Turner Field

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The stadium was originally constructed as the 85,000-seat Centennial Olympic Stadium and used for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Immediately after the 1996 Summer Paralympics, much of the north end of the stadium was removed to convert it to a 49,000-seat baseball park. Private entities, including NBC and other Olympic sponsors, agreed to pay a large sum of the cost to build Centennial Olympic Stadium (approximately $170 million of the $209 million bill). The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) paid for the conversion. The most popular name choice among Atlanta residents for the new stadium was Hank Aaron Stadium, but it was named after Ted Turner. The city renamed the section of Capitol Avenue on which the stadium sits Hank Aaron Drive, giving Turner Field the street number 755, after Aaron's home run total. The section of the outfield wall with the monument marking where Hank Aaron's 715th home run went over it was moved to a new location at Turner Field (not the original spot) and was later removed to Truist Park.

In Their Own Story

By 2013, tensions rose regarding the stadium's future as executives cited downtown traffic and parking shortages as barriers to attendance. Team VP Mike Plant noted the location did not match where most fans lived and criticized the lack of control over surrounding commercial development. President John Schuerholz estimated $150 million was needed for structural upkeep alone, with an additional $200 million required for fan improvements. Negotiations with the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority to extend the lease failed because Mayor Kasim Reed stated the city could not afford such renovations. Consequently, the Braves began planning SunTrust Park in Cobb County, a public/private partnership costing $672 million. On August 13, 2015, the team officially notified they would vacate by December 31, 2016. Georgia State University eventually secured the site to build Center Parc Stadium, while the old Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium site became a parking lot painted with the old field configuration.

Reader's Guide

Turner Field hosted the NLDS a total of 11 times (1997–2005, 2010, 2013), the NLCS four times (1997–1999, 2001), one World Series (1999), one NL Wild Card Game (2012, the first in baseball history), and the 2000 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The Braves played the final game at Turner Field on October 2, 2016, a 1–0 win over the Detroit Tigers. The franchise allowed its lease on the facility to expire at the end of the calendar year. In 2017, the team moved to the newly constructed SunTrust Park (now called Truist Park), located in nearby Cobb County. The stadium was reconfigured for college football in 2017 as Center Parc Stadium for Georgia State University. Architecture firm Heery was responsible for both stadium conversions.

Did You Know?

• Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
• The stadium hosted the first NL Wild Card Game in baseball history in 2012.
• The outfield wall monument for Hank Aaron's 715th home run was moved to a new location at Turner Field and later removed to Truist Park.
• Turner Field was converted into a college football stadium called Center Parc Stadium in 2017.