Getting There While Avoiding Traffic
- Disclaimer about directions: These are the ways that I would go, not necessarily the ways they route you. But that means that most of the game day traffic is avoided by taking these routes, though they are a bit more complicated.
- Going Southbound
- Get off of I-75/I-85 at the John Wesley Dobbs Avenue exit.
- Take a right at the end of the ramp onto John Wesley Dobbs Avenue.
- In two blocks take a left onto Courtland Street.
- In about five blocks take a right onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
- Get in the left lane and in two blocks take a left onto Pryor Street.
- Continue on Pryor Street for seven or eight blocks and you will begin to see pay parking lots. The YMCA lot should be the first one you come to on the right.
- Going Northbound
- Take the Central Avenue exit just as you pass by Turner Field.
- The exit ramp will put right out on Central Avenue.
- Take a left on Richardson Street, which should be the first street you come to.
- Go one block on Richardson Street and take a left onto Pryor Street.
- The pay parking lots should be right there, with the YMCA lot being the first one you come to on the right.
- Going Eastbound
- Get off of I-20 at the Spring Street exit.
- Go straight through the exit across Spring Street veering to the right.
- Go about one block and take a right on Pryor Street.
- Go about three or four blocks on Pryor and you will begin to see pay parking lots. The YMCA lot should be the first one you come to on the right.
- Going Westbound
- Wait to get off I-20 until immediately past the I-75/I-85 exit, and get off at the Spring Street exit.
- At the end of the exit ramp take a left on Spring Street, get in the left lane and take a left at the next light under the overpass. When you take this left, there are two forks, take the fork to the right.
- Go about one block and take a right on Pryor Street.
- Go about three or four blocks on Pryor and you will begin to see pay parking lots. The YMCA lot should be the first one you come to on the right.
- Taking Transit
- From whichever MARTA line you are on, take the train to Five Points station.
- Follow the signs at Five Points to the Braves Shuttle. There will be plenty of MARTA employees directing you to where you need to go.
- Tip: Be patient, MARTA can be a bit hokey. Though, it is one of the safer mass transit systems around.
Getting out of there from the Pryor Street parking lots
- Leaving Northbound
- From the Pryor Street parking lots, take a right (or left) onto Pryor Street (Pryor is one way so this is hard to mess up).
- In a block or so (depending on where you parked) take a right onto Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
- Go about three blocks and take a right onto Windsor Street.
- Windsor Street will turn into Spring Street in several blocks.
- Continue on Spring Street for about two miles until you get to Ralph McGill Boulevard.
- Take a left on Ralph McGill Boulevard.
- Go one block and take a right onto I-75/I-85 northbound. Note: The far lane is also an entrance for carpools.
- Leaving Southbound
- From the Pryor Street parking lots, take a right (or left) on to Pryor Street (Pryor is one way so this is hard to mess up.)
- In a block or so (depending on where you parked) take a left at the stoplight onto Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
- The entrance to I-75/I-85 southbound should be on your right in a block or two.
- Leaving Westbound or Eastbound
- From the Pryor Street parking lots, take a right (or left) onto Pryor Street (Pryor is one way so this is hard to mess up).
- In a block or so (depending on where you parked) take a right onto Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
- Go about three blocks and take a right onto Windsor Street.
- Windsor Street will turn into Spring Street and you should see the signs for I-20 as you approach the overpass.
Parking
- Where to Park
- I recommend the YMCA lot on Pryor Street. It?s the cheapest lot at about $8, and the guys that run it watch your car the entire game.
- Most of the Pryor Street lots are good, and to my knowledge pretty safe.
- I recommend you absolutely don?t park in any of the Braves lots off of Hank Aaron Drive. They are crowded going in to the game, and you will wait a long time trying to get out after the game.
- If you do have to park in one of those lots off of Hank Aaron Drive, park further away from the stadium or near the exit so you can get out faster.
- When to Park
- For Monday through Thursday games you shouldn?t have any problem finding a lot to park in at any time.
