Remembering the Omni, the Arena That Helped Revitalize Downtown Atlanta

In the summer of 1997, Atlanta demolished two major sports venues in the span of a week. The Omni Coliseum came down on July 26. On August 2, Fulton County Stadium followed suit. The old home of the Braves and Falcons wasn't an especially significant piece of architecture, but Atlantans looked at it fondly. It was where Deion “Prime Time” Sanders took the field for the city’s NFL and MLB teams, where Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record, where an era of dominance by the Braves first blossomed, to be continued inside the new Turner Field next door.

Today, Fulton County Stadium is memorialized as a parking lot. A section of its outfield fence still stands as a tribute to Aaron’s 714th home run and what was once the infield diamond is now outlined in dirt-color brick. It’s an odd tribute, perhaps, but a tribute nonetheless. Two miles north, the Omni, the arena that helped revitalize downtown and served as the home of Atlanta's first NBA and NHL teams, came down without leaving a trace.