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Braves’ SunTrust Park could be the roadmap for all future MLB stadiums

A view from the press box of SunTrust Park, the Atlanta Braves' new baseball stadium in Atlanta, Wednesday, March 29, 2017. The Braves' new ballpark looks like a throwback stadium with its green seats, brick walls and its old-school, intimate feel. That's from an initial glance inside the park. Beyond the stadium walls sits the real wow factor that could be a game-changer for the industry. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A view from the press box of SunTrust Park, the Atlanta Braves' new baseball stadium in Atlanta, Wednesday, March 29, 2017. The Braves' new ballpark looks like a throwback stadium with its green seats, brick walls and its old-school, intimate feel. That's from an initial glance inside the park. Beyond the stadium walls sits the real wow factor that could be a game-changer for the industry. (AP Photo/David Goldman) A view from the press box of SunTrust Park, the Atlanta Braves' new baseball stadium in Atlanta, Wednesday, March 29, 2017. The Braves' new ballpark looks like a throwback stadium with its green seats, brick walls and its old-school, intimate feel. That's from an initial glance inside the park. Beyond the stadium walls sits the real wow factor that could be a game-changer for the industry. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

By Mark Wiedmer 4 min read

Read more about Braves Opening Day

It’s always nice to be first. Unless you have to buy the tickets to be the first to see it.

That’s one way of looking at the Atlanta Braves’ new 41,500-seat playpen at the corner of I-75 and I-285, the stunning $662 million SunTrust Park.

Framed on its perimeter by the four-star Westin Hotel, a concert hall, restaurants, retail shops and residential areas – the whole development is known as The Battery Atlanta – SunTrust is seen by no less than Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred as “a roadmap for clubs to get new stadiums built.”

In an interview with The Associated Press this past week, he added, “I think the scope of the mixed-use development surrounding the ballpark and the economic opportunity it has created for the club is what people see as revolutionary. It’s a different era in terms of community financing for facilities.”

Becoming the first Braves fans to cheer on their team during a regular-season game might require some creative financing, however.