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| Fulton County Stadium | |
|---|---|
| Name | Fulton County Stadium |
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Opened | 1965 |
| Closed | 1996 |
| Demolished | 1997 |
| Owner | Fulton County Government |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Capacity | 62,500 (football), 50,000 (baseball) |
| Tenants | Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons |
Fulton County Stadium Fulton County Stadium was a multipurpose venue in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, that hosted professional baseball and football, collegiate contests, concerts, and civic events from the mid-1960s through the 1990s. Conceived amid urban renewal and regional competition, the facility became a focal point for the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons eras, as well as for postseason play involving the National League, National Football League, and Major League Baseball championship series. Its construction and later demolition intersected with initiatives by Fulton County leadership, municipal planners, and sports franchise owners tied to the growth of Sun Belt sports markets.
Construction on the stadium began after approval by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and bond financing tied to stadium and civic complex plans championed by local officials including Ivan Allen Jr. and regional developers active in the 1960s American urban renewal movement. The venue opened in 1965 during an era marked by the expansion of the National Football League and Major League expansion and relocation discussions involving cities such as Milwaukee and Kansas City. Early years saw the stadium host the relocated Atlanta Braves baseball club, which had moved from Milwaukee Braves ownership led by figures connected to the Braves franchise lineage. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the site was central to Atlanta’s sports identity as the Braves and Falcons achieved regional prominence under executives tied to the Sports franchise management networks of the era. Political debates over funding, stadium naming, and county involvement involved local actors from the Georgia General Assembly and civic organizations such as the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Architectural plans were overseen by firms engaged with multipurpose stadia trends of the 1960s, reflecting influences from venues like Shea Stadium and Riverfront Stadium that prioritized adaptable sightlines for baseball and football. The stadium featured a circular bowl, upper deck eaves, and an expansive outfield and end-zone configuration to accommodate the differing playing-surface dimensions demanded by Major League Baseball and the National Football League. Notable design elements included a wide concourse, press facilities used by outlets including Associated Press bureaus, and locker-room spaces configured for visiting franchises such as the New York Mets and Dallas Cowboys during interleague events and postseason contests. The playing surface used natural grass maintained to standards comparable to fields at Wrigley Field and Fenway Park in warmer-climate maintenance regimes. The venue’s scoreboard and public-address systems were upgraded periodically, reflecting technological partnerships with electronics suppliers and broadcast rights holders like Turner Broadcasting System affiliates when national telecasts of World Series contests were produced.
Primary tenants were the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League, with the site hosting regular-season schedules, playoff contests, and spring training adjunct events connected to franchise operations. The stadium also hosted collegiate football matchups featuring programs from the Southeastern Conference and historically Black colleges and universities when regional rivalry and bowl-game allocations required neutral-site venues. Concert promoters booked acts associated with national tours including headliners from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and major festival circuits; civic ceremonies and large-scale graduations for institutions such as Georgia State University and county school systems also took place there. The stadium served as a host site for multiple postseason baseball events, including National League Championship Series matchups and World Series games, enabling broadcasting partnerships with Major League Baseball national networks.
The venue witnessed milestone performances by Hall of Fame players such as those later enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and featured memorable games that entered franchise lore for the Atlanta Braves and league history for the National Football League. The park’s dimensions and atmospheric conditions in Atlanta produced notable statistical outcomes—long home runs that altered World Series outcomes and decisive postseason pitching duels involving pitchers later associated with awards like the Cy Young Award and MVP Award. Historic single-game achievements and record crowds were documented during rivalry games against franchises such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, and during football matchups that drew national attention when the Falcons faced divisional adversaries like the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
By the 1990s, franchise executives, county officials, and private investors engaged in negotiations over new stadium proposals, citing modern club requirements similar to those prompting construction of venues such as Coors Field and Petco Park. After the Braves’ ownership pursued a new downtown ballpark project linked to development partners associated with MLB, the decision was made to close and dismantle the structure. Demolition in 1997 cleared the site for mixed-use redevelopment initiatives supported by Fulton County planning agencies and private developers active in Atlanta’s urban core revitalization. The parcel’s reuse formed part of broader downtown redevelopment schemes tied to transportation nodes including proposals adjacent to MARTA rail lines and municipal redevelopment plans that sought to integrate commercial, residential, and green-space elements championed by local economic development entities.
Category:Demolished sports venues in Georgia Category:Sports venues completed in 1965