The Astros hosted a grand opening of Minute Maid Park’s renovated center field on Wednesday, showing off the good eats, venues and amenities available to fans in the area where Tal’s Hill once stood. Many of the new features in center field appeal to groups looking for an exclusive experience at the ballpark.
Next week will mark the 11th anniversary of Jackson County voters approving a measure to fund upgrades for the stadiums at the Truman Sports Complex. It’s been eight years since the renovations were finished at Kauffman Stadium, but the Royals noticed last season that things needed to be spruced up at their home. So when fans arrive at the stadium this season, they may notice a few changes.
Turner Field is a thing of the past. While a lot of the old signage is still up, there’s a pretty prominent reminder on the back of the scoreboard what is to come: college football. Georgia State began construction on the former home of the Atlanta Braves in February.
We got a sneak peek at the almost-finished, brand-spanking new baseball stadium situated over the city of Marietta; SunTrust Park. You’ve probably seen it while traveling down southbound Interstate 75 or in our stories on its development. Now, we will get a chance to have an in depth look at what us baseball fans have been waiting for since its groundbreaking in September 2014.
The Braves completed the installation of grass on SunTrust Park’s playing field Sunday. Workers laid approximately 109,000 square feet of sod over the weekend, transforming the surface into a photogenic expanse of green.
The Braves’ new stadium is about to get an important finishing touch: grass on the field. “The sod goes in this week at SunTrust Park,” Greg Maffei, CEO of Braves owner Liberty Media, said Tuesday in a news release announcing the company’s financial results, “and we look forward to the Braves’ opening day (there) on April 14.”
The Angels apparently have decided to stick with their current stadium situation in Anaheim. The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that team owner Arte Moreno said the Angels now plan on playing in aging Angel Stadium through 2028. According to the Times, that’s when the team’s lease at the 51-year-old stadium runs out, although Moreno has until October 2018 to exercise an escape clause that would terminate the lease after the 2019 season.
With less than two months until the first game is scheduled to be played at SunTrust Park, the Atlanta Braves’ new stadium in Cumberland, construction crews are working on the ballpark’s final touches. Mike Plant, the Braves’ president of development, said this week that much of the work being done at the ballpark in February will focus on the installation of furniture and equipment as well as the smaller odds and ends that need to get done before Opening Day.
We welcome another new ballpark to Major League Baseball in 2017, as the Atlanta Braves move from Turner Field, their home from 1997-2016, to SunTrust Park. SunTrust is a slightly smaller venue than Turner was; it measures just 375 feet to right-center field and 325 down the right-field line, which is 15 and 5 feet shorter than those same measurements at Turner. The tradeoff, however, is that those fences are twice the height, measuring 16 feet compared to 8 at Turner, and the distance to left-center field is 5 feet deeper (385-380) than at Turner.
Those fighting to keep the Astrodome from the wrecking ball and obsolescence won a major victory. The Texas State Historical Commission unanimously approved a measure to have the dome designated as a state antiquities landmark. “We thought it would never happen, but we never gave up,” said Cynthia Neely. “There were roadblocks. It cost us money. It cost us tons of time.”