4Topps prove to be a hit for premium section

The Atlanta Braves have taken a premium-seat concept they first tested at Turner Field and turned it into a hot commodity at SunTrust Park.

The four-seat terrace tables, produced by 4Topps, are baseball’s spin on the loge box concept, and have been a big hit for the Braves. It took only two months for the team and sales agency Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment to sell out the 90-plus tables.

The four-seat terrace tables sold so fast that the Braves wish they had double the number. Photo by: COURTESY OF THE ATLANTA BRAVES

Food and drink credits are built into the ticket price, and those patrons have access to an indoor lounge, a prime amenity in “Hotlanta” during the summer months.

The inventory went so fast that Derek Schiller, the Braves’ president of business operations, wishes he could have doubled the number of terrace tables when planning the ballpark, but the idea came too late for stadium developers to make the adjustment.

Those who bought the 4Topps embraced the setup in a prime location midlevel behind home plate, according to Schiller.

“Everybody feels like they’re connected, whereas if you have four seats in a row, it’s hard to lean over and talk to somebody two seats over from you,” he said. “It includes a certain amount of food and beverage so you don’t have to dig in-pocket. Every table gets about $100 in credits [per game].”

To date, 4Topps, a 5-year-old North Carolina firm, has supplied seven MLB teams with similar products, most of which were tied to repositioning outfield spaces. The Diamondbacks, Tigers, Reds, Padres, Giants, Cubs and White Sox have all installed 4Topps tables at their stadiums.

SunTrust Park is 4Topps’ first installation at a newly constructed MLB park. The Braves did not use 4Topps when they customized their own terrace table product at Turner Field as part of a retrofit, but the team was familiar with the company’s work at other MLB parks.

In addition to the terrace tables, 4Topps is supplying SunTrust Park with 2,500 of the same lightweight mesh seats, but without the table portion, for the first 15 rows from the field down the foul lines, plus bar stools and some other seats.

The Braves’ all-inclusive food and drink model extends across the remaining club-seat products and the ballpark’s 32 suites. The Braves tested the model at Turner Field and it’s one of the things that got the highest ratings and satisfaction scores among focus groups.

“Coming out of pocket above and beyond the ticket price, especially for someone who is entertaining, is not necessarily something they want to do,” Schiller said.