Turner Field

[TheRef]

Apparently...Georgia State wants to renovate Turner Field and turn it into a football stadium.....thoughts?

Link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2055164-georgia-state-reportedly-wants-to-remodel-turner-field-into-football-stadium

[BrunswickDawg]

Good move for GSU - gives them a stadium on a scale that works for the program. However, I'll believe it when I see it. Between the politics of ATL, the State, and the Board of Regents, it could get interesting.

[DawgSaint]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was the stadium not built for the Olympic Games then later configured for baseball?

[engie]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was the stadium not built for the Olympic Games then later configured for baseball?

Yes. It was initially Centennial Olympic Stadium. It was retrofitted to Turner Field by Janet Marie Smith.

http://dailytrackpic.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/centennial-olympic-stadium1.jpg

[Political Hack]

Good move for GSU - gives them a stadium on a scale that works for the program. However, I'll believe it when I see it. Between the politics of ATL, the State, and the Board of Regents, it could get interesting.

I see it being a done deal to Cobb.

[BrunswickDawg]

I see it being a done deal to Cobb.
Oh, no doubt - I was referring more to the mechanics of trying to broker a deal between the City and the BOR - knowing that the State Legislature would have to provide the funds.

[Political Hack]

gotcha. I actually think they could end up out of Turner before they can move out to Cobb. Would be boneheaded, but the mayor is fully capable of making boneheaded decisions.

[FISHDAWG]

Good move for GSU - gives them a stadium on a scale that works for the program. However, I'll believe it when I see it. Between the politics of ATL, the State, and the Board of Regents, it could get interesting.

on the news last night it said they would build a field North of the existing stadium .... go figure !

[EAVdog]

on the news last night it said they would build a field North of the existing stadium .... go figure !

I saw the planning documents this morning, looks much better than I had thought. If the Braves really are moving to the armpit of hell then this looks like a great replacement. Georgia State doesn't have a lot of room to grow in downtown and making that leap over I-20 would be a natural progression to a site with a number of contiguous lots. If they take Turner and create a football field I guess they leave the GA Dome?

I could actually see this happening, UGA can't take any more students so GA State, Kennessaw State, West Georgia et al are exploding in numbers. Got to put them somewhere.

Plus it'll help my property value!

http://media.bizj.us/view/img/2628531/vision-concept-booklet-2014-05-05.pdf Check it out here.

[The Croom Diaries]

If they take Turner and create a football field I guess they leave the GA Dome?

The Falcons are building a new stadium next to the GA Dome and then tearing it down....so it won't be there in 3 years.

http://i2.wp.com/newstadium.atlantafalcons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/concept-061713-newatlstadium-19.jpg

[EAVdog]

The Falcons are building a new stadium next to the GA Dome and then tearing it down....so it won't be there in 3 years.

http://i2.wp.com/newstadium.atlantafalcons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/concept-061713-newatlstadium-19.jpg
Ah yes, the giant robot's anus.


I thought the plan was for GA State to keep the GA Dome as their football facility? That is where they play now.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

The Falcons are building a new stadium next to the GA Dome and then tearing it down....so it won't be there in 3 years.

http://i2.wp.com/newstadium.atlantafalcons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/concept-061713-newatlstadium-19.jpg
So will the championship game start rotating after the GA dome gets torn down? There are plenty of sites to rotate through, NOLa, Nashville, Houston, St Louis even. Would be a lot of fun.

[FISHDAWG]

I doubt the game leaves anytime soon ... the new College Football Hall of Fame will be with-in walking distance of the new stadium and is about to open now

[smootness]

So will the championship game start rotating after the GA dome gets torn down? There are plenty of sites to rotate through, NOLa, Nashville, Houston, St Louis even. Would be a lot of fun.

I wouldn't think so, because the new stadium will already be there.

[smootness]

I saw the planning documents this morning, looks much better than I had thought. If the Braves really are moving to the armpit of hell then this looks like a great replacement. Georgia State doesn't have a lot of room to grow in downtown and making that leap over I-20 would be a natural progression to a site with a number of contiguous lots. If they take Turner and create a football field I guess they leave the GA Dome?

