Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park
I attended my first 2 Braves games at SunTrust Park yesterday and today. It was quite an experience, both positive and negative. Let me share a few thoughts with you, in no particular order.
Friday, I went to the game with Karyn for our 4th annual Father-Daughter Game. Getting tickets for the game was fairly easy; I simply went to the Braves website and purchased them. However, since I had no idea of the layout of the new park, and the little diagram of the park only got blurry if I made it larger, I selected "best seats available", and was given seats in Section 152, labeled "Home Run Porch". In the confirmation email I received, I was advised to buy parking in advance, and to use Waze to take me directly to that lot. Sounded great! Except I couldn't find anywhere on the site to buy parking for that date. I contacted someone from the Braves (Celeste Mercer), and she got parking for me, in Lot 9.
I was also told in that email that I needed to download the "At Bat" app, and my tickets and parking pass would appear there. I downloaded the app, but could find no link to my tickets. I reached out to my Celeste again, and she sent me a link to my account. Problem solved!
Friday came, and I drove to the game using Waze, as instructed. On the way, I kept getting an alert from Waze that there was no signal, and it kept giving me conflicting directions. No problem; I had a general idea where I was going. There was also a sign above Windy Hill Parkway advising me that for East Braves parking, I should turn on Hwy 41, but for North parking, I should cross 41. Or vice versa, I can't really remember. Because I had no idea whether Lot 9 was East or North parking, so the sign was absolutely useless! I even had Karyn check my parking ticket to see if there was any designation of a direction, but there was none. More helpful might be "Lots 1-22 take Hwy 41, all others take...whatever".
Waze finally reacquired a signal about a mile from my lot, but there was no indication whether it would be on my left or my right once I made the final turn. So I was in the left lane when the lot, which was the first one we encountered, appeared on the right. Fortunately, someone was nice enough to let me over, but the lot didn't open until 5:30, and it was only 5:20. I was initially told that I would need to "just drive around a bit" and come back in 10 minutes. However, I must have looked forlorn, or something, because they let me in, fortunately since I really don't know my way around the area very well.
As we exited the car, we initially turned the wrong way to exit the parking deck, but were directed the correct way, where we saw the many signs showing us the way to go. However, when we reached the top of the steps, the signs ended, and there were no directions telling us how to get to the actual stadium. So we turned the wrong way and walked for about 100 yards, whereupon we overheard a policeman direct another group to the pedestrian bridge that was now behind us. So we turned around, walked the 100 yards back, and then saw the bridge, which we used to cross over to The Battery.
The Battery, though not finished, was kind of cool, with shops and restaurants. We noticed 2 very long lines leading to the only gate visible to us, but they weren't moving. Someone with a Braves shirt and cap was moving among the crowd saying all gates were open, but gave no indication where any other gates might be. We stopped someone and asked, and they directed us to walk down a cross street, turn right, and go to the 1st Base gate. We did so, and found almost no one in line for that gate. Again, some signs directing people to gates might have been helpful.
Once inside, I checked in with the Ballpark app, and got a free hat! This goes along with the hat we each got for Father-Daughter Day. We picked up all three of these hats at Guest Relations. We had some time, so we explored the park a little, found our seats, then went to be in the pregame parade, which is always kind of cool!
After the parade, we decided we were hungry, but every concession stand we passed had very long lines. We finally picked the stand with the shortest line, but it took us almost 30 minutes to get to order, and we almost missed the first pitch. And it cost us $37 for 3 slices of pizza, 2 drinks, and some peanuts. Ridiculous!
When we got to our seats, we discovered that we were actually BEHIND the big screen, so we couldn't see any video at all, and had no idea what was going one between innings. This was very frustrating, as these were the "best available", and there were LOTS of empty seats. And the game was a bust, as the Braves lost 5-0 to the Marlins, but the fireworks show afterwards was fantastic!
Walking back to our car was a breeze, but it took us over 30 minutes to go 1 or 2 miles once we exited the lot. Again, there were no signs directing people which lanes they needed to be in, or which lanes were closed ahead, so people had to guess, and a lot of lane changing occurred simply because of a lack of information. Again, very frustrating.
