The Atlanta Braves have already announced that at the end of their 20 year lease at Turner Field, they will not be resigning or continuing their stay at the field that has for so long been their home. As a result, local Atlanta movers and many locals became well aware of the Braves’ attempts to move the Hank Aaron statue to their new playing field at SunTrust Park for the 2017 season – a move that has been contested by Atlanta officials.

The Atlanta Braves moving to SunTrust Park may have initially came as a shock, since their home has been Turner Field for so long; however, the move to SunTrust Park is logical, as the new field will be larger and more modern. But, Atlanta officials argued that the Hank Aaron statue would not be allowed to move. The issue dealt with the coin toss of who actually owned the rights to the statue – Hank Aaron, the Atlanta Braves, or Atlanta. After much debate, Atlanta moving companies were proud to hear that it was the baseball team who decided that it was not in Aaron’s honor to be arguing over the move, so they called it off.

“Nothing could be further from the character of Hank Aaron than the divisive conversations that are occurring over his iconic statue,” the Braves’ statement read. “As such, the Atlanta Braves have decided that we will no longer contest the eventual location of the statue and will instead focus on how to best showcase Hank’s impact and legacy at SunTrust Park. Part of this will include commissioning a new statue for all baseball fans to see. Hank Aaron is, and will always be, a significant part of the Atlanta Braves and our proud legacy. Our sincere hope is that the existing statue will continue to be preserved and displayed in a manner befitting his legacy as the greatest Brave of all time.”

Although Turner Field has been the home of the Braves since it was built, the Braves moving to SunTrust Park is exciting and will hopefully draw an even larger crowd to the city and the games.