Braves first home game at SunTrust Park is tentatively scheduled for April 13th, 2017

If you’re planning on making your way through the adventure of traffic that is sure to greet you on your way to Cobb County for games at SunTrust Park, then you may want to circle April 13th, 2017 on your personal calendar. According to a report from the Associated Press, that will be the day in which the Atlanta Braves officially open up their brand new ballpark for regular season play.

From the AP’s report:

The 2017 schedule, which is tentative and subject to change, has the Braves opening the season with a three-game series at the New York Mets on April 3, then going to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game series. Atlanta also has a two-game series at the Miami Marlins before heading home for the Thursday opener against the Padres, the start of a four-game series.

Again, this is subject to change and we won’t know for sure if this is accurate or not until sometime in September, which is when baseball will release the schedule for 2017. Still, it’s a tiny bit of a bummer that the Braves will have to wait 10 days before they get to enjoy the grand opening of their new ballpark in the suburbs. Ideally, you’d like to see the team play in their shiny new stadium as soon as possible, but I suppose that this isn’t a huge deal for MLB and their schedule makers.

Here’s hoping that the 2017 squad — which will probably have a markedly different look from the 2016 and a new manager to boot — will already have a few wins under their belt once they finally get to open up their new ballpark. Save the date, folks.