With the opening of SunTrust Park, the Atlanta Braves will unveil several tributes throughout the ballpark to team icon and baseball legend Hank Aaron. The displays will pay homage to the many facets of Aaron’s storied career, and include a bronze statue, baseball bat sculpture and a terrace featuring his 715th home run bat and ball.
“Hank Aaron is one of the preeminent figures of all time not only in sport, but in history, and this organization is constantly humbled by the opportunity to call him one of our own,” said Braves Chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk. “In constructing SunTrust Park, it was a priority from the beginning to incorporate Hank’s legacy in a way that not only allowed fans to celebrate their idol, but also did justice to his unparalleled accomplishments.”
At the heart of these tributes will be a new statue of Aaron created by world-renowned artist and Atlanta-based Ross Rossin. Fittingly, the statue will show the moment of impact between bat and ball on Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run. The statue will be the third work of art Rossin has created with Aaron as the subject, having previously completed a portrait of him which is in the Permanent Collection of The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC and another portrait that was commissioned by the Hank Aaron Foundation and is intended to go to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Copperstown, NY.
Adjacent to the statue will live a sculpture featuring 755 baseball bats, with each bat signifying the home run date and location, in honor of Aaron’s career home runs.
The Hank Aaron Terrace, open to the public and located on the upper left field level, will be home to the bat and ball Aaron used for his 715th home run. In addition, the terrace will be decorated with 715 bat knobs, each inscribed with the date, homer count and opponent recognizing all 715 of the home run king’s tallies. The terrace will be complete with an inside bar and outdoor seating, giving fans the chance to watch the action on the field in the company of these historic items.
Lastly, fans will never be far from a tribute to Aaron, as each end seat filigree on every row throughout SunTrust Park will display his infamous swing silhouette.
For more information on SunTrust Park, visit www.Braves.com/suntrustpark.
About SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta
SunTrust Park, the new 41,000-seat home of the Atlanta Braves, is being developed by the organization in partnership with the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority and will be completed by Opening Day 2017. Located in Atlanta at the intersection of I-75 and I-285 in the bustling Cumberland area, SunTrust Park will flow directly into The Battery Atlanta, a 1.5 million square foot mixed-use development, featuring boutique shopping, chef-driven restaurants, an Omni Hotel, The Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre, 550 residences and One Ballpark Center, Comcast’s regional office headquarters. Powered by Comcast’s all-fiber network and delivering multi-terabit capabilities, SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta will have the highest-capacity network serving any stadium and mixed-use development in the nation. The Battery Atlanta is being privately developed by the Braves along with retail partner Fuqua Development, office developer Pope & Land Enterprises and Pollack Shores Real Estate. Visitors can get a sneak peek of SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta at www.braves.com/SunTrustPark or www.batteryatl.com.