Today, Saturday, my oldest son Stephen took me and his Father-in-law, Marion, to the game for Father's Day. This is the 5th year he has done this. Once again, we used Waze to find his pre-purchased parking, Lot 42 this time, but the only choices that came up were lots 41 and 43. We figured 42 had to be between them, which it was, but once again the information available to us was inadequate. We also didn't know until we arrived whether it was on the right or left, so we were unsure which lane we needed to be in.
The walk to the stadium was about 20 minutes, and again included a pedestrian bridge. The only way we knew which way to go was to follow the crowd, as there were no signs. Getting in was a breeze, and we immediately went to Monument Park to look around. This was really cool, but with the crowds moving through, I felt pressure to keep moving and not linger to truly explore. We found our seats, section 48, and discovered that, once again, we could not see the video board, as it was almost directly above us and only slightly behind us; it was just a blur. Very disappointing. In addition, we discovered that we couldn't see anything that occurred on the left field warning track, which included the Tool Race and Beat the Freeze. And long fly balls to the wall, where the left fielder just disappeared from view.
Since it was very hot, we decided to explore the park. We went all the way to the top level and looked at the field from various parts of the stadium. For the most part, there are no bad seats. After returning to our seats, I actually caught a t-shirt, shot from the launcher, that bounced off someone else's hands in the next section over. I guess Karyn gets a shirt (it's too small for me).
The game itself was much better than the previous night. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, we gave up 7 straight runs over 2 innings, and things looked bleak. The Braves kept fighting though, and eventually tied the game in the 9th and won it in the 10th. However, the 2 home run balls that landed in the stands near us were too far away for us to get.
After the game, there was a bottleneck getting back on the pedestrian bridge as people were converging from several directions on that one spot. After getting on the bridge, everything flowed fairly smoothly, and getting out of the lot this time was very easy, and we were quickly on our way.
All-in-all, I would say that the game experience was positive. There need to be more signs outside of the park directing people to where they need to go, and there needs to be a way for everyone to see video content. And Waze needs to be more helpful, as does the sign on Windy Hill Road. Prices for concessions are way overpriced, but, unfortunately, that's to be expected.
Until next time, may your day and your loved one's be blessed!
Friday, I went to the game with Karyn for our 4th annual Father-Daughter Game. Getting tickets for the game was fairly easy; I simply went to the Braves website and purchased them. However, since I had no idea of the layout of the new park, and the little diagram of the park only got blurry if I made it larger, I selected "best seats available", and was given seats in Section 152, labeled "Home Run Porch". In the confirmation email I received, I was advised to buy parking in advance, and to use Waze to take me directly to that lot. Sounded great! Except I couldn't find anywhere on the site to buy parking for that date. I contacted someone from the Braves (Celeste Mercer), and she got parking for me, in Lot 9.
I was also told in that email that I needed to download the "At Bat" app, and my tickets and parking pass would appear there. I downloaded the app, but could find no link to my tickets. I reached out to my Celeste again, and she sent me a link to my account. Problem solved!
Friday came, and I drove to the game using Waze, as instructed. On the way, I kept getting an alert from Waze that there was no signal, and it kept giving me conflicting directions. No problem; I had a general idea where I was going. There was also a sign above Windy Hill Parkway advising me that for East Braves parking, I should turn on Hwy 41, but for North parking, I should cross 41. Or vice versa, I can't really remember. Because I had no idea whether Lot 9 was East or North parking, so the sign was absolutely useless! I even had Karyn check my parking ticket to see if there was any designation of a direction, but there was none. More helpful might be "Lots 1-22 take Hwy 41, all others take...whatever".
Waze finally reacquired a signal about a mile from my lot, but there was no indication whether it would be on my left or my right once I made the final turn. So I was in the left lane when the lot, which was the first one we encountered, appeared on the right. Fortunately, someone was nice enough to let me over, but the lot didn't open until 5:30, and it was only 5:20. I was initially told that I would need to "just drive around a bit" and come back in 10 minutes. However, I must have looked forlorn, or something, because they let me in, fortunately since I really don't know my way around the area very well.
