Atlanta Braves Case Study

Hometown fans and visitors to Atlanta enjoy taking in a Braves baseball game at Turner Field in downtown Atlanta. But the National League ball club is not the only draw. The home of the Braves is an attraction in its own right. The Atlanta landmark has the look of an older ball park, but is equipped with state of the art technology and conveniences.

The Braves had previously played in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium since 1966. By the mid 1990s the team wanted a newer, more modern stadium, and Atlanta needed a stadium that would be suitable as an Olympic venue for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. The team and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games combined their efforts to build a new facility across the street from the old stadium. The new Centennial Olympic Stadium, built with private financing for the Olympics, was designed to host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the Olympic Track and Field Events. It had some temporary bleachers at one end that were taken down after the Olympics were over. The new stadium was then completed for the Braves. Turner Field opened on March 29, 1997. The old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was torn down, and the site is now the parking lot for Turner Field.

Tours take approximately one hour and feature visits to the broadcast booth, the club house, the dugouts, the press box, and the Braves Hall of Fame. Turner Field seats 49,000 fans on three levels. The upper level seats have a view of the Atlanta skyline. The outer plaza, called Monument Grove, contains statues of baseball greats Hank Aaron, Phil Neikro, and Ty Cobb. The Chop House Restaurant is located in the main entry plaza. The Coke Skyfield, on the upper level overlooking left field, has games for kids and a mister area for fans to cool off on hot days at the ballpark. The Club House Store features a wide variety of official Atlanta Braves