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Home > Baseball > MLB Stadiums > Turner Field
Turner Field
Originally built for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Turner Field is now one of the premier places to watch a baseball game. With an aging Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, the Braves began pursuing a new stadium in the late 1980s. With the announcement that the 1996 Olympics would be played in Atlanta, the city and the Braves joined forces in building a stadium. The ballpark was built and shaped for the purpose of baseball. The exterior is brick and limestone, similar to other ballparks. Temporary bleachers were built beyond the outfield fence to allow for a larger capacity for the Olympics. After the games ended, the stadium was retro-fitted and converted to baseball. The columns that supported the bleachers are now posts for a fence that surrounds Monument Grove plaza. Built next to Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, the state of the art facility opened on April 4, 1997 with a capacity of 50,096. The stadium was named Turner Field after then Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner. Upon arriving at Turner Field, many fans park north of the ballpark, beyond the outfield stands. Walking toward the ballpark, fans pass over the former site of Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. The base paths and playing field is marked out in what is now a parking lot, and part of the retaining wall of Atlanta Fulton County Stadium remains. The field level seating section extends from the left field foul pole around to home plate and to the right field foul pole. Additional seating is located in leftfield and in parts of right field. The Braves bullpen is located between the field pavilion seats in right field and the opposing team's bullpen beyond the left field foul pole. Fans can walk the entire lower concourse and never loose site of the game being played and can watch pitchers warm up in the bullpen. The Braves Clubhouse Store is located in the plaza area and features a large selection of Braves merchandise. Fans can sit outside the store and watch multiple games of baseball games being played around the country at that time. Prior to the start of the 2005 season, the Braves spent 15 million dollars in improvements to Turner Field. This included the new high definition video and scoreboard replacing the old one, ribbon boards were added along the upper deck, and a new restaurant was constructed in right field. With these improvements, the team hopes to increase attendance at Turner Field.
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