What exactly does a $7 Coke get you?
If you’ve been buying that Coke at Atlanta Braves games, it has helped to build a new $670 million stadium. Baseball season has arrived and SunTrust Park will make its regular-season debut April 14 when the Braves face the San Diego Padres.
Atlanta’s new stadium has certainly generated its share of buzz. I even watched portions of a two-hour TV special on Fox over the weekend that was devoted entirely to SunTrust Park. The Fox report was informative and for some reason it made me want to send angry, unfounded tweets at 2 a.m.
The new stadium has been equipped with all the latest gadgets, including drink rails with cup holders that will keep your beverage icy cold.
I say if you pay $7 for a Coke, at least it should be enjoyable. The drink rails are believed to be a first-of-its-kind feature and are viewed as an ideal addition to a ballpark in the middle of stifling hot Atlanta.
Test have shown drinks will rise in temperature 13 degrees in just 20 minutes if left in 90-degree heat. However, drinks placed in one of these drink rails will get 7 degrees colder in 20 minutes. Amazing.
I’m thinking the ballpark is not the ideal location for this gadget. I really need one of those cup holders on my lawnmower.
I should note, the cup holders are not at every seat. They can be found at the Coors Light Chop House, a centerpiece, three-level attraction with two party decks.
With 41,500 seats, SunTrust Park is 20 percent smaller than Turner Field. Braves officials say this is an attempt to make every seat feel like the best in the house.
I’m not sure how far this marketing gimmick will go when seats range in price from $6 to $475. If every seat really is the best in the house, I’ll just pay $6 please.
The Braves say nearly half the ballpark, 19,000 seats, will be priced under $20 per seat with a ballpark average of $28 per seat. The Major League average is $29 per ticket, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
A Kansas City-based company called Populous is the architectural firm which designed SunTrust Park. I wonder how much that company would charge to design an indoor pool at the Civic Center?
It turns out, Populous has designed 19 of the 30 Major League parks and it has taken popular elements from all of those stadiums to develop SunTrust Park. That includes evergreen trees beyond center field that are like Colorado, a water feature that’s like Kansas City, and brick work reminiscent of Wrigley Field in Chicago.
I’m anxious to see SunTrust Park for myself. I’ll spring for a few $7 Cokes, but not the $475 seats.