Overall Score:   89.2 out of 100

 

We arrived at SunTrust Park on Friday August 30th, 2019 around 5:00pm for a 7:20pm start vs. the White Sox. Before the game we walked around The Battery in Atlanta outside the park. There was a lot of places to eat, family activities, and shop until 5:50pm when the gates opened. After the game the fan attendance at the game was 39,097 out of 41,500 seats. Honestly, after tonight this is both Tom and I's favorite field we have been to yet. 

 

Aesthetic:  9.1

Driving up to the exit for SunTrust Park you could see the big modernesque stadium ahead. You can tell the Braves put lots of thought and effort into area surrounding the park creating a miniature city around their new home. The stadium keeps the old school ballpark feel while blending all the amenities that one would hope to have in a stadium. Green seats throughout the stadium. Home Depot, Delta Airlines, Comcast, Xfinity, Racetrac, and Waffle House all had a visible presence with their advertising. We appreciated that these advertisements fit into the feel of the park and were not aggressive in your face billboards. For example there was a big Chick-fil-a cow statue in right-center-field which is just as effective in our opinion and adds to the character of the park. There were also a lot of really cool lighting effects throughout the game that added to the ambiance of the field.

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Atmosphere: 9.4

We were quite surprised with how safe we felt around SunTrust and the surrounding area. With the Braves being so good this year. SunTrust has an inviting environment with a fan centered feeling. The Braves have created an environment that you want to come back to and enjoy throughout the baseball season. Even if you don’t have tickets you can eat at one of the many restaurants in the area and watch on the big TVs and enjoy the ballpark atmosphere from just outside the confines of SunTrust.

 

Cleanliness: 9.6

The surrounding area and the stadium was very neat and well kept. There was no graffiti, trash, etc. Bathrooms were clean and smelled decent. Clean, crisp feel.

 

Seating Options: 9.0

Honestly we don’t think there was a bad seat in the park. We were fascinated with how close you felt to the field no matter where we were. Another smart feature was the glass railing that allowed people especially those in the front row to have an unobstructed view of the field and removes the need to arch your head above or duck below the typical bar railing to see the action on the field. We sat in section 324 row 5 in front of the press box. It was a cool place to sit alongside many season ticket holders. Some cool seating options they offered were “Below the Chop”, a field level restaurant built into the right field wall, “The Clubhouse”, sponsored by The Home Depot was a cool looking place in left-center-field.  

 

Parking: 8.8

Parking seemed pretty straightforward and plenty of options surrounding the stadium. There were garage spots and valet options in the battery. It also looked like there were other places around the stadium not in the battery. 

 

Pricing: 7.8

Parking- From our research before the game it looked to be between $30-$50 which seems to be fairly typical. We decided to use the shuttle service at our hotel which was a great free service they offered.

Food- Food prices were pretty on the medium to high end with some cheaper options. Burgers and fries were around $20, an a-la-carte regular classic hot dog was $3, $5.75 for a soda, and A-List Members could get cheaper priced food, discounts in the battery, and entrance into the Delta Sky 360 Club, Sun Trust Club, and Infiniti Club. With being able to bring in your own food described below that is a great way to save money. 

Tickets- Tickets are about average for an MLB game. Lower level seats were $100+. 200 and 300 level tickets were about $60-$80 depending on where you sat, but can every now and then score something lower. Upper deck tickets went for about $15-$20.

Merchandise- Pricing on merchandise was in the ballpark of what you’d expect to pay for merchandise at the stadium. $7 for a foam tomahawk seemed a little expensive but we saw plenty of people buying them 

 

Fan Involvement: 9.1

One of the best parts of the experience we had at SunTrust Park was how involved the fans were. There was a clear interest in the game that you don’t always encounter. Even more impressive was that the game was against the White Sox who haven’t had much success this year. They had a lot of interactive things on the video board between innings such as the Dunkin Donuts Doppelgangers of the game, trivia with fans, a Home Depot Tool race, and the race against the Freeze. One thing that all should know before visiting SunTrust is the huge involvement in the Tomahawk Chop that is done after any big play or mound visit.

 

Food: 9.1

There was a lot of great food options both inside and outside the park. Outside the Park featured options such as El Felix, a great Mexican/Tex Mex Restaurant with a lot of great options. For a quick bite they have a taco truck selling $4 tacos, queso, salsa, nachos. We tried the beef and chicken tacos and they were great with a homemade shell. Antico pizza is another place that a lot of people recommend ($18-22 per plate). There Terrapin Taproom and Fox Brothers BBQ is right next to the field in the battery and is a popular location. Inside the park there were a lot of options and it really showcased southern pride. Waffle House, Coca Cola (HQ in Atlanta, Smokey Q BBQ, The Slice (that had great looking huge sliced of pizza), Chick-Fil-A, H&F Burger with great looking burgers, and regular concession stands with the ballpark favorites. A lot of the food places had ordering kiosks for quicker service and out favorite part is the grab and go store that has lots of ballpark favorites for the quickest grab and go service. Another great thing that the park offered is the ability to bring in one factory sealed water bottle into the field and a gallon baggie filled with your own food into the park. This is a great way to save money.

 

Mascot: 8.7

Blooper is the Braves’ Mascot. He made his first debut in 2018, which is the newest MLB mascot. He is cream/tan in color, tall, weird looking, and has odd shaped ears sticking out of his head. Blooper was very involved in the game. He was seen on the field at the beginning of the game and also had a between the inning performance.

 

Souvenir Shop: 8.6

The Souvenir Shops were kind of a letdown. First, they weren’t very big and there were regulation of crowds inside and there was usually always a line outside of the place for people to go in. We didn’t find the type of baseball we were looking for from each park which was a disappointment. The stores had everything that people may be looking for: clothes, hats, pins, toys, etc. There was one huge store that had a long line every time we checked so we never went in.

 

Miscellaneous/Extra Innings:

• Reasonable Hotel Prices around the park. We scored a $69 express deal on Priceline for the Courtyard by Marriott.

• The entry gates on the opposite side of the park away from the battery had less people in line. I believe it was the first and third base gates.

• There was a great area for kids involving a zip line, rock wall, arcade, and baseball simulators.

• The park has the 43rd largest video screen in the world.

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