Truist Park
Truist Park is a baseball stadium in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, in Cobb County, Georgia. Opened in 2017, it is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves. The ballpark was originally named SunTrust Park after SunTrust Bank and was renamed Truist Park in 2020 following the bank’s merger that created Truist Financial.
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.
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 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 Truist Park. 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 estimated that capital maintenance costs at Truist Park would be significantly less expensive than the 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 the construction for Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons.
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 was 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." 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 announced a private shuttle service that serves managed parking lots and key points of interest in metro Atlanta. 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 Truist park is over from the nearest train station, the Braves use a "circulator" bus system to shuttle fans to and from the stadium.
The Battery Atlanta
On November 20, 2013, the Braves unveiled plans to build a $400 million entertainment district to 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 stadium is built into a sloped, rocky landscape, allowing fans to enter from a middle level and descend to their seats. Due to the limited amount of space available on the site, the ballpark was designed with a more vertical layout than typical Major League Baseball stadiums. As a result, spectators are positioned closer to the field compared to the setup at Turner Field. The farthest seat in the upper deck is situated nearer to the field than the corresponding seat in the Braves’ former home. A defining feature of the ballpark's design is its extensive use of brick, which reflects masonry patterns commonly seen in the Southeastern United States. Braves executive vice president of sales and marketing, Derek Schiller, described the exterior as having a sense of "timelessness". In addition to brick, the Braves incorporated pre-cast stone into the design. Schiller noted that this material creates the appearance of being "custom hand-laid" and is prominently featured at the stadium's entryways. He further explained that elements such as porches, canopies, varied angles, and trellises were intentionally integrated into the masonry, not only to provide shade but also to enhance the architectural warmth and scale of the structure.
Earl Santee, managing director of Populous, emphasized the importance of collaboration with the project's master planners. He stated that his team played a significant role in ensuring the ballpark seamlessly integrated with the surrounding development, which he considered crucial to the project's success. According to Santee, 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 started in June 2014, 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, and the third belongs to Atlanta Gas Light Company. The project was completed in early November 2014.
In November 2014, workers started drilling the holes for the pylons around the outside perimeter of the stadium's footprint. Phase one of construction for both the stadium and mixed-use development began in November 2014 and included infrastructure for the site, such as sewer, water and electrical systems. The retention walls for the underground service level of the stadium were also built. The underground level has a few hundred parking spaces for players, team doctors, clubhouse staff and management staff. By May 2015, crews had installed all the caissons to stabilize the foundation. With the caissons complete, the crews began to pour concrete for the decks.
On August 27, 2015, the Atlanta Braves held a ceremony for the first brick laid of 775,000 bricks that made up the main exterior at Truist Park. On hand for the ceremony were dignitaries from the Braves, Cobb County government, and ballpark sponsors. The first brick was laid by Eutis Morris, 83, who laid the first concrete block at Fulton County Stadium and placed the first and last bricks at Olympic Stadium, which later became Turner Field. Also laying bricks were former Atlanta Braves player Hank Aaron and the team's first baseman at the time Freddie Freeman. The team also sealed two time capsules. The capsules included a video of the ballpark ground breaking; parts of the Big Chicken; a 1948 World Series program; dirt from both older stadiums; a baseball signed by the 1995 championship team; and recordings from team broadcasters.
In June 2016, construction started on a pedestrian bridge to connect SunTrust Park with the Cobb Galleria. The bridge spans Interstate 285. To fund construction, Cobb county used $5 million given by the Cumberland Community Improvement District, about $4.5 million in federal grants, $380,000 from the Atlanta Braves and about $159,000 from a special taxing district in Cumberland created to help fund the new Braves stadium's construction.
In July 2016, the installation of the seats for the new ballpark started. Also, the installation of hundreds of LED lights were installed along the edge of the ballpark's canopy from the right-field foul pole to home plate. Additionally, a large, light-up tomahawk was installed. Meanwhile, the metal canopy that covers about 60 percent of these seats was completed. In August 2016, the canopy, lights and seating bowl were completed and the last crane remaining on the field area was removed.
By January 2017, the majority of the ballpark’s exterior construction had been completed. After the Braves wrapped up their 2016 season, the team began the process of vacating Turner Field, temporarily placing equipment in a warehouse. In December of that year, staff started transferring office furnishings and equipment to the new stadium, and on December 19, employees officially began settling into their new workspaces. Around the same time, progress on the playing field advanced, with installation of drainage and irrigation systems followed by layers of gravel, sand, and soil. The formation of the pitcher’s mound, infield, and warning track also took place in December, and the final layer of topsoil for the turf was added in January.
The Braves received the certificate of occupancy for the entire ballpark on February 24, 2017. With seats, video boards and most other elements already installed, the sod was one of the last missing pieces of the new ballpark. Workers began the installation of of sod on March 4, 2017, a task that took two to three days to complete.