As we exited the car, we initially turned the wrong way to exit the parking deck, but were directed the correct way, where we saw the many signs showing us the way to go. However, when we reached the top of the steps, the signs ended, and there were no directions telling us how to get to the actual stadium. So we turned the wrong way and walked for about 100 yards, whereupon we overheard a policeman direct another group to the pedestrian bridge that was now behind us. So we turned around, walked the 100 yards back, and then saw the bridge, which we used to cross over to The Battery.
The Battery, though not finished, was kind of cool, with shops and restaurants. We noticed 2 very long lines leading to the only gate visible to us, but they weren't moving. Someone with a Braves shirt and cap was moving among the crowd saying all gates were open, but gave no indication where any other gates might be. We stopped someone and asked, and they directed us to walk down a cross street, turn right, and go to the 1st Base gate. We did so, and found almost no one in line for that gate. Again, some signs directing people to gates might have been helpful.
Once inside, I checked in with the Ballpark app, and got a free hat! This goes along with the hat we each got for Father-Daughter Day. We picked up all three of these hats at Guest Relations. We had some time, so we explored the park a little, found our seats, then went to be in the pregame parade, which is always kind of cool!
After the parade, we decided we were hungry, but every concession stand we passed had very long lines. We finally picked the stand with the shortest line, but it took us almost 30 minutes to get to order, and we almost missed the first pitch. And it cost us $37 for 3 slices of pizza, 2 drinks, and some peanuts. Ridiculous!
When we got to our seats, we discovered that we were actually BEHIND the big screen, so we couldn't see any video at all, and had no idea what was going one between innings. This was very frustrating, as these were the "best available", and there were LOTS of empty seats. And the game was a bust, as the Braves lost 5-0 to the Marlins, but the fireworks show afterwards was fantastic!
Walking back to our car was a breeze, but it took us over 30 minutes to go 1 or 2 miles once we exited the lot. Again, there were no signs directing people which lanes they needed to be in, or which lanes were closed ahead, so people had to guess, and a lot of lane changing occurred simply because of a lack of information. Again, very frustrating.
Today, Saturday, my oldest son Stephen took me and his Father-in-law, Marion, to the game for Father's Day. This is the 5th year he has done this. Once again, we used Waze to find his pre-purchased parking, Lot 42 this time, but the only choices that came up were lots 41 and 43. We figured 42 had to be between them, which it was, but once again the information available to us was inadequate. We also didn't know until we arrived whether it was on the right or left, so we were unsure which lane we needed to be in.
The walk to the stadium was about 20 minutes, and again included a pedestrian bridge. The only way we knew which way to go was to follow the crowd, as there were no signs. Getting in was a breeze, and we immediately went to Monument Park to look around. This was really cool, but with the crowds moving through, I felt pressure to keep moving and not linger to truly explore. We found our seats, section 48, and discovered that, once again, we could not see the video board, as it was almost directly above us and only slightly behind us; it was just a blur. Very disappointing. In addition, we discovered that we couldn't see anything that occurred on the left field warning track, which included the Tool Race and Beat the Freeze. And long fly balls to the wall, where the left fielder just disappeared from view.
Since it was very hot, we decided to explore the park. We went all the way to the top level and looked at the field from various parts of the stadium. For the most part, there are no bad seats. After returning to our seats, I actually caught a t-shirt, shot from the launcher, that bounced off someone else's hands in the next section over. I guess Karyn gets a shirt (it's too small for me).
The game itself was much better than the previous night. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, we gave up 7 straight runs over 2 innings, and things looked bleak. The Braves kept fighting though, and eventually tied the game in the 9th and won it in the 10th. However, the 2 home run balls that landed in the stands near us were too far away for us to get.
After the game, there was a bottleneck getting back on the pedestrian bridge as people were converging from several directions on that one spot. After getting on the bridge, everything flowed fairly smoothly, and getting out of the lot this time was very easy, and we were quickly on our way.
All-in-all, I would say that the game experience was positive. There need to be more signs outside of the park directing people to where they need to go, and there needs to be a way for everyone to see video content. And Waze needs to be more helpful, as does the sign on Windy Hill Road. Prices for concessions are way overpriced, but, unfortunately, that's to be expected.
Until next time, may your day and your loved one's be blessed!
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