|
|||
"Welcome to Atlanta, where it rains money."
So said an Atlanta cabdriver to a group visiting from St. Louis when the Cardinals made their first trip to Atlanta in 1997.
And at least on 81 summer days and nights each year, there appears to be a 100% chance of greenback precipitation at Turner Field, the new home of the Atlanta Braves.
Turner Field (dubbed "The Ted") is Atlanta's entry in baseball's effort to rid itself of cookie-cutter ballparks.
Constructed in time to serve as the main track-and-field venue for Atlanta's recent Summer Olympics, Turner Field (which was reconfigured for use as a baseball-only facility at the conclusion of the Games) is located on a four-sided piece of property just to the south of...and across the street from...the now-vacant Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.
The street that separates Turner Field from Fulton County Stadium?
Hank Aaron Drive.
---
While the eventual plan is to raze Fulton County Stadium in order to make way for the primary close-in parking site for Braves games, the former home of the Braves and the Falcons (which in its earlier days was known as "The Launching Pad") is still standing.
In fact, Fulton County Stadium is clearly visible (along with the Olympic Flame and the five interlocking rings) as you look north from inside Turner's northeast corner.
But this story isn't about a thirty-year-old multipurpose stadium that's not long for this world.
Rather, the subject at hand is Turner Field--Atlanta's vision of 21st century baseball and 21st century baseball fields.
And there are several aspects of spectating at Turner Field that encourage visitors to consider that future.
Since the vast majority of those visiting Turner Field arrive in their own cars and park in areas immediately north of the ballpark, most of the paying customers enter by way of Turner's northeast and northwest gates.
It is at those gates that visitors to Turner get their first hint that 21st century baseball is a different animal from what many remember as baseball's glory days in the 1950's--in the form of a sign that contains white words on a blue background:
And if you think the words on those signs are meaningless...think again.
Aside from an apparent lack of metal detectors, the security presence at Turner Field seems as obvious as it does at most airports.
For example, security guards at Turner's media entrance inspect all of the "carry-on bags" of those who pass through those gates...in order to make sure that the working press aren't packing more power than a Powerbook laptop computer, or a real cannon instead of a Canon camera.
Apparently, though, those who make security decisions at Turner Field have never heard of Alex Johnson, the former Cardinal who, while playing for the California Angels, created a bit of a stir when a loaded handgun was allegedly found in his locker.
That's because, according to a security officer assigned to the media gate, the players' belongings are not searched when they enter Turner Field.
Turner Field's northeast gate lies an estimated 50 yards behind the center-field scoreboard.
That "The Ted's" northeast gate appears to be the facility's largest makes sense to the Braves accountants, because immediately after passing through the northeast gate's turnstiles, ticket-holding Braves fans set foot on an expansive triangular-shaped patio that has the ambience of an old-fashioned carnival, the excitement of a casino, and the beauty and cleanliness of a Disney World attraction.
Upon reflection, the entire area behind the centerfield scoreboard looks like a movie set (or Disney's version of a movie set).
Of course, part of the seductiveness of Disney World involves Disney chairman Michael Eisner's aim to make Disney guests feel compelled to empty their wallets while on the premises.
Turner Field is like Disney in that regard.
A visitor standing just inside Turner's northeast gate sees a patio whose boundaries are defined by three impressively disguised collections of cash registers.
On the left and right are two sets of tastefully designed foodcourt-like collections of walk-up shops...yellow-and-white awning-covered souvenir and munchie shops that fan out in the general direction of the right and left field grandstands.
Straight ahead and under the backside of the center-field scoreboard is an upscale souvenir shop (The Braves Clubhouse Store).
The total atmosphere of the patio area behind the center-field scoreboard is breathtaking...and dominating the scene is the back of that very scoreboard, which includes a high-tech big-screen TV.
Braves fans with tickets can begin their Turner Field experience a full three-and-half hours prior to the Braves games, since those northeast gates open at that time. Cha-ching!
During a Clubhouse Store visit a full hour before the first pitch of a Cardinals-Braves game, two cashiers were forced to suspend their normal duties in order to request a cash pickup...because their registers were literally overflowing with $20.00 bills.
That's 21st century-style major league baseball, folks: big league revenues flowing into the tills before a single pitch is thrown!
Evidently, more than a few Braves fans let that Turner Field ambience and excitement get the best of them and their currency supply, though, because the lines at Turner Field cash machines never seemed short...
But perhaps Turner Field's most ingenious attraction is referred to as the Budweiser Pavilion. In effect, the Bud Pavilion recreates, inside the confines of Turner Field, the baseball-centered picnic-like atmosphere that pervades the apartment rooftops just across the streets from Chicago's Wrigley Field.
Located on the rightfield side of the scoreboard, the Budweiser Pavilion adds to the overall family-friendly feel of Turner Field.
According to employees working at the Pavilion, the picnic tables beneath the Pavilion's 14 yellow umbrellas are usually chock-full of customers long before that day's first pitch is thrown.
The rear of the Pavilion (underneath the Budweiser sign) is essentially a TV-filled sportsbar without the stools. Turner Field's own tasty micro-brew, Tomahawk Amber Ale, is among the many beverages available at the Budweiser Pavilion...and is poured by at least one very friendly bartender.
With an ample supply of adult beverages nearby, perhaps it isn't surprising that many of the customers seated at the nearby picnic tables are well-dressed parents in possession of stroller-bound infants and nacho-inhaling grade schoolers.
So, baseball aside, there appears to be something for everyone at Atlanta's Turner Field.
As for the game on the field...the '97 Braves are once again the class of the National League.
 |
  |
Which gives Turner Field's partisan fans, as well as all visiting players and managers, plenty of reason to keep their eyes on the playing surface.
It is a certainty that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will be watching the Braves very carefully next week when his Cardinals travel to Turner Field for a two-game series.
Especially in light of the May debacle in which the Braves took four straight games from the Cardinals.
To say nothing of last fall's loss to the Braves in the NLCS.
|
||||||||||
