SunTrust Park & The Battery Atlanta

Katina Writes
Sep 3, 2018 · 5 min read

Cobb County’s Diamond in the Rough

*originally published June 2017 on katinawrites.com

Photo by Thomas Cizauskas

SunTrust Park, a state-of-the-art superstructure that combines the best features from ballparks across the country with world-class amenities, isn’t just the new home of the Atlanta Braves, it is a jewel in Cobb County, Georgia.

Despite the controversy surrounding the new home of the Atlanta Braves, SunTrust Park emerged like a diamond in the rough; studied from different angles, one can appreciate its beauty, complexity, and long-term value to the community. Included in the deal was a complementary mixed-use development for all to enjoy; a live, work, and play sanctum known as The Battery Atlanta. Together, these two venues generate a constant flow of activity with unique attractions for visitors to revel in year-round.

The new stadium raises the bar on what it means to go to a ball game.Terry McGuirk, Chairman and CEO of the Atlanta Braves, made it clear that the franchise paid close attention to what fans experienced at previous games. Although McGuirk expressed a tremendous amount of gratitude for the time spent at Turner Field, he also mentioned that surveys showed that fans disliked the traffic getting there, the hassle of parking, and the lack of pre and postgame activities near the stadium. “We were in an area that didn’t support all that [fan amenities], and we’ve remedied that, even beyond our greatest expectation,” McGuirk stated.

How exactly did they make things better?

The Atlanta Braves executive team focused on relieving the three most salient pain points for fans, beginning with the issue of traffic. They partnered with Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic navigation application, and also with Uber, to take the sting out of traveling to and from the stadium. By purchasing parking and game tickets ahead of time, fans can plug their parking info into Waze and get efficient route navigation, right up to their particular parking deck. In addition to using apps and transportation services to choreograph arrivals and departures, The Battery Atlanta has a long list of amenities incentivizing visitors to arrive early and unwind or hang out with friends during a postgame get-together. With so many opportunities to socialize and relax, the flow of people coming in and out of the park ends up being staggered, potentially alleviating bottlenecks and helping to smooth out traffic.

The second pain point to get a dose of relief pertains to seating. SunTrust Park offers 4,000 premium seats; a significant step up from the 400 available at Turner Field. The park also has roughly 8,500 fewer seats than it’s previous location which translates to fans being closer to the action. Already, local news outlets have worn out the phrase, “There’s not a bad seat in the house,” to describe the improved line of sight from various vantage points in the park, and similar sentiments echoed across the web in the form of reviews left by fans who attended the opening game.

Terry McGuirk / Photo by Monica Nwaigwe

The final point of friction for fans was the lack of amenities, and in addressing this concern, pardon the pun, the executives have knocked it out of the park! The list of in-stadium comforts is much too long to detail, but to mention a few, SunTrust Park has:

  • Seating with all-you-can-eat food service for groups of 20 or more people.
  • Six party suites that host anywhere from 20–25 people, and larger suites that can accommodate as many as 250 people.
  • Three hospitality clubs; SunTrust Club, Delta Sky 360° Club, and the Infiniti Club.
  • Monument Garden, which memorializes the history of the team and honors its most accomplished athletes.
  • The Xfinity Rooftop which is a combination of two hospitality spaces that can accommodate up to 300 people when combined. Foosball and augmented reality are part of the fun of hanging out on The Rooftop, and beyond that, it offers views of both right field and The Battery Atlanta.

Speaking of The Battery, even the harshest critics couldn’t help but praise it. From award-winning restaurants to an open plaza which will be the site for various outdoor events, The Battery will have it all. Large companies like Comcast, Georgia Power, and Innovation Lab have made The Battery their new home, as well as Spaces, the co-working environment for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. The luxurious Omni Hotel is also available for work and play. It has over 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space, as well as 264 guest rooms and 28 suites for local visitors wanting a “staycation” at The Battery.

A short walk from the businesses, restaurants, and retail shops is the residential sector of The Battery. It is made up of the three buildings; Parkside, Residences, and Flats, and offers one, two, and three-bedroom floor plans. Most of the plans (62% to be exact) are one-bedroom apartments. The majority of the remainder are two-bedroom apartments, although there are a few three-bedrooms as well. Pre-leasing has begun, and over 125 units are under contract, sight unseen.

Jeremy Strife / Photo by Monica Nwaigwe

“We are having a lot of millennials and recent college grad students coming with roommates,” explained Jeremy Strife, vice president of Braves Development, and general manager of The Battery Atlanta. “And then we have a lot of empty nesters as well that don’t want the daily upkeep of a larger format home.” By the time these future residents move in, they will enjoy the organic grocer across the street, Punch Bowl Social after work, live shows at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theater, and a spectacular view of 4th of July fireworks.

By all accounts, it seems safe to say that SunTrust Park & The Battery Atlanta are true gems in Cobb County.

Katina Writes

Written by

French Canadian freelance writer. Interested in #literature #lifestyle #culture #indiepublishing #shortstories #flashfiction and #literarytranslation

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