Wrigley Renovation Thread

[jersey cubs fan]

Okay, to me it feels inevitable that a lot of improvements will be made and they were win a playoff game. But, to each his own.

[Guest]

I'll put this here since the most discussion will probably be the comparisons to the Wrigley situation. The Braves are leaving downtown Atlanta for a new park in 2017: http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/braves-plan-to-build-new-stadium-in-cobb/nbpNQ/

 

For reference, A is Turner Field, and B is an approximation of where the new park will be, give or take a few miles:

 

http://i.imgur.com/dtJyJ9f.png

[UMFan83]

what is wrong with Turner Field? That's strange...it was built in 1996. I guess the trend of downtown ballparks is over and we're going back to suburban hell.

[Sammys Boombox]

http://homeofthebraves.com/

 

Some info for the interested.

[Banedon]

Since the Braves don't own or manage Turner Field, it's a lot easier of a call for them to abandon it. The Cubs own Wrigley...they just aren't allowed to do whatever they want with it....*sigh*

[jersey cubs fan]

what is wrong with Turner Field? That's strange...it was built in 1996. I guess the trend of downtown ballparks is over and we're going back to suburban hell.

 

Atlanta's problem is there really is no downtown. Everybody drives everywhere there, it's very spread out and traffic is brutal. The concept of a downtown, or at least city ballpark is readily available and utilized public transportation and an area where human beings want to congregate. I haven't been to Atlanta since the 2003 playoffs, but that was my 3rd or 4th time there and I remember it was a lot like US Cellular in that there was one or two pop-up bars nearby, but otherwise you aren't staying there. Atlanta is basically one giant suburb.

[NOLA]

what is wrong with Turner Field? That's strange...it was built in 1996. I guess the trend of downtown ballparks is over and we're going back to suburban hell.

 

Atlanta's problem is there really is no downtown. Everybody drives everywhere there, it's very spread out and traffic is brutal. The concept of a downtown, or at least city ballpark is readily available and utilized public transportation and an area where human beings want to congregate. I haven't been to Atlanta since the 2003 playoffs, but that was my 3rd or 4th time there and I remember it was a lot like US Cellular in that there was one or two pop-up bars nearby, but otherwise you aren't staying there. Atlanta is basically one giant suburb.

 

Exactly, plus outside of Dallas, I've never been to a city where there is so much urban sprawl. The northern suburbs are as big as Atlanta itself now. Maybe they are trying to attract fans from Charlotte to the north, which would save those guys almost an hour's drive. All that said, LOL Atlanta.

[J.R.]

The Dallas-Fort Worth comparison is perfect.

 

Turner Field does not have a MARTA stop, and this could be a very well produced ruse to get one. However, the reality is that the vast majority of the Braves' crowd does not live in Atlanta proper.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

The Dallas-Fort Worth comparison is perfect.

 

Turner Field does not have a MARTA stop, and this could be a very well produced ruse to get one. However, the reality is that the vast majority of the Braves' crowd does not live in Atlanta proper.

MARTA is a customer, and they most definitely have a stop at Turner Field. 2 in fact.

[Wilson A2000]

You have to take a train and then a bus to get to Turner Field. MARTA goes there but only by bus after a train ride. If you drive you have to go through downtown. Horrible traffic. As of now no MARTA at all to where the new stadium will be built.

 

Most Braves fans live north of the city. It would be like Cubs fans having their stadium be US Cellular Field. Doesn't make sense. The Braves have a real good team and I bet they draw 5k more fans a game now that they are moving.

[cl smooth]

The Dallas-Fort Worth comparison is perfect.

 

Turner Field does not have a MARTA stop, and this could be a very well produced ruse to get one. However, the reality is that the vast majority of the Braves' crowd does not live in Atlanta proper.

MARTA is a customer, and they most definitely have a stop at Turner Field. 2 in fact.

 

closest MARTA stop is a mile away/25 minutes walking:

 

http://martaguide.com/2009/06/18/marta-to-turner-field/

 

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/directions/index.jsp?content=public_transportation

 

i noticed this when looking into transportation routes to turner field from the atlanta suburbs earlier this year.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

The Dallas-Fort Worth comparison is perfect.

 

Turner Field does not have a MARTA stop, and this could be a very well produced ruse to get one. However, the reality is that the vast majority of the Braves' crowd does not live in Atlanta proper.

