 285. The Braves claim the location is "near the geographic center of the Braves' fan base." Braves officials announced that the park's capacity would be 41,149, which is approximately 8,000 fewer than Turner Field.

In January 2017, the Braves announced that the new park would have more than 11,000 parking spaces owned or leased by the organization for game day. This is 2,500 more spaces than were available at Turner Field. The Braves further unveiled plans to launch a private shuttle service that will serve managed parking lots and key points of interest in metro Atlanta. The Braves also announced that Waze, the world's largest community-based traffic and navigation app, will collaborate with the Braves and Cobb to share data and real-time updates with fans and commuters. Truist Park features a designated ride sharing service drop-off/pick-up zone on Windy Ridge Parkway, adjacent to the ballpark.

In order to reduce traffic congestion, the Braves announced that games played Monday through Thursday would start at 7:30 pm. Games at Turner Field started at 7 pm on those days. There are approximately 30,000 parking spaces within of the stadium.

The baseball stadium occupies of a lot, with the remainder of the space devoted to parking, green space, and mixed-use development. Although the new stadium will be over from the nearest train station, the Braves use a "circulator" bus system to shuttle fans to and from the stadium.

On July 8, 2015, the Braves announced an agreement for Atlanta-based Gas South to remain the official natural gas partner at Truist Park. Under the agreement, Gas South will receive prominent signage in the new ballpark, including a long "Bring the Heat" LED board in left field that will display pitching statistics and fan-friendly messaging throughout the game.

The Battery Atlanta

On November 20, 2013, the Braves unveiled plans to build a $400 million entertainment district that will surround the ballpark. The complex, called The Battery Atlanta, contains a mix of shops, dining, living and workspace in the area surrounding the ballpark. It opened in stages starting in 2017.

Design

The Braves chose Populous to design the new ballpark. Populous has designed 19 of the 30 Major League stadiums currently in use including Marlins Park, Target Field, and Yankee Stadium. The Braves picked Populous over HKS, Inc. who served as a consultant for the Braves prior to the selection of Populous.

On May 14, 2014, the Braves released the first renderings of the new stadium. The ballpark has a southeast orientation. Two factors ended up determining the placement of the park: the topography of the land and the location of gas lines on the property. Before the ballpark was built a comprehensive sun study was conducted by the team and designers that determined the orientation would not be an issue. The ballpark cuts back into a rocky hill, where fans will enter at midlevel and then walk down. The relatively tight site led to a design that's higher than the average MLB ballpark, with fans closer to the action than they were at Turner Field. In fact, the last seat in the upper deck is closer than what it was at Turner.

A key design element is the use of brick. The masonry resembles patterns popular in the Southeast. Braves executive vice president of sales and marketing Derek Schiller says the masonry gives the ballpark's exterior a look of "timelessness." In addition, the Braves decided to use pre-cast stone. Schiller said "It looks custom hand-laid. It's at all of the entryways. It brings the whole scale of the brick way down." According to Schiller, by designing breaks in the masonry like porches, canopies, varying angles and trellises, "it not only creates shade, it also warms the architecture and gives it a different scale."

Earl Santee, Managing Director of Populous, said his team "was very involved with the master planners of the development. The integration of this building (the ballpark) with those other buildings was really crucial to the success of the project." The result was "a fully integrated experience that's never been seen in baseball before."

Construction

On April 16, 2014, Atlanta Braves and Cobb County officials outlined the timetable for the new stadium's construction. Site clearing was scheduled to begin July 15, 2014 and complete by October 13, 2014. However, site clearing started ahead of schedule after the Cobb County commission vote on May 27, 2014. The Atlanta Braves held a formal groundbreaking ceremony on September 16. The ceremony took place at the site near the northwest intersection of Interstates 75 and 285.

In order to start construction three natural gas lines that ran under the property had to be moved. The high cost of moving the gas lines is one of the key reasons the land had not been developed. The cost to move the lines was $14 million. The pipelines were moved to the perimeter. Two of the lines, which run about underground, are owned by Colonial Pipeline Company

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