With first pitch of the 2026 World Series set for Friday, it seems an opportune time to check in on Atlanta’s newest baseball venue for our latest installment of Aerial Tours around the city. 

After more than a decade of planning and design, Georgia State University has entered the home stretch of construction on a baseball complex designed to honor school and Atlanta sports history in the shadow of downtown. 

According to GSU officials, construction is scheduled to wrap up later this fall, ahead of the spring 2027 baseball season, on what’s officially been christened “Chastain Childers Field at Bill and Susan Reeves Stadium.” Turf, bleacher seats, and other infrastructure is in place on what had previously been asphalt parking lots for Turner Field. 

The $15.8-million facility is taking shape in the footprint of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, where Braves’ legend Hank Aaron launched his record-breaking 715th home run 52 years ago. 

Proximity of hundreds of multifamily units—developed since the Braves left the neighborhood—to the new GSU baseball complex. Urbanize Atlanta

As seen earlier this year, construction moving forward around the historic "715 Wall." This has since been removed. Georgia State University

Plans at the 1,000-seat venue call for including a fan experience that commemorates Aaron’s achievement on April 8, 1974, which GSU officials have called “one of sports’ most historic moments.” 

The facilities will be “a transformational addition to both the university’s athletics portfolio and the surrounding Summerhill community,” GSU project leaders have predicted. The complex will be located just north of Center Parc Stadium, where GSU football plays. 

GSU expects the baseball venue to eventually be one component of a broader “athletics neighborhood” in surrounding blocks that could include a new softball stadium, a beach volleyball venue, tennis courts, and possibly future retail spaces.

The site was also the longtime home of the Atlanta Falcons, the Atlanta Chiefs, the Peach Bowl, and landmark events such as Olympics baseball in 1996. 

GSU plans to honor Aaron’s legacy in the area by relocating his landmark statue from Center Parc Stadium to the new ballpark’s main entrance. The facilities will also include a commemorative marker in left field that denotes the location of Hammerin’ Hank’s historic home run. That will replace the former block wall and fence (now removed) that marked Aaron’s home run spot for years. Both were erected after the stadium’s demolition, per GSU.  

How Georgia State's 1,000-seat capacity Chastain Childers Field at Bill and Susan Reeves Stadium appears today in Summerhill. Urbanize Atlanta

The presence of GSU athletic facilities and its nearby campus has been a catalyst for Summerhill’s mixed-use transformation around Georgia Avenue since the Braves decamped to Cobb County. The diamond-shaped parking lot area where Aaron’s famed hit took place is located near hundreds of new apartments today, including the 565 Hank complex that will overlook the baseball facilities. 

The initial phase of Atlanta’s first new transit line in more than two decades—MARTA’s Rapid A-Line, the region’s first bus-rapid transit route—opened in the spring. 

GSU’s 900-space, standalone parking deck is also nearby. The baseball facilities are claiming 400 surface parking spaces at Center Parc Stadium’s Green Lot, which GSU officials have said the standalone parking garage preemptively replaced. 

The location is also meant to be easily accessible via Panthers shuttle bus service for GSU students, faculty, and staff. 

Overview of the baseball stadium project, with views to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and downtown, released by GSU in December. GSU/Georgia State Athletics

The Sun Belt Conference team currently plays home games 12 miles east of GSU’s campus in Panthersville, at a 500-seat venue with few amenities, portable bleachers, a small press box, and flooding issues, GSU officials have said. GSU’s softball team also plays in Panthersville, but at the Bob Heck Softball Complex—facilities considered “top-notch.”

The baseball project is being paid for with GSU Athletic Association gifts, in addition to GSU Foundation funds and gifts, according to university officials. 

The stadium and field names will pay homage to two alum families deeply rooted in GSU athletics who’ve long supported baseball. The Chastains chose to honor former GSU baseball standout Chase Childers with the field’s naming. GSU officials relayed the following summary in May: 

“A four-year letterman and member of the 2009 conference championship team, Childers [ranked] among the top all-around players in program history before continuing his baseball career in the Baltimore Orioles organization. 

Beyond the diamond, Childers served with the Cobb County Police Department and was recognized with a Life Saving Award for his service. He was posthumously awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism and the Congressional Medal of Honor after sacrificing his life while rescuing a family caught in a coastal rip current.” 

Swing up to the gallery for a closer look at the new Summerhill sports complex as it stands today. 

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• Flashback: Recalling the 'before' version of Summerhill's vibrant strip (Urbanize Atlanta)