Turner Field
Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics, it was converted into a baseball stadium to serve as the new home of the team. The Braves moved less than one block from Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, which served as their home field for 31 seasons from 1966 to 1996.
The Ted | |
Turner Field in 2013 | |
| Former names | Centennial Olympic Stadium (1996) |
|---|---|
| Address | 755 Hank Aaron Drive |
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 33°44′7″N 84°23′22″W |
| Public transit | Hank Aaron Drive @ Ralph D Abernathy Boulevard |
| Owner | Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority |
| Operator | Atlanta National League Baseball Club Inc. |
| Capacity | 49,586 |
| Record attendance | 54,357 (2003-10-05 vs Chicago Cubs) |
| Field size | Left Field – 335 ft (102 m) Left-Center – 380 ft (116 m) Center Field – 400 ft (122 m) Right-Center – 390 ft (119 m) Right Field – 330 ft (100.5 m) Backstop – 43 ft (13 m) |
| Surface | Infield: Seashore Paspalum Outfield: Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | July 10, 1993 (as Centennial Olympic Stadium) |
| Opened | March 29, 1997 |
| Renovated | 2017 (reconstructed as Center Parc Stadium) |
| Closed | October 2, 2016 |
| Construction cost | US$209 Million ($390 million in 2022 dollars) |
| Architect | Atlanta Stadium Design Team (a joint venture of Heery International, Inc., Rosser International, Inc., Williams-Russell and Johnson, Inc. and Ellerbe Becket, Inc.) |
| Project manager | Barton Malow |
| Structural engineer | Thornton Tomasetti |
| General contractor | Atlanta Stadium Constructors (a joint venture of Beers Construction Co., HJ Russell Construction Co. and CD Moody Construction Co.) |
| Tenants | |
| Atlanta Braves (MLB) (1997–2016) | |
Opening during the Braves' "division dominance" years, Turner Field hosted the NLDS a total of 11 times (1997–2005, 2010, 2013), the NLCS four times (1997–1999, 2001), one World Series (1999), one NL Wild Card Game (2012, the first in baseball history), and the 2000 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The Braves played the final game at Turner Field on October 2, 2016, a 1–0 win over the Detroit Tigers. The franchise allowed its lease on the facility to expire at the end of the calendar year. In 2017, the team moved to the newly constructed SunTrust Park (now called Truist Park), located in nearby Cobb County.
The stadium has been reconfigured for the second time, redesigned for college football in 2017 as Center Parc Stadium for Georgia State University. Architecture firm Heery was responsible for both stadium conversions. The stadium is also the second former Braves ballpark to be converted to a college football stadium, the first being Braves Field when it was renovated into Nickerson Field in 1955.