Former Braves outfielder Jordan excited about new stadium
GREENSBORO -- Some fear change, especially one as large as the construction of the Atlanta Braves’ new stadium in Cobb County. Brian Jordan isn’t one of those people.
“I love it. I think it’s long overdue,” Jordan -- a Braves outfielder from 1999-2001 -- said Wednesday at the second annual Enduring Hearts Georgia Celebrity Golf Classic. “What the Braves are moving for, I think, is going to be great for fans and just enjoyment of the game.”
Turner Field was built in 1996 as Centennial Olympic Stadium and later became the Braves’ stadium at the beginning of the 1997 season. The Braves will continue using Turner Field for the remainder of this season and all of next season before moving to SunTrust Park for opening day in 2017.
Although Turner Field was Jordan’s home during his only All-Star season in 1999, he says he’s “always for new and change.” He also noted the deficiencies with the stadium’s size.
“I thought Turner Field was a little too big,” he said. “You’d never sell out.”
Along with an interest in a new stadium, one of the major factors behind the move is to do just that: sell out more games. Turner Field’s capacity sits at 49,586, which ranks as the fourth largest among major league stadiums.
In 2014, the Braves ranked 18th in attendance with 29,065 seats filled on average -- leaving nearly 20,000 seats empty. Thus far in 2015, that number has declined to 24th with 24,755 fans at each game.
“I think now they’re going to build it the right way size-wise, and fans will finally see a sold-out stadium,” Jordan said.
And that’s ideal -- not only for the enjoyment of the fans but also to raise the atmosphere in the stadium. SunTrust Park plans to lower the seating capacity to approximately 41,000. But a stadium alone doesn’t get fans to the ballpark. The Miami Marlins opened their park in 2012, and even though there was a small spike in attendance, the Marlins fell back to 29th in 2013 and 27th in 2014. Jordan is confident the Braves will field a contender to take advantage of SunTrust Park.
“Believe me, they will have a good product come 2017,” he said. “Right now, they’re in a rebuilding stage, and nobody likes to say that, but I think they’re making some great moves; they brought in some good, young players.”
Atlanta showed it was in rebuilding mode after trading leading hitter Justin Upton and fan-favorite closer Craig Kimbrel to San Diego this past offseason. The move was one of many the Braves have made in the past six months to add younger talent to their team and minor league system.
“But with some of the young guys they brought in, they’re developing into some good players. For 2017, they freed up a lot of money to make this a contender,” Jordan said. “And when you’re talking about a contender and a new stadium, new environment ... it’s going to be fun.”
The Braves are not the only source of fun in Jordan’s future. On Thursday, the Brian Jordan Foundation and Kennesaw State announced they will be opening a Center for Excellence at LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson that will become the next “Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports” in Atlanta.
“This is a dream come true for me, and I’m so excited,” Jordan said. “I haven’t stopped smiling since hearing the news; this is just a great step forward to helping homeless families.”
This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Former Braves outfielder Jordan excited about new stadium ."