I rarely participate in off-topic discussions, but stadiums/stadia are a strong interests of mine:
Maybe re-convert it back to it's original 1996 configuration for the Olympic Games, in hopes that within the next hundred years, Atlanta could host the Olympics again.
If the Braves really move out of Turner Field it will have had the shortest lifespan (20 years) of any modern era baseball concrete and steel stadium.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Braves recent announcement, see:
[view link]?
Shadow, I'm fascinated by the Astrodome issue as well. Every other city, except Oakland, that had a combination baseball/football stadium, with a fixed dome or open, built since 1961 (RFK Stadium being the first), has since abandoned the stadium. Houston is the only city not to demolish there's (yet, anyway). Oakland is working on a stadium replacement plan.
I sense there's some nostalgia in Houston since it was the first air conditioned domed stadium to host baseball and football, but its apparently not worth $217M in a bond issue to local voters, many of whom weren't even born in the early 1960's when the stadium was being conceived.
My kids and spouses have mixed emotions. It is within 5 miles of where they live but the I-75/I-285 interchange is already a traffic nightmare in the evenings. The surface streets around Cobb Galleria always have heavy traffic every day of the week except late at night.
The primary reason for the Braves move is so that they can own the stadium. Turner Field is not owned by the Atlanta Braves organization so they miss out on parking and other revenue sources. There were probably better sites available, but they probably got a good deal from the Cobb county govt., site of the new stadium. Traffic will probably be just as bad if not worse at the new location, but it is closer to most of their season ticket holders. Unfortunately the new site is not accesible from the MARTA rapid transit system.
Turner Field would be a good site for Follies. There would be no more problem with the seating and parking issues that plague the club now. LOL
I like Turner Field and usually make it down for a few games but I always thought it had a bit of weird setup and parking did seem to be a recurring issue.
18 comments