MARTA is a customer, and they most definitely have a stop at Turner Field. 2 in fact.

 

closest MARTA stop is a mile away/25 minutes walking:

 

http://martaguide.com/2009/06/18/marta-to-turner-field/

 

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/directions/index.jsp?content=public_transportation

 

i noticed this when looking into transportation routes to turner field from the atlanta suburbs earlier this year.

Route 55 runs along the east side of the stadium, and route 49 runs along the west side. They each have a stop right next to the stadium and a couple more within a block. I am looking at their route data right now.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Dallas-Fort Worth comparison is perfect.

 

Turner Field does not have a MARTA stop, and this could be a very well produced ruse to get one. However, the reality is that the vast majority of the Braves' crowd does not live in Atlanta proper.

MARTA is a customer, and they most definitely have a stop at Turner Field. 2 in fact.

 

closest MARTA stop is a mile away/25 minutes walking:

 

http://martaguide.com/2009/06/18/marta-to-turner-field/

 

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/directions/index.jsp?content=public_transportation

 

i noticed this when looking into transportation routes to turner field from the atlanta suburbs earlier this year.

Route 55 runs along the east side of the stadium, and route 49 runs along the west side. They each have a stop right next to the stadium and a couple more within a block. I am looking at their route data right now.

 

train or bus?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

The Dallas-Fort Worth comparison is perfect.

 

Turner Field does not have a MARTA stop, and this could be a very well produced ruse to get one. However, the reality is that the vast majority of the Braves' crowd does not live in Atlanta proper.

MARTA is a customer, and they most definitely have a stop at Turner Field. 2 in fact.

 

closest MARTA stop is a mile away/25 minutes walking:

 

http://martaguide.com/2009/06/18/marta-to-turner-field/

 

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/directions/index.jsp?content=public_transportation

 

i noticed this when looking into transportation routes to turner field from the atlanta suburbs earlier this year.

Route 55 runs along the east side of the stadium, and route 49 runs along the west side. They each have a stop right next to the stadium and a couple more within a block. I am looking at their route data right now.

 

train or bus?

Bus

[jersey cubs fan]

Bus

 

Nobody was talking about buses.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Bus

 

Nobody was talking about buses.

Except for the person who said MARTA doesn't have any stops there. MARTA has about 1000 buses with stops at Turner Field.

[jersey cubs fan]

Bus

 

Nobody was talking about buses.

Except for the person who said MARTA doesn't have any stops there. MARTA has about 1000 buses with stops at Turner Field.

 

They were talking about trains. Buses are more or less meaningless in the discussion about train service to stadiums. Buses don't help you avoid the road traffic, which is half the point of taking public transportation in the first place.

[Banedon]

Bus

 

Nobody was talking about buses.

Except for the person who said MARTA doesn't have any stops there. MARTA has about 1000 buses with stops at Turner Field.

 

He was talking about trains.

[Wilson A2000]

Buses do help with road traffic a little. The train takes you close and the buses take the smaller roads to the stadium.

[jersey cubs fan]

Buses do help with road traffic a little. The train takes you close and the buses take the smaller roads to the stadium.

 

Anytime you ask people to transfer, even once, you are giving them an excuse not to take public transportation. Buses help on the margin, but trains are what make a difference.

[J.R.]

Yes, trains. I should have clarified - I have taken the MARTA bus to TF in the past, and it is S-L-O-W.

[apete6]

You have to take a train and then a bus to get to Turner Field. MARTA goes there but only by bus after a train ride. If you drive you have to go through downtown. Horrible traffic. As of now no MARTA at all to where the new stadium will be built.

 

Most Braves fans live north of the city. It would be like Cubs fans having their stadium be US Cellular Field. Doesn't make sense. The Braves have a real good team and I bet they draw 5k more fans a game now that they are moving.

 

I wonder what it would have been like if the White Sox would have moved to DuPage county in the early 90s instead of rebuilding across the street. This is basically that scenario except the Braves aren't competing for anyone else's fans, just going to be more convenient to their existing ones.

[J.R.]

