Load the Bases! (Georgia A-Z pt. 6)

Remember yesterday when I said that Justin and I got to go see an Atlanta Braves game for free?

So! Great news!

That was this past Sunday.

AND

Turner Field was next on my Georgia A-Z list!

So let's talk about it!

Originally built as part of the city renovations for the 1996 summer olympic games, the stadium was converted into a baseball park to serve as the new home for the Atlanta baseball team, the Braves, who were moving less than one block away from their original stadium, the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium where games were held from 1966-1996. Turner Field stadium contains more than 5,000 seats, 64 luxury suites, and 3 party suites (according to Wikipedia). Shortly after the completion of the stadium, the city of Atlanta renamed the section of Capitol Avenue on which the stadium sits to Hank Aaron Drive giving it the street number 755, after Hank Aaron's home run total (because sometimes Atlanta and driving around it makes a lot of sense?).

While the stadium is younger than most Major League Baseball stadiums, "Braves executives have recently complained that Turner Field's downtown location restricts game attendance because of traffic into the city and the shortage of onsite parking" which is why a new stadium is being built in the northwest suburbs outside of Atlanta "near the geographic center of the Braves' fan base" (Wikipedia). The new stadium began construction in 2014 and will be finished in 2017. After the Braves team vacates Turner Field, something new will be built in it's place. Currently in talks, Georgia State University has expressed interest in buying the field as a new stadium for the school's football games and creating new residential, retail, and student housing for the school.

Justin and I bought tickets through StubHub to attend the Braves versus Mets on Sunday afternoon. Stubhub is a reselling platform for people who have bought tickets and are unable to go. I don't know too much about what happens if the ticket you are sold isn't legit, but a google search reveals that the company has pretty good ratings. Justin and I were recommend the service which is why we tried it. They don't just sell tickets to baseball games though. You can use them to find tickets to theatre productions and concerts too, among other events.

Having only been to the stadium three times in my entire life (once was on Sunday), I was excited about the chance to do something new but concerned that I would find a baseball game boring. Luckily, the more I attend baseball games, the more I understand what's going on. Justin made the trip even more exciting by buying funnel cake and bringing some delicious, delicious sour patch kids into the stadium. (Are you allowed to bring food in? I have no idea. It was one of those things he had in his pocket but forgot about until we got into the stadium. We enjoyed them though!) Drinks and food are quite a bit expensive inside the stadium with the funnel cake costing $7, beer costing $9, and water costing upwards of $5. There were a ton of food options including (unsurprisingly) Waffle House, Chick-Fil-A (except on Sundays), Batter Up! (where Justin got the funnel cake), pizza, hot dogs, King of Pops popsicles (expensive, delicious popsicles local to the area), and cotton candy among other (fancier and not) options. If you aren't too interested in food, you can also peruse the gift shop for Braves attire.

Despite the high cost of "extras" Justin and I enjoyed arriving to the stadium early and exploring most of the first and second floor and some of the fourth floor before going to our seats. What I learned from this experience is that the fourth floor can be a bit overwhelming if you are afraid of heights. The walking area is very limited and you should have good balance. The view of the game was fantastic if you get the right seats. Just don't look down until the game has started! :)

After the game, there is a MARTA bus you can take back to the metro station … or you can deal with the long walk to your car and horrific traffic conditions as you attempt to leave the jammed up parking lots. Your choice. :) (And your choice might be different depending on what games you go to see and what time of year it is. Riding MARTA with a bunch of hot, sweaty people crammed into one car that you have to fight to get into because of how little the metro runs on the weekends can be pretty comparatively unpleasant to sitting in traffic trying to get out of an expensive parking lot, in my opinion.)

While I'm not certain if I will have the opportunity to visit Turner Field again before it shuts down for good (given how infrequently I attend games), Justin and I had an enjoyable experience at Turner Field and a fun date day (that I got paid for! Hallelujah!). I highly recommend that parents with young children (say ages 2 or 3 and still in strollers) stay on the lower floors of the stadium. I also recommend arriving early. There is so much to do and see within the gates that it can be fun to just go exploring! Some days, the stadium hosts events for specific groups of people like families or cancer survivors. (On Friday nights, they have a firework display for families. This past Sunday they released a bunch of purple and white balloons in honor of cancer victims.) Going to a game, even if the Braves aren't playing a well-known team can be an experience to remember!

What has been your experience with going to baseball games? Are you a fan? Have you ever been to Atlanta's Turner Field or seen the Braves play?

To see some of my other Georgia A-Z posts click on the links below:

A-D • E-G • H-K • L-O • P-S

* The Braves lost 4-3 against the New York Mets when Justin and I went on Sunday. Unsurprising but sad. :(
** Participate in the A-Z blogging challenge with me! You know you want to! :)