A few weeks ago Sports Business Journal did a story where reporter David Broughton made a trip to Indianapolis for a weekend filled with hoops, NBA and WNBA, racing and lots of other things along the way. The type of trips I love.
Why sit in a hotel room or hang at the same old place when work can bring you to go and try things that you have the ability and the means to do, and give you the ability to listen, learn and enjoy something different.
That was my thought as I saw a window where I had to be in Atlanta with some down time over an extended five day period…a Wednesday that had an event with the Braves and the Harlem Globetrotters, and a Sunday where the Globetrotters were playing…for the cameras…in Celebrity Family Feud at Tyler Perry Studios. In between, where there were gaps in work calls, what to do? Here goes.
Five days in Atlanta…and South Carolina.
First a word of thanks to the Braves. They went out of their way to find ways on a busy giveaway night to involve fun activities for their fans and the Globetrotters, from teaching Ozzie Albies how to spin a ball on his finger to getting the players involved with Blooper their mascot in and around the game. They made everyone feel welcomed and involved, and the fans enjoyed every minute of it.
They also were able to get us to stay at the Omni and enjoy all the best in class activities in and around the mixed use development that Truist Park and The Battery have developed into. The ballpark mixes so well with the community around it, the attention to history, the nuances that you see tied not just to the club’s history in Atlanta but throughout their existence, was quite impressive. It will be a very welcome area for this year’s All-Star festivities, and it shows how much time and devotion the organization has out into making sure every area of fandom is included in how the Braves cultivate and engage with their audience.
While Wednesday night was about baseball, Thursday became about media and new discoveries, which included a trip to Trilith Studios in Fayetteville and seeing a different kind of mixed use…how a town has literally sprung up around the largest media studio in North America. Learning about the films, the streaming shows, and the implementation of new technology fit together in a business that continues to evolve was quite impressive. What was also impressive was the new home of US Soccer, currently being built just outside of Trilith’s massive complex, and although it was a quick impromptu visit made shorter by the security who chased my car from the lot, it was easy to see how this new state of the art home will fit into the fabric of American soccer development as we head towards the World Cup. As if that wasn’t enough for a Thursday, we had a quick stop by to learn more about all the changing world Turner has going on, making some new connections and continuing to listen as we think about the future of the business.
Friday brought meetings and quiet work before a look at the schedule realized there was a window to see another facility in suburban Atlanta, the home of the Triple A Gwinnett Stripers take on the Charlotte Knights, the top farm club of the Chicago White Sox (a nice segue into what Saturday was bringing). Fireworks, the chance to see Braves star Ronald Ocuna Jr. in a rehab assignment, and yet another growing mixed use development tied to the Braves again made for more fun discovery, with plenty of time to head back to our next stop in Buckhead to see the Knicks clinch the playoff series against the Celtics on ESPN.
Then there was Saturday, and the one part of the trip that was semi-preplanned as an off day. Earlier in the week most knew that MLB reversed its stance on several banned players who have passed away, among them Pete Rose and Joe Jackson. Less than two hours from our stay was Greenville, SC, The Lifelong Home of Shoeless Joe and now the home of The Joe Jackson Museum, literally the house where the longtime “Black Sox” legend lived most of his life. Only open for four hours on Saturday and run by volunteers, the Museum was amazing. The learnings, which I did with my colleague, longtime hoops coach now commentator John Giannini, were vast, not only in and around the house turned museum, but through out the town where a very helpful volunteer laid out all the Shoeless Joe stops, from his liquor store to the three OTHER stadia not just where he played but the Greenville Spinners played…Unity Park, Meminger Park, and the Brandon Mills Baseball Field…where Jackson got the nickname Shoeless Joe…along with his grave, carefully manicured and festooned with baseballs…made for a true hidden gem of a few hours, which started and end at the immaculate facility of the Greenville Drive, the High A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, Fluor Field. It is a “tour” that, as Jackson comes closer to induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the Drive, or some local entrepreneur should out together to push to baseball fans of all ages. We did it on our own, and the learnings from Jackson the businessman and citizen of Greenville, were amazing.
That was early Saturday, and it left me with choices for the trip back. Do I head back south, maybe try and stop at the Ty Cobb Museum on the way back before it closed at four in Royston, Georgia, and then finish the night taking in MLS at Mercedes Benz Stadium with Atlanta United taking on the Philadelphia Union? All of this was unplanned, so it would mean picking up a ticket on the secondary marketplace and winging it without a lot of forethought into absorbing all things United.
But wait, my colleague John pointed out, there was another immersive option. The NCAA Softball Regionals were taking place at not one, but two locations…The University of South Carolina, and Clemson University. Live NCAA softball on a college campus? With a little planning, maybe I could have hit both, but Clemson, a school I had never visited, was on the way back, so that became the choice. What did we get? A 1-0 nine inning win by the Tigers over Northwestern in the first game before a raucous sellout crowd, with another beautiful facility in the literal shadow of The Tigers beautiful football facility, which we got a sneaky closer look at before heading out. While a great choice, the long games did not allow the time to properly get to Mercedes Benz, but seeing FOUR stadia, a college campus and reliving the history of Shoeless Joe still made for a busy and fun Saturday.
Then we get to the second piece of work, if you can call it that, and the visit the Globetrotters made to another massive media facility, Tyler Perry Studios. While we can’t give away details, the way host Steve Harvey and team treated everyone was beyond first class, and watching how the gameshow world came together was another full day of listening, learning and watching.
Now with a little more planning could we have hit the Cobb Museum, maybe a live event at UGA, found a way into Turner Field, stopped by Georgia Tech and even South Carolina and still made it to the MLS game? Sure. But the trip was one of new friendships, places, listenings, learnings and personal education.
The scorecard…two baseball games in a pair of first class facilities, NCAA Softball on one of the elite campuses in the country, visits to three studios to learn more about the media business, and a priceless few hours reliving the life of Joe Jackson with a longtime friend…and stops at yet four other stadia sites past and present bookended by the fun and showmanship of the Globetrotters.
Oh, and one more stop at the end of the day Sunday. Heading back to the hotel before an early morning flight, I notced the home of Buckhead Baseball…an immaculate field with a Green Monster replica. Had to sneak in for one last look. Why not?
Not a bad five days. Let’s see what the next trip brings.
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