Named after Braves owner Ted Turner, who on opening day candidly opined that its refreshment prices were too high, Turner Field is the third stadium in history to have hosted the Summer Olympics before being put to use as a major-league ballpark. But
unlike its predecessors (the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Montreal's Stade Olympique) Atlanta's facility was shaped primarily for baseball. The temporary
seating of the $320 million Olympic structure was removed after the games ended, to be replaced by a smaller number of differently configured permanent seats in left field. (The stands on the other three sides of the ballpark remain as originally built.) The post-Olympic seating capacity is 50,000.
Designed in the currently popular neotraditional manner pioneered at Baltimore's Camden Yards, Turner Field features a well-proportioned and subtly detailed masonry
exterior, a steel structural system, and a largely linear, angular overall layout. The outfield is unusual in that the left field wall is curved like a typical 1960-1975 era stadium (a holdover from the Olympic running track configuration) while the right field wall is straight-lined like today's retro parks. A large public plaza occupies the former
Olympic Stadium space beyond left field.
Given the strength of the 1997 Braves, Atlanta's fans hoped that Turner
Field might become only the third ballpark (after Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium) to host a World Series in its maiden year. But the surprising Marlins unexpectedly knocked the Braves out of the postseason in the NLCS.
The new park, while close to downtown Atlanta and accessible to some degree by rapid transit, floats in a sea of parking -- as did Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, located one long block north. Unlike its predecessor, Turner Field is not very favorable for home runs, with righty batters being distinctly penalized. But this has not been a great
hardship on the Braves, who, in 2001, became the first major-sport team to win ten consecutive divisional titles. (JP)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»March 31, 1998:
At Turner Field, the Milwaukee Brewers, the first team to switch leagues since 1901, lose their first game in the NL, 2–1, to the Braves. Bob Wickman takes the historic loss in relief, as the Braves plate the winning marker with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning.
»June 27, 2000:
The Atlanta Braves back off from their decision to bar from their chartered flights four team announcers who had raised questions about the catcher's box at Turner Field. After TBS discussed the width of the catcher's box in a game against the Brewers three days ago, Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Joe Simpson and Don Sutton were kicked off a flight to Montreal and had to take a commercial flight. TBS aired a video showing the catcher's box was four to five inches smaller than it was the previous night, when Milwaukee management complained about where Braves catcher Javy Lopez was setting up. Opposing teams have long said that Atlanta pitchers are given the benefit of an extra-wide strike zone, particularly on the outside corners. Catchers who set up wide of the plate can increase the chances of an outside pitch being called a strike. The video was shown after a rare balk call against Fernando Lunar, the Braves catcher. Home-plate umpire John Shulock ruled that Lunar set up with his right foot outside the 43-inch-wide box. The balk led to Milwaukee's first run and a heated argument between Shulock and Braves manager Bobby Cox, who was ejected. Atlanta lost the game 2-1.
»September 2, 2002:
Pittsburgh's Salomon Torres (1–0), pitching in the majors for the first time since July 20, 1997, starts and goes 8.1 scoreless innings against the Braves. He also collects his first hit since 1994. as the Pirates win, 3–0. Torres, 30, retired as an active player in 1997 and served as Montreal's pitching coach in the Dominican Summer League before signing with Pittsburgh in January. Fortunately for the Braves, only 18,931 fans, the smallest crowd in Turner Field history, see the game.
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