Opened: April 17, 2009
Capacity: 10,427
Affiliated with the Atlanta Braves
Coolray Field
One nice thing about the Braves organization is that they own almost all of their minor league teams so they can pretty much do what they want with them. The downside is that there is no motivation it seems to get butts in seats with the local teams when the parent club is not drawing well. Gwinnett is consistently at the bottom of the International League in attendance. I was here once, for a Thursday afternoon matinée and there was hardly anyone there. I can see why.
How did I get there?
The stadium is located near I-85 about 30 miles from Atlanta. One would guess that it is supposed to be an easier alternative to attending one of the parent club’s game for those who live east of Atlanta. That seems to work for the Orioles but it does not seem to work for the Braves, even with several top tier prospects in their system. For the game I attended I arrived plenty early and beat the parking attendant in so I know there is a fee to park but I don’t know how much it is.
Ticket prices
Ticket prices weren’t bad. I got in for $12 and sat 5 rows from the field.
Finding my seat and amenities
Easy to find the seat. There seemed to be a wide range of food and beverage services available but most were closed. it was a Thursday afternoon game so that was not a surprise. The only downside for me was that I had to pay $1 extra for a dippin-dots ice cream helmet to add to my collection when compared to the ice cream stand which was not open. This was the first time I have had dippin-dots. I don’t see what the big deal is.
In game experience
Low turnout and low energy game. The parent club was also playing an afternoon matinée so I don’t know if that drew some potential attendees. They had the usual stable of in-game entertainment. With the sparse crowd I also got a foul ball that hit three rows behind me but a kid was quicker than I was.
Getting out
I was heading up I-85 towards South Carolina so it was easy to get out. With a sparsely attended game traffic was no issue. That was the whole attraction for me that particular day as I could have also seen my beloved Pirates beat the snot out of the Braves that day.
Wrap
Compared to other AAA parks I was not impressed with this one. It had more of the feeling of the Rome Braves than the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. I don’t want to be too harsh since one game does not make a season and I picked an afternoon game before Memorial Day to go to. It was clean and is fairly new so I doubt the team is moving at any point and since the parent club owns it they are probably not worried about turning a profit as long as the parent club is doing well.