I could actually see this happening, UGA can't take any more students so GA State, Kennessaw State, West Georgia et al are exploding in numbers. Got to put them somewhere.

Plus it'll help my property value!

http://media.bizj.us/view/img/2628531/vision-concept-booklet-2014-05-05.pdf Check it out here.

?? Surely you wouldn't suggest Cobb County will be a worse location than where Turner Field sits? There probably isn't a stadium in MLB with a worse location right now.

[War Machine Dawg]

?? Surely you wouldn't suggest Cobb County will be a worse location than where Turner Field sits? fThere probably isn't a stadium in MLB with a worse location right now.

No kidding.

[EAVdog]

?? Surely you wouldn't suggest Cobb County will be a worse location than where Turner Field sits? There probably isn't a stadium in MLB with a worse location right now.

Yes, yes I am. There is only one other place in Atlanta that would be worse than the Intersection of 75/285 and that would be adjacent to Spaghetti Junction. If they really wanted it in the Norther Burbs they should have put it up 400. Thankfully my wife worked in Vinings (inside 285) and could take backroads in to town for the numerous times that 75 or 285 were nothing but a parking lot during Rush Hour.

[engie]

?? Surely you wouldn't suggest Cobb County will be a worse location than where Turner Field sits? There probably isn't a stadium in MLB with a worse location right now.

Tried to drive to Wrigley lately?

The good thing that you don't really learn about until after your first trip up there is the bus/train system there that alleviates a ton of that trouble...

[BrunswickDawg]

Yes, yes I am. There is only one other place in Atlanta that would be worse than the Intersection of 75/285 and that would be adjacent to Spaghetti Junction. If they really wanted it in the Norther Burbs they should have put it up 400. Thankfully my wife worked in Vinings (inside 285) and could take backroads in to town for the numerous times that 75 or 285 were nothing but a parking lot during Rush Hour.

As Cobb County refugee, I approve this message. I left 15 years ago and thought the traffic was bad then, it is terrible now. Last Monday, I was in town and met a cousin for lunch nearby the new Braves site and decided to circle it. 35 minutes from I-75/Windy Hill exit (north access), to US 41 down to Cumberland/Galleria at 11:30 in the morning. Its like a 4 mile drive. Is it a more prosperous area? No doubt. Safer? Maybe. Good place to drop 35,000 additional people at rush hour? Hell no.

[BrunswickDawg]

Tried to drive to Wrigley lately?

The good thing that you don't really learn about until after your first trip up there is the bus/train system there that alleviates a ton of that trouble...

Which the new Braves field will not have....

[FISHDAWG]

especially as my office is in the Cumberland / Galleria area .... the place is a nightmare @ 4 pm on almost any given day

[The Croom Diaries]

As Cobb County refugee, I approve this message. I left 15 years ago and thought the traffic was bad then, it is terrible now. Last Monday, I was in town and met a cousin for lunch nearby the new Braves site and decided to circle it. 35 minutes from I-75/Windy Hill exit (north access), to US 41 down to Cumberland/Galleria at 11:30 in the morning. Its like a 4 mile drive. Is it a more prosperous area? No doubt. Safer? Maybe. Good place to drop 35,000 additional people at rush hour? Hell no.

That is just bad luck. In between the time I wrote the above post and now I've gone from my office in East Cobb to 41 to pick up some bolts, then got back on 75 via the north loop, drove all the way down to 285, got on 85 north, met a guy at Jimmy Carter and drove back to my office which I have been here for 45 minutes now. This was from 10:30-11:30 in the morning....I never went less than 65 mph.

[BrunswickDawg]

especially as my office is in the Cumberland / Galleria area .... the place is a nightmare @ 4 pm on almost any given day

And that's why us refugees down on the coast never move back..... And FISH - the whiting are running in the sounds, and the reds are about to start hitting - such a terrible way to spend your weekends until football season!