- For Friday through Sunday and Holiday and Pennant Chase games, most of these lots will get full about a half hour prior to the game. Plan to get to the parking lot about an hour before game time.
- What does it cost
- The Braves lots on Hank Aaron Drive can cost up to $20.00 on the weekends, but are usually $12.00 to $15.00 during the week.
- The privately owned lots on Pryor Street usually start at $10.00 on weekdays, and $15.00 on weekends.
- The YMCA lot is the lot I recommend, and it is usually $8.00 all the time.
Arrival Time
- Gate Openings
- 2 ? hours prior to game time.
- Batting Practice Times for 1:05 Games
- Braves Pitchers BP - 10:20
- Group 1 - 10:35
- Group 2 - 10:50
- Group 3 - 11:05
- Group 4 - 11:20
- Visitors BP - 11:35
- Batting Practice Times for 7:05 Games
- Braves Pitchers BP - 4:20
- Group 1 - 4:35
- Group 2 - 4:50
- Group 3 - 5:05
- Group 4 - 5:20
- Visitors BP - 5:35
- Batting Practice Times for 7:35 Games
- Braves Pitchers BP - 4:50
- Group 1 - 5:05
- Group 2 - 5:20
- Group 3 - 5:35
- Group 4 - 5:50
- Visitors BP - 6:05
- Autographs
- Official Autograph Policy: Fans may seek autographs from the time the gates open until one hour prior to game time. Fans are allowed, under the direction of the usher staff, to seek autographs from the outfield side of each dugout until the announcement is made one hour prior to game time.
- For autographs before and after games it's best to hang out on Bill Lucas Drive near the corner, which is just off of Hank Aaron Drive behind the stadium. The player's parking lot is just across the street and so they enter and leave through those gates. There is usually a mini-throng of people waiting for autographs.
- For autographs before the game on Bill Lucas Drive, you need to be there at least three hours before the game. Players arrive later for day games, so two to three hours before a game is sufficient.
- For autographs after the game on Bill Lucas Drive, get down there right after the game is over. Some players will scoot out of there pretty fast, while other may take an hour or so to leave.
- Weekday Games
- Unless it?s a holiday or a series that?s reported to be sold out, there shouldn?t be much traffic. Get to the ballpark about a half hour before the game and you should be at your seats by first pitch.
- Weekend Games
- There is usually a lot of traffic for any weekend game. Plan to arrive at the ballpark about an hour before the game and you should be at your seats just as the visitors batting practice is wrapping up.
Which Seats Are the Best
- In General
- If you like the shade, then get seats on the third base (visitors) side of the field. They are the even numbered seats.
- If you like sun, then buy a seat on the first base (home) side of the field. They are the odd numbered seats.
- For shade on day games you need to get 200 level or Lexus level seats.
- Lower Level
- Anything up to about 121 or 122 is good. The dugouts end at 117 and 118.
- Anything up to 223 or 224 is good. Most of the 200 level is covered in case rain is expected.
- Lexus Level
- All of the Lexus level is pretty good seating.
- Most of the Lexus level is covered in case rain is expected.
- This level has an air-conditioned concourse with tables and chairs in certain areas. This is the recommended level for really hot days if you have young children or elderly in your group.
- Upper Level
- Anything on the even numbered (shade) side is a pretty good seat.
- Anything up to 423 on the odd numbered (sun) side is a pretty good seat.
- Avoid 429 to 433 as the foul pole will obstruct a lot of your view.
- For all of the upper deck seats, avoid the first row. There is a railing there that will quite often obstruct your view.
- Weekday Game Tip: Most weekday games are not crowded, especially if they are playing a dull opponent. Most upper deck ushers will let you sit wherever you want, as long as you move if you?re in someone?s seat. What I usually do is find a female usher in sections 412 to 418 and casually ask her if she wouldn?t mind if I stayed out of the sun and sat up here. Be extra nice and they will let you sit there every time. That way you can buy the cheapest ticket and get a bit of an upgrade.
- Getting Scalped Tickets
- Scalpers will hang out on Hank Aaron drive from the bridge over the interstates all the way down to the stadium.
