With a new ballpark and development envisioned for a rather small footprint in Cobb County, the Atlanta Braves and their design team are facing a huge issue: how to manage parking.
The new ballpark, set to open in 2017, is located at the intersection of I-75 and I-285 north of downtown Atlanta. That’s already a pretty busy area, especially at afternoon rush hour, and while the Braves say they don’t expect games to add significantly to the traffic already present, 10,000 cars heading to a SunTrust Park game will certainly have an impact. First, there’s the issue of where to put the cars, anticipating where they come from; there’s also the issue of how to get fans from those cars to the ballpark. One thing about Turner Field: there is usually some sort of decent parking within a fairly close walk.
Mike Plant, Braves executive vice president of business operations, discussed the challenges of parking and other ballpark issues with the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber at a recent meeting. He also discussed some of the things that would make the ballpark a significant upgrade from Turner Field — as well as some other potential ballpark idiocyncracies. From Reporter Newspapers:
The new stadium itself will be smaller than Turner Field, providing 41,000 seats to Turner Field’s 50,000, he said, but the Cobb stadium will offer many more premium seats. A new Chop House restaurant will be four floors and offer more seating. “The Chop House is one of the iconic parts of Turner Field,” he said. “We’ve never had enough space there. [The new Chop House will be] about 2 ½ times the size.”
The new stadium will differ in other ways from many major league venues, he said. It’ll face a different direction.
“It’ll be a different position than Turner Field, with the outfield facing southwest,” he said. “A left fielder might have a little bit of a challenge late in the day, but that’s what we pay them for.”
RELATED STORIES: New for 2017: SunTrust Park; Braves ballpark foes debate legal action; New Braves ballpark funding approved by Cobb County; Braves: Risk for new ballpark is all ours; New Atlanta Braves ballpark renderings posted; Four bidders emerge on new Braves ballpark construction project; Georgia State: We want Turner Field as football stadium; Developer emerges for new Braves ballpark project; Alliance protests Braves ballpark public funding; Advertising exec: Keep MLB at Turner Field once Braves depart; Populous lands Atlanta Braves ballpark design deal; Designing a new Atlanta Braves ballpark: hitting the road; Braves may ask for state aid on new ballpark; Ted Turner: Preserve Turner Field as green space; New Braves ballpark hits resistance from school district, Tea Party; Could new Braves ballpark be derailed by lawsuit?; New Braves ballpark hits $1B with additional of entertainment district; Gone too soon, or good riddance? Thoughts in Turner Field’s future demolition; Braves to pay $372M toward new ballpark, Cobb County $300M; Turner Field to be torn down in 2017; Braves to leave Turner Field, will build new Cobb County ballpark