Freddie Freeman is a key cog in the Braves future. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
When the Atlanta Braves open their new stadium in Cobb County and leave Turner Field behind, the venue will also have a new name: Sun Trust Park.
In a 25-year naming rights agreement was announced Tuesday at a groundbreaking ceremony.
The Braves will play at Turner Field in Atlanta until 2016, before the stadium built in 1996 for the Olympics — the Braves’ first season there was 1997 — shuts its doors.
Sun Trust is a bank holding company with more than $170 million in assets.
The new site is in Cobb County 14 miles northwest of Turner Field on the northwest corner of the I-75 and I-285 intersection. It is part of a vast development that includes hotels, restaurants, retail outlets and other entertainment options.
“It will make it far greater for our fans, with a far more enjoyable experience. It should be successful. We believe it makes us look more comfortably, favorably and positively toward the continued development of our organization,” team president John Schuerholz said in Nov. 2013, when the team announced the plan.
The Braves played in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium from 1966-96 before Turner Field, constructed across the street from that site as Olympic Stadium, opened as a baseball stadium.
Sun Trust Park has an estimated price tag of nearly $700 million in total construction costs with at least 41,000 seats.
