Kevin D. Liles
Cobb, home of the Braves
2022 | FACTBOOK 81
By Hunter Riggall
hriggall@mdjonline.com
Atlanta is home to professional football,
basketball and soccer teams, but the
city’s most successful pro franchise is the
Atlanta Braves, which has called Cobb
home since 2017.
In 2017, the Braves packed up and
moved to Cumberland from its former
home, downtown Atlanta’s Turner Field
(now Center Parc Stadium). Originally
christened as Suntrust Park, the stadium
is now Truist Park, owing to the new
name of the eponymous bank.
Truist Park is adjacent to The Battery
Atlanta, a gleaming mixed-use development
near the corner of Interstates
75 and 285. Announced in 2013, Truist
took four years, 57,000 cubic yards of
cement, 602,000 bricks, 6,800 tons of
structural steel and 5,640 tons of reinforcing
steel to complete. The stadium
is now surrounded by new restaurants,
bars, offices and apartments.
The stadium can seat 41,000 fans, and
the 1.1 million-square foot complex includes
seven guest elevators and a 64- by
120-foot scoreboard.
Modern amenities abound at Truist,
where fans have more than baseball to
enjoy. A kids zone features a zip line, rock
climbing wall and carnival games.
For the sports history-inclined,
there’s a monument garden, centered
around a 9-foot statue of Braves legend
Hank Aaron, hitting his record-breaking
715th home run. Aaron died in
January 2021 at the age of 86. To honor
him, a giant No. 44 pattern will remain
on the outfield grass for the duration of
the 2021 season.
The garden also pays tribute to the 35
members of the Braves Hall of Fame,
such as longtime manager Bobby Cox,
former owner Ted Turner, pitchers Greg
Maddux and Tom Glavine and sluggers
Chipper Jones and Dale Murphy.
2020 saw a shortened 60-game season
for Major League Baseball. The Braves
Truist Park returned to 100% capacity this spring.
Special — Anthony Stalcup
Kimberly Campbell cheers for her son,
Cameron, and the other Lassiter players during
the Class AAAAAA state championship series
at Truist Park in May.
SPORTS
FACTBOX
Truist Park
Capacity: 41,000
Average attendance (2019): 32,777
Stadium cost: $672 million
Stadium opened: 2017
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