These are some common questions, in no particular order, about Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and this site. This is an attempt to help you find what you need as quickly as possible. If this list doesn't answer your question, then please feel free to contact me. I don't bite.

1. Why aren't there more pictures from before 1996?
2. Can you help me find some seats from the old stadium?
3. Are you with the Braves? Can you get an autograph or do a favor for me?
4. Why didn't they keep the stadium, anyway?
5. What about that white square on the original scoreboard?
6. Was the stadium in any movies?
7. And just what is the deal with these colors, anyway?

Why aren't there more pictures from before 1996?

 The reason is very simple: I didn't visit the stadium for the first time until 1996, and even the photography I was able to do during my visits there was limited. (You can thank the idiot who phoned in the bomb threat at the final game for that.) Furthermore, since the owners of baseball images can be very humorless about their unauthorized use, I'm not about to risk legal trouble by including photos by others on these pages. However, if you have some appropriate photos that you took, and that you'd like to share on this site, donations are always welcome. Please contact me if you can help.

Can you help me find some seats from the stadium?

The City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, and the Atlanta Braves do not have any seats for sale. The only officially-sanctioned seat sale I know of took place over one weekend in the summer of 1997, a few weeks before the implosion, when a limited number of individual seats and some assorted signage was offered for sale. Any attempts to contact any of these organizations on this matter are not likely to produce a response (and in fact, in my experience the Braves are not very good when it comes to answering mail -- electronic or postal).

My best advice to anyone in search of seats is to pick up a copy of Sports Collectors Digest, a thick bi-weekly tabloid published by Krause Publications of Iola, WI and available at most well-stocked book retailers (such as Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million). Seats can sometimes be found in the classified ads or in auctions; alternately, consider taking out a "wanted" ad in SCD.

For those interested in ballpark seats, you may want to try Ballpark Seats.com. This firm specializes in seats from old stadiums, and may be able to help you find what you are looking for. Please be advised that this company specializes in wooden-slat seats, so those of you looking for the later plastic seats may have to look elsewhere.

A WORD OF WARNING!
From time to time, you may be able to buy seats fairly inexpensively from dealers or collectors in other states. HOWEVER, be warned that these seats -- especially if they come with a length of beam on which you mount them -- are heavy, outsized items that are very expensive to ship. You may be able to find a set of seats relatively inexpensively, but be prepared to pay a relative premium for shipping via UPS or motor freight.

YET ANOTHER WORD OF WARNING!
As with all forms of sports memorabilia, the potential for fraud is tremendous with stadium seats. This is especially true in this case, since the seats from Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, both the original wooden-slat seats and the later plastic ones, are identical to those used in many other stadiums at both major- and minor-league levels. Furthermore, a low price could mean that the seat has been damaged, or that it needs serious restoration work. Know what you're buying. Insist on seeing proper documentation, preferably notarized. Don't take a chance on authenticity for the sake of convenience.

So there. You have been warned.

Are you affiliated with the Braves? Can you get an autograph or do [insert errand here] for me?

 I am not affiliated with the Braves in any way, aside from being a normal garden-variety ticket buyer a few times a year. I don't even live anywhere near Atlanta -- I live several hours away.  No one with the Braves, the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority, or any such entity has contacted me about this site, nor have they offered assistance in any way. Although I've received an assist here and there from some nice folks, pretty much everything on this site is pretty much the product of my own initiative.

 The point of all this is...no, chances are I can't help you with that kind of request. I'll be happy to share information, but that's pretty much the extent of what I can do.

Why did they tear down the stadium, anyway? Couldn't they have kept it around?

 Well...they could have, yes. However, there were several issues -- not only a loss of parking when Turner Field's construction took up an adjacent parking lot, but also concerns about the Summerhill neighborhood, which had been forced to have one stadium in its backyard since 1964, being faced with two stadiums. Moreover, keeping the stadium around would have led to increased maintenance costs. That's in addition to several other issues. There were some efforts to save the stadium; however, the stadium's demolition was pretty much a fait accompli when it appeared that Turner Field would be ready on schedule.

What was the deal with the white square on the old "Fan-O-Gram" scoreboard?

 For those who don't know, the "Fan-O-Gram" scoreboard was the original message board that stretched from left-center field to center field from 1965 to 1986. Typical of the electronic wizardry of the 1960s that included the "electronic fireworks" display at the Astrodome, the "Fan-O-Gram" board was a large, computer-controlled, electronic system that served not only as a scoreboard, but also displayed information to those in attendance about upcoming promotions, future events and the like. It was removed after the 1986 season when the Braves installed two new Daktronics scoreboards to display home and out-of-town scores; the site of the old scoreboard was concealed by a new padded outfield wall, folding bleachers, and tarpaulins.

 In the early 1970s, a white square could be seen near the top of the Fan-O-Gram board, around one of the lighting units. The reason why it was outlined is because it was where Hank Aaron's 500th home run ball hit on July 14, 1968 (hit, incidentally, off the Giants' Mike McCormick). The author does not know, at the moment, how long the square was kept after Aaron was traded to the Brewers in late 1974.

Was Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in any movies?

 At least two movies featured scenes at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. One of them was the minor classic Sharky's Machine (1976), a Burt Reynolds police drama set in Atlanta. In one scene Reynolds and some of his fellow detectives discuss strategy while watching two generic teams take batting practice. Any generic video store, especially here in the South, should have this film on hand.

 The stadium played a major role in the 1987 drama The Slugger's Wife, based on a work by Neil Simon. Scenes feature not only the playing field, but some of the inner workings of the ballpark...even a scene set in the dreaded vehicle tunnel. For good measure, Braves broadcasters Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren and John Sterling (now a broadcaster with the New York Yankees) lend their voices to the play-by-play. The film itself is kind of marginal, but it's well worth watching for the ballpark scenes.

And what's the deal with these funky colors, anyway? I mean, blue and yellow?

 Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten already?! Don't you remember? The outfield wall, in the stadium's final configuration, was blue with a yellow home-run stripe across the top and yellow distance markers in center, the corners and the alley. Yeah, it does pop the eyes a bit, but it fits the motif.

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