Seven things we learned in Atlanta sports business this week:
1. Single-game tickets for the Braves' inaugural season at SunTrust Park will go on sale March 10, the team said. Six-game ticket packages will be available beginning Feb. 7. Full story here.
2. The Braves unveiled plans for tributes to Hank Aaron throughout SunTrust Park. The new stadium will honor the legendary Braves superstar with a bronze statue, a sculpture featuring 755 baseball bats (representing his career home-run total), silhouettes of his famous swing on the ends of each row of seats and a "Hank Aaron Terrace" displaying the bat and ball from his record-breaking 715th home run. Full story here . ALSO: Aaron's reaction here.
3. Less than 12 hours after the end of college football's national championship game in Tampa, responsibility for the event was formally handed off to Atlanta, which will host next season's title game. The Atlanta host committee had 40 representatives in Tampa for a behind-the-scenes look at how the event operates. Full story here.
4. Georgia State and its development partners outlined initial plans and released new renderings for the redevelopment of Turner Field and surrounding parking lots. The first phase of stadium renovations is scheduled to begin next month. The Panthers plan to play their 2017 football games in the stadium. Full story here.
5. The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game announced the Georgia Bulldogs will return to the Atlanta event to open the 2020 college football season against Virginia. The game is scheduled for Sept. 7, 2020 — a Monday night — in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It will be the second of two Chick-fil-A Kickoff games that year, following Florida State vs. West Virginia two days earlier. Full story here.
6. The Braves will have seven of their spring training games televised on Fox Sports South or Fox Sports Southeast. That includes the first game to be played in SunTrust Park, a March 31 exhibition against the New York Yankees. Full story here.
7. The Braves' long search for a new spring facility in Florida continues, with the team rekindling interest in a possible return to Palm Beach County. Business and government leaders in the central part of the county "are buzzing with optimism" about a proposal to build a Braves complex in John Prince Park near Lake Worth, The Palm Beach Post reported. But it remains unclear whether the county would spend the considerable taxpayer dollars required. Full story here.
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