Fans have given a resounding endorsement of their experience at Truist Park in 2024, something the Braves will prioritize continuing entering the new year.
The Braves again ranked highly in MLB’s Voice of the Consumer (VOC) Program, according to results announced last month. The VOC rankings are determined by league-wide surveys that require fans to rate several game-day intricacies, including in-game entertainment, parking, food and beverage and gameday staff.
There are six categories, three of which the Braves ranked No. 1 among all clubs: best overall guest experience, concessions and non-game entertainment. They also ranked in the top half of Major League Baseball in the other three categories: parking ingress, parking egress and seatview.
“We have put an emphasis on the guest experience,” Hannah Basinger, Braves vice president of operations, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And it being not just about a baseball game, not just about coming to watch a sport, but also about what do the fans feel and remember when they leave, no matter the result on the field.”
The 2024 campaign was the third consecutive season that the Braves surpassed 3 million in tickets sold. It’s the second time such has occurred in Atlanta history. The team sold more than 3 million tickets four straight seasons from 1997-2000. It also met that total in 1992 and 1993.
Basinger, a University of Georgia graduate, has spent 18 seasons with the organization. A former Braves trainee, she’s carried on what others before her instilled. Basinger has overseen the Braves’ progress in areas such as concessions, event sales and the general ballpark experience. She’s played an integral role in the franchise’s hiring and recruiting process when it comes to game-day staff and service employees.
She and her colleagues emphasize making a Braves game a memorable experience for visitors regardless of the on-field happenings. That’s an ever-evolving task that includes everything from staff friendliness to service speed to innovation in areas such as ticketing and food and beverage.
It begins with having the right people in place, Basinger said, who want to create a welcoming environment.
“I’m grateful that was really deeply ingrained in me from an early stage in my career,” she said. “This organization has truly tried to hire the best people who naturally just exhibit the greatest hospitality attributes you could have; that care about serving people and making sure they have a great experience, or if something goes wrong, making sure that we listen and fix it, and whether that’s in the moment or with process improvement or enhancements to the experience. So that has been a part of who we are for a long, long time.”
While Truist Park and The Battery have proved successful, it’s helped that the team has enjoyed its second-greatest run since moving to Atlanta in 1966. The Braves have made the postseason in seven consecutive seasons, a stretch that includes six division titles (2018-23), five postseason series victories – after having none between 2002-19 – and a World Series title in 2021. Since 2018, only the Dodgers and Astros have won more games.
The passionate home environment has played a part. The Braves have had a winning home record in seven of Truist Park’s eight seasons. In the past seven years, the club is 288-197 (68%) at home (excluding a 19-11 mark in 2020 when fans weren’t in stadiums due to the pandemic).
“Braves Country, it’s real,” manager Brian Snitker said late last season. “These guys appreciate it. One of the things that allows them to go out every day and play at a high level, is that when we are playing at home, the energy is unbelievable. That place is always packed and I think these guys look forward to being on that stage there.”
Snitker constantly raves about what the front office and fans have created at Truist Park. It’s something in which the organization takes great pride.
“My first several years with the Braves were the years we would make the playoffs but not get very far, and our attendance numbers were actually going down each year, but our guest satisfaction ratings and some of our metrics we used to measure service and experience were actually going up,” Basinger said. “And so it was really neat to see that we invested in a time where we couldn’t control the product on the field. Our attendance numbers were going down, but our fans were happy. They were leaving with a great experience. So we were controlling what we could control. We’ve continued to prioritize that. I think it’s a really strong message when everyone feels invested in a part of it.
“When we clinched the NLCS (in 2021), I remember Brian Snitker acknowledging every part of the organization, helping to get us there and propelling us there. And he even talked about the game day staff and the people behind the scenes, and what an environment it creates. And so because (our game-day staff) is creating a remarkable experience for our fans, it’s creating an unbelievable atmosphere that our players get to play in every night. So we try to make sure that our staff feels they have a hand in the success and can influence the outcome on the field in a way that you want to play home games at Truist Park, if you’re on the Braves, because this energy is unbelievable.”
Hundreds of sports organizations have visited The Battery and Truist Park over the years as they try their own forward-thinking strategies. For instance, the Texas Rangers, whose ballpark opened in 2020, put their surrounding entertainment district to good use last summer at the All-Star game – the Braves will host the Midsummer Classic next summer – and the concept has become increasingly popular following the Braves’ success. Nearby, the University of Tennessee is transforming the riverfront at Neyland Stadium with a similar project. Nashville could be doing the same next to its new downtown stadium expected to open in 2027.
The totality of it all – fan service, the surrounding entertainment and the on-field product – has made the Braves one of the premier franchises in professional sports. Braves President and CEO Derek Schiller heard inquiries from other teams after the VOC results were revealed, Basinger said, about the “how” of the team’s operations.
“(Other teams were saying) tell me about the how, how you did this, what you are prioritizing,” Basinger said. “I have colleagues who’ve reached out to say congratulations, but also, ‘Can I set up a call with you and dig into it?’ One thing that I’ve always said about our industry is we may be competitors on the field, but we all talk to each other, learn from each other, share best practices and we have always done that over the years.”
The Braves will report to spring training during the second week of February. They’ll open the 2025 season March 27 in San Diego, and they’ll begin their home schedule April 4 against the Marlins.
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