- They will also hang out on Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard from Pryor Street all the way down to the stadium.
- Atlanta scalpers get 90% of the tickets they sell from ticket reselling companies that don?t sell all of their tickets to a game. About two or three hours before the game the ticket reselling company will give all the rest of their tickets to their ?street guy.?
- Unless it?s expected to be a sellout, absolutely never pay face value or higher for scalped tickets in Atlanta.
- There are usually plenty of scalpers, shop around and take your time.
- One move I like to use is to try and bargain the scalper down, and then walk away. I usually take about three or four steps and the scalper comes running after me with an even lower price.
- Remember to have an idea about what you want to pay per ticket before you head to the stadium.
- Never buy scalped tickets from a bum, buy them from the guys that look halfway respectable.
- If you want to sell your extra tickets to scalpers, make sure you don?t do it near a cop, they don?t like that.
What About Food
- Bringing Your Own
- Many people do not know that you can bring your own food and drinks into the ballpark.
- The food has to be in paper wrappers or plastic containers.
- The beverages (non-alcoholic) have to be in plastic bottles, absolutely no glass or cans.
- If you forget to bring sodas or a bottle of water, pick some up from a vendor outside the stadium, they are about half the price or less than the ones inside the stadium. The same goes for peanuts.
- You can?t bring alcohol into the stadium, but to get around that what I like to do is empty my soda bottles about a third of the way and then fill them back up with the good stuff.
- Hot Dogs
- The best hot dogs are not in the regular food stands, but in a couple of autonomous grills that are scattered throughout the stadium.
- The good dogs (plus Italian sausage and bratwurst) are located near sections 128, 218, and 411.
- Pizza
- The pizza at the stadium is actually pretty good. They make it fresh with a medium thin crust.
- The pizza stands are located near sections 123, 124, 223, 224, 410, and 411.
- Other
- Skip and Pete?s Hall of Fame bar-b-que is located in the fan plaza and is pretty decent bar-b-que, but it costs A LOT.
- There is also a bar-b-que stand in the Lexus level and one near section 139.
- The fan plaza has stands with cheese steaks and other food you can?t find elsewhere in the park.
- There is a Moe's burrito place (with the same annoying "Welcome to Moe's" intro) located near section 139. That's probably the healthiest option at the stadium.
- Turner Field is not very vegetarian friendly. The only real options are the cheese pizza, nachos, or a veggie Moe's burrito.
- Funnel Cake is located near section 129.
What About Beer
- How Much
- Beers are around $6.00 for a domestic 16 oz. and more for imports.
- The only draft beers are in the Chop Shop, and they have a good local beer called Red Brick.
- How Long
- They sell beer around the stadium until the end of the seventh inning.
- They sell beer in the Chop Shop for the entire game, even if the game goes into extra innings.
Things to See
- Chop Shop
- It?s the big bar in the outfield under the Budweiser sign.
- If you want a spot along the railing, get there at least an hour before the game. Sometime earlier on weekends.
- Wear sunblock for day games.
- It?s about the only place you can smoke while drinking at the stadium, and it can get smoky
- They sell beer the entire game, no cutoff.
- They have a full bar with mixed drinks.
- Sky Field
- It?s worth a visit, especially if you have kids.
- This is a great place to cool down on a hot day. They have water misters going over a 50+ yard walkway that will really cool you down.
- There is a home to first-base path that kids can run.
- It is interesting to see the big Coke bottle up close, as it is made of baseball paraphernalia.
- There are picnic tables for dining, and big red chairs shaped like Coke bottles that look out on the Atlanta sky-line.
- Pre-Game Pep-Rallies or Concerts and More
- Check the Braves web site for special events or bands.
- They usually have a drum line and cheerleader types doing some ra-ra-ing before each game in the fan plaza.
- On weekends they will often have a local band perform a pregame concert in the fan plaza.
- Interactive Games - that include throwing the ball under a radar gun, swinging at pitches, and more - are fun for kids and are located between sections 132 and 146. The area is covered and it's a pretty good activity for a hot day.