I am supremely irritated with the Braves' stance that Turner Field was "a facility that was built for three weeks of use for the Olympics." The team was involved with the project from day one, and the baseball-only portions of the park were intended to last for generations. The sightlines are great throughout - they are trying to invoke memories of Montreal's Stade Olympique and it is completely disingenuous.

 

The 20-year lease seems laughably short in hindsight, but at the time the Braves had no trouble filling their old stadium for big games and Turner's ties to the Atlanta political scene made a move out of the city an unimaginable prospect. Now the team is controlled by outside interests, and the people in Marietta-Buckhead-Gwinnett County hold Atlanta in utter contempt and are too happy to stick the city with the whitest of elephants.

 

Those charged with MLB's diversity concerns cannot be pleased with the team's flight to the white majority communities that have been at war with black majority Atlanta for years. The abandonment of the historical capital of African-American wealth by the team of Hank Aaron really casts a pall over baseball's fledgling effort to appeal to black fans.

 

The area around Turner Field is a mess. However, it seems plausible that the team could buy it all up for pennies on the dollar and develop it as they see fit. Wrigleyville this is not.

 

The team is making a completely defensible choice, but it all seems like such a waste. Atlanta LOL.

[Sammys Boombox]

I am supremely irritated with the Braves' stance that Turner Field was "a facility that was built for three weeks of use for the Olympics." The team was involved with the project from day one, and the baseball-only portions of the park were intended to last for generations. The sightlines are great throughout - they are trying to invoke memories of Montreal's Stade Olympique and it is completely disingenuous.

 

The 20-year lease seems laughably short in hindsight, but at the time the Braves had no trouble filling their old stadium for big games and Turner's ties to the Atlanta political scene made a move out of the city an unimaginable prospect. Now the team is controlled by outside interests, and the people in Marietta-Buckhead-Gwinnett County hold Atlanta in utter contempt and are too happy to stick the city with the whitest of elephants.

 

Those charged with MLB's diversity concerns cannot be pleased with the team's flight to the white majority communities that have been at war with black majority Atlanta for years. The abandonment of the historical capital of African-American wealth by the team of Hank Aaron really casts a pall over baseball's fledgling effort to appeal to black fans.

 

The area around Turner Field is a mess. However, it seems plausible that the team could buy it all up for pennies on the dollar and develop it as they see fit. Wrigleyville this is not.

 

The team is making a completely defensible choice, but it all seems like such a waste. Atlanta LOL.

 

Do you have knowledge of the Atlanta racial makeup by area? I only ask because in my limited experience in Atlanta I went to a shopping area North of Atlanta that was largely black and largely wealthy. If they are indeed moving from a primarily black to a primarily white area I would like to know, but I'm not just going to take a message board post as truth unless you can point me to something that supports your claim. I'm genuinely asking out of curiosity.

[seanimal]

I am supremely irritated with the Braves' stance that Turner Field was "a facility that was built for three weeks of use for the Olympics." The team was involved with the project from day one, and the baseball-only portions of the park were intended to last for generations. The sightlines are great throughout - they are trying to invoke memories of Montreal's Stade Olympique and it is completely disingenuous.

 

The 20-year lease seems laughably short in hindsight, but at the time the Braves had no trouble filling their old stadium for big games and Turner's ties to the Atlanta political scene made a move out of the city an unimaginable prospect. Now the team is controlled by outside interests, and the people in Marietta-Buckhead-Gwinnett County hold Atlanta in utter contempt and are too happy to stick the city with the whitest of elephants.

 

Those charged with MLB's diversity concerns cannot be pleased with the team's flight to the white majority communities that have been at war with black majority Atlanta for years. The abandonment of the historical capital of African-American wealth by the team of Hank Aaron really casts a pall over baseball's fledgling effort to appeal to black fans.

 

The area around Turner Field is a mess. However, it seems plausible that the team could buy it all up for pennies on the dollar and develop it as they see fit. Wrigleyville this is not.

 

The team is making a completely defensible choice, but it all seems like such a waste. Atlanta LOL.

 

yeah, i pretty much agree with all of this. it's not an ideal location in terms of today's atlanta, but i don't really see how the new one will be much better. traffic on the perimeter is just as bad and will likely become worse with the ballclub and accessories added to the mix. and sure, the public transportation situation to get to the games isn't perfect, but something is better than nothing, which is exactly what the new stadium will have. i'm definitely disappointed with this decision