Braves hope fans will change parking habits at new stadium - CBS46 News

As the Atlanta Braves prepare to open the gates at Suntrust Park on March 31, the team hopes fans will change their decades-old habit of coming to the park with cash on hand to pay for parking.  Rather, that they buy parking online and pinpoint the location of their parking lot before they ever get in the car.

The team has secured more than 11,000 parking spots, a drastic upgrade from the number they had available at Turner Field, where there were nine thousand more seats.  However, the parking at Suntrust Park spreads out in all directions, different from the layout at Turner Field where most people parked in massive lots to the north of the stadium.

"I think it's going to be pretty crazy when everyone shows up (for the first time)," said season ticket holder Ben Pace.  "I think for the first three or four months people are going to have trouble figuring out (the traffic and parking patterns)."

The team believes the learning curve can play out much faster, provided people buy their parking in advance and decide on their route to their parking lot.

The first game is March 31, an exhibition game against the New York Yankees.  The first regular season game is April 14 against the San Diego Padres.

Copyright 2017 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.