[BrunswickDawg]

That is just bad luck. In between the time I wrote the above post and now I've gone from my office in East Cobb to 41 to pick up some bolts, then got back on 75 via the north loop, drove all the way down to 285, got on 85 north, met a guy at Jimmy Carter and drove back to my office which I have been here for 45 minutes now. This was from 10:30-11:30 in the morning....I never went less than 65 mph.
Oh, I know - it can be luck of the draw. I left the GWCC/Dome at 5:30 last Monday dreading the hell that southbound can be. Made it to Eagle's Landing in 35 minutes. Of course when it is bad, that can be 2+ hours...

[FISHDAWG]

roger that ! ... I drive 65 miles to my office ... that's about as far away as I can get for the time being .... time enough for the reds later on ... heading the other way for a week of wilderness camping & trout fishing ..... then on to Pascagoula to chase Cobia & Kings

[Political Hack]

I like the new location as compared to the current. getting to the game sucks already, but getting home will be much, much easier. I don't understand why people complain about getting there with traffic, but ignore how easy it's going to be to get home after a game now.

[hailmari]

Yeah, I visited WrigleyField last summer and I'm glad we knew about the train beforehand.. It was very convenient. I couldn't imagine trying to get there on the road.

[BrunswickDawg]

I like the new location as compared to the current. getting to the game sucks already, but getting home will be much, much easier. I don't understand why people complain about getting there with traffic, but ignore how easy it's going to be to get home after a game now.
I think people would feel better knowing there were real options - even if they didn't use them. Say all you want about MARTA day-to-day, but the Braves/Falcons shuttles they ran to games took some pressure off the overloaded system (I haven't been to a game in 10 years - so they may suck now) and Cobb and the rest of the Metro have a bad track record on providing and coordinating transportation for events. Things like the Cumberland/Galleria 4th of July Fireworks debacle (had to be there in the early 80s - that was pure bedlam), Freaknic, or a little bit of snow, don't give people much confidence in the system being able to pull it off.

And yes, leaving the current site can be an adventure. I brought some guys from State to a game in '92 and re got routed through Techwood Homes at 1:00 AM - I ran every stop sign and redlight for about 10 blocks trying get us the hell out of there!

[The Croom Diaries]

I like the new location as compared to the current. getting to the game sucks already, but getting home will be much, much easier. I don't understand why people complain about getting there with traffic, but ignore how easy it's going to be to get home after a game now.

Yeah I'm not sure what difference it makes if you hit traffic at Wendy Hill or you hit traffic at GA Tech. It's going to cut 20 minutes off your commute to the game going and coming. It really just sucks for the people who work in that area or have to go through that area to get home. They are just going to have to work 6-3 instead of 8-5 when there's a Braves home game that night.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Tried to drive to Wrigley lately?

The good thing that you don't really learn about until after your first trip up there is the bus/train system there that alleviates a ton of that trouble...

The subway/bus system in Chicago is awesome- especially for getting to Wrigley. I'd never drive if I lived there.

[smootness]

The traffic problem is being overstated, I think. There will always be a ton of traffic in Atlanta wherever the location is. Traffic now is awful around the current location; that will just move up the interstate, as some have stated.

Traffic at 75/285 isn't bad going into the city that time of day. I always pass by on my way to Braves' games, and it's never bad there. It doesn't get backed up until near GT, as Croom said. A large majority of fans will be coming south, so it won't really add to any bad rush hour traffic.

And we just have to wait and see what they do to the surrounding area. I guarantee you the exits and surrounding roads won't look exactly like they do now. They claim they've done studies and traffic as a whole should be somewhat less than it is now; not in that location but overall from Braves' games.

And there is no doubt that Cobb Co. location with developments built around the stadium will be infinitely better than where Turner Field sits now. There is literally nothing to do around the stadium and you feel like you have to keep your head on a swivel then entire walk from the stadium to your car. Attendance will increase quite a bit with this move.