Photos below!
ALL STAR GAME: 2025 WORLD SERIES: 2021 (1 win, 0 losses)
BEEN THERE: I paid a brief visit in February 2021, walking through "The Battery" plaza beyond right field.
Even though the Braves' second home in Atlanta, Turner Field, was only two decades old, the owners decided to make a deal with Cobb County, and in 2014 announced their plans to relocate. The new ballpark, initially called "SunTrust Park," was completed in plenty of time for the 2017 season, but some of the transportation infrastructure remained uncompleted by Opening Day. The location was chosen based on where the greatest number of Braves fans live, in Cobb County on the northwest side of Atlanta. At eight miles distant from downtown, it is more remote than any of the contemporary "neoclassical" stadiums, other than Globe Life Field (in Arlington), home of the Rangers.
The field dimensions are quite similar to those of predecessor, Turner Field, except that the outfield walls are straight with clear angles, whereas at Turner Field they were mostly one broad curve. There is much less foul territory compared to Turner Field, and the position of the grandstand resembles those of Marlins Park (now called "Loan Depot Park") and PNC Park. Like most other newer ballparks, the playing field is about 20 feet below ground level, except on the southeast (left field) side where the street outside is much lower. Truist Park has four decks extending all the way around between the foul poles, the only other such stadiums being Miller Park (now called "American Family Field") and Globe Life Field (almost).
One feature that becomes immediately apparent is the large roof, which covers both upper decks, extending for about 15 feet in back. Apparently, many fans in "Hotlanta" complained about the lack of shade in Turner Field, which had a fairly small roof. (If only the architects who designed the Ballpark in Arlington (Globe Life Park) for the Rangers had learned that lesson from Arlington Stadium!) The fact that the roof is so high relative to the seats in the upper deck suggests that they were keeping open the option of adding several more rows to the top of the upper deck in the future, if needed. Those hypothetical seating areas would be partly obstructed by the roof support beams, however. The portions of the upper deck near the right and left field corners are uncovered, however. The second deck is larger than in most other baseball stadiums, while the lower deck is smaller; both features are characteristic of Yankee Stadium II. There are large table-seating areas in both left field and right field, where the new "Chop House" is located.
In sharp contrast to Turner Field, which was built in a neighborhood with hardly any places to eat or drink or spend the night, Truist Park was created explicitly as the hub of an entertainment mecca, with multiple restaurants and hotels. It was apparently built on top of a ravine, as the "Circle 75 Parkway SE" that passes beyond the left field scoreboard is much lower than the field itself. It is all part of a new high-rise retail/residential high-rise complex, aiming for the best of the urban and suburban lifestyles. "The Battery" is a row of restaurants extending to the southwest (see the "full view" diagram above), from Goldberg's Delicatessen to the Shake Shack on the far end. The whole complex aims to recreate the best of urban convenience and vitality, while being situated in the "safe" suburbs. But does it foster national unity?
The Braves struggled for much of the year in their new home, but led by slugger Freddie Freeman, they showed improvement toward the end, finishing in third place in the NL East Division. Since then, they have claimed first place honors for four straight seasons: 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. In January 2020, SunTrust Park was renamed "Truist Park," following the merger of SunTrust Bank and BB&T Bank which resulted in the creation of "Truist Bank." (See Stadium names chronology.) On April 2, 2021, in response to a restrictive voting law passed by the Georgia legislature, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the All Star Game would not be played at Truist Park that year, as had been previously planned. Atlanta (in the broader metropolitan sense) got a measure of revenge in the fall, as the Braves won the National League pennant for the first time since 1999 and, after beating the Houston Astros, won their first World Series title since 1995. In 2025 the "Midsummer Classic" was played at Truist Park at last.
SOURCES: MLB.com, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FAN TIP: Alex Peneton, Mike Zurawski
| The Clem Criteria: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field asymmetry |
Architectural design |
Seat proximity |
Location * | Aesthetics | Overall |
| 5 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 6.2 |
* See the Stadium locations page.
Visit Atlanta!
Just because the Braves got tired of playing near downtown Atlanta doesn't mean that you should avoid it. Rail travelers should be aware that the Amtrak station is on the north side of the city, so you'll need a taxi if you want to explore the state capitol downtown, or the historic sites where Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders once fought for social justice. In the suburbs, nature lovers can access the Chattahoochee River National Recreational Area less than two miles east of Truist Park. Ten miles north of there along I-75 is Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, for whom the first MLB Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis was named, and 15 miles east of downtown Atlanta along the highway to Athens (near the Love Shack, perhaps?) is the Stone Mountain Confederate Monument.
The north side of Atlanta, as seen from an Amtrak train. (June 11, 2023)
