The Braves will count down the games of their final season at Turner Field — literally.
The team plans a ceremony at the end of the fifth inning of every Turner Field game this season during which a display on the left-field wall will be adjusted to show one fewer home game remaining.
The April 4 season opener against the Washington Nationals will begin with the wall showing 81 games remaining. At the end of the fifth inning, when the game is official, some key members of the 1997 Braves — the first team to play in Turner Field — will appear on the field to remove the number 81 and change the countdown to 80.
Braves marketing executives say special guests will be on hand for every game during the season to continue the countdown, all the way until the number is changed to zero during the Oct. 2 finale against the Detroit Tigers.
“We want former athletes, celebrities, entertainers, politicans, fans, everyday people to have an opportunity to come out and do it,” Braves vice president of marketing Adam Zimmerman said. “I’ll tell you right now Chipper Jones will tear down No. 10.”
That, of course, is Jones’ retired jersey number.
Similarly, the Braves have lined up Tom Glavine to do the honors for No. 47, Bobby Cox for No. 6 and Dale Murphy for No. 3. Unfortunately, Hank Aaron has a scheduling conflict on the day of No. 44.
“We think this is going to be really fun and engaging across the whole season,” Zimmerman said.
A 45- to 60-second video will be played on the scoreboard about the person (or group of people) handling the countdown duty at each game, Braves director of marketing Brad Meriwether said. He anticipates the Braves calling on representatives of the 1996 Olympics — the first event held in the stadium, before it was converted to The Ted — to count down some summer games.
(No word on how the Braves will adjust the wall display if they unexpectedly make the playoffs, prolonging Turner Field’s life.)
