One of the best parts for sports fans attending Georgia State is that all of the professional sports venues in Atlanta are within walking distance. While this will soon no longer be the case, current students can take advantage of this convenient location for one more year.
Philips Arena
Opening in September 1999, Philips Arena has hosted the 2003 NBA All-Star events, the 2012 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament and the 2004 U.S. Figure Skating Championship. In April 2009, the arena achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which means Philips has met green building standards. Philips Arena is now home to the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Dream. The Hawks currently have the second longest playoff appearance streak in the NBA, making the postseason for nine consecutive years. In the past two seasons, the Hawks have hosted the in-game entertainment of T.I, Two Chainz, Big Boi, Ludacris, Cee-Lo Green, Jeezy and Silento. The Dream have made the WNBA Finals three times (2010, 2011 and 2013) in recent years and are led by WNBA superstar and Olympic gold-medalist Angel McCoughtry. Philips Arena is approximately a 20-25 minute walk from Georgia State’s campus.
Georgia Dome
The world’s largest cable-supported domed stadium opened in 1992. The Dome has hosted two Super Bowls (1993 and 2000), three NCAA Men’s Final Fours (2002, 2007 and 2013), the SEC Championship, the Chick-fil-A and the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2003. The Dome seats 71,250 people and is currently the home to Georgia State’s football team and the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers head into the final season at the Georgia Dome coming off of their most successful season in history, ending the regular season on a four-game winning streak and playing in the school’s first Bowl Game in its history. The Falcons went to the NFC Championship in 2012 and currently have Julio Jones, the receiver many would argue is the best in the NFL. The Georgia Dome is approximately a 30 minute walk from campus and student shuttles are provided to and from Georgia State’s home games.
Turner Field
The future home of Georgia State and current home of the Atlanta Braves opened in 1997 and has a capacity of 49,586 people. Turner Field was originally an Olympic Stadium during the 1996 games. The field also hosted the 2000 MLB All-Star festivities. In-state rivals Georgia Tech and UGA host their baseball series’ against one another in the stadium. Braves games have fan batting cages and a team history museum if fans would like to kill some time before or during a game. Every home game is important one for nostalgic reasons this season in the last year of Turner Field’s existence. The Braves will be moving to Cobb County at the start of the 2017 season at Suntrust Park. Prospects Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson will look to join Freddie Freeman in the team’s rebuilding efforts. As far as this current season at Turner Field goes, on August 20, Tori Kelly will be doing a live post game concert for the Braves. Turner Field is approximately a 40 minute walk from Georgia State’s campus.
