Fanplex was an entertainment center in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, adjacent to

Turner Field Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the ...

. It opened in 2002 and was shut down in early 2004 after losing $500,000, above and beyond an initial investment of $2.5 million. The attraction was meant to lure fans of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

with

miniature golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

s, and to pump economic activity into the depressed area around the stadium. However, Fanplex saