On March 29, 1997, the Atlanta Braves played their first game at Turner Field, an exhibition against the New York Yankees.
It was a rematch of the 1996 World Series, which the Braves lost after taking a 2-game lead.
In the video (above), the pre-game show hosted by the TBS team of Pete Van Wieren and Joe Simpson detail some of the ballpark features and delight in the accomplishment of retrofitting the Olympics venue into a baseball facility.
Fast forward 20 years, as the Braves prepare to open a new ballpark in Cobb County, SunTrust Park.
The Braves will open SunTrust Park with a March 31 exhibition game -- again against the New York Yankees -- but won’t play their first regular-season game in the new ballpark until April 14 against the San Diego Padres.
Tickets to the Braves’ exhibition game are available only to season-ticket holders.
Much of the surrounding development, The Battery Atlanta remains under construction.
The first regular-season baseball game in SunTrust Park will be played by the Georgia Bulldogs. The Georgia-Missouri game — the third game of a three-game SEC series — will benefit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Turner Field, meanwhile, is being reconfigured once again and will become the home of the Georgia State football team.
Joey Ivansco
Joey Ivansco
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