Though it will be the second-ever game to be played at SunTrust Park, the "first chance for members of the general public to see inside" the Braves’ new home will come during a Univ. of Missouri-Georgia matchup Saturday afternoon, according to a front-page piece by Jon Gargis of the MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL. All tickets to the game are general admission and priced at $15, with "all proceeds going to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta." The game will "serve as a second 'test run' for the new ballpark." As of Thursday, "nearly 27,000 tickets had already been sold to the game." Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Sports Network Exec Dir Shelton Stevens, alluding to the organization’s annual UGA-Georgia Tech Kauffman Tire Spring Classic Baseball Game said, "It’s because it’s SunTrust Park. It’s not Georgia and Georgia Tech." That annual game "averages 19,000 fans." Those coming to the ballpark on Saturday will have "more places to visit at The Battery Atlanta, the mixed-use development next to the stadium," than those who visited the ballpark last Friday for its first game. Braves Dir of PR Beth Marshall said that expected to be "up and running Saturday are Antico Pizza and the Braves Clubhouse Store." More establishments are "expected to come online in time for the Braves’ first regular season game next week" (MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL, 4/7). In Atlanta, Tim Tucker notes Braves execs "see the game as an opportunity to work out some glitches" before the ballpark welcomes a standing-room-only crowd to the opener against the Padres next Friday. UGA, like the Braves, "advises that fans attending Saturday’s game purchase tickets and parking passes in advance and navigate to their specific parking lot by using the Waze traffic app" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/7).
TAKE ME HOME: In Atlanta, Meris Lutz notes by the time of the Braves' home opener "about half of the restaurants and stores that have announced partnerships with the team are expected to be open and operational, including the ones closest to the stadium, with the rest opening over the coming year" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/7). In Marietta, Nubyjas Wilborn writes under the header, "Terrapin Taproom Offers Braves Fans Best Of Craft Beer While Not Missing A Pitch" (MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL, 4/7). Also in Marietta, Everett Catts notes SunTrust Park’s traffic plan "passed its first test" from Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, who last year was "one of its harshest critics." Paul said of last Friday's exhibition game against the Yankees, "I was there and saw a lot of the police force. They were doing what could be the best outcome. ... I didn’t get a single email about it. That is the best indicator (that) things went well" (MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL, 4/7).
CHARGED UP: In Atlanta, Phil Hudson noted The Battery Atlanta will "soon be home to Mizuno’s first retail store" in the U.S. The 3,800-square-foot store -- "dubbed the Mizuno Experience Center -- will feature a baseball/softball swing lab (a baseball/softball simulator where customers can choose from 125 Mizuno demo bats to be fit and hit in nearly any Major League Baseball park)." Mizuno, as part of the sponsorship, will have "two baseball glove kiosks in its new park that will provide fans an opportunity to 'check out' a Mizuno glove during the game in order to catch foul balls and homeruns" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/6). Also in Atlanta, Melissa Ruggieri notes on Saturday a "fresh generation of music fans" will step into the polished lobby of Coca-Cola Roxy, the nearly 4,000-capacity venue at The Battery Atlanta that "takes its name from one of the city’s most fondly remembered music havens." Live Nation Atlanta will "book about 40 shows per year in the 53,000-square-foot site, the majority of them on non-game days." Saturday’s launch is a "sold-out concert from British indie rockers Glass Animals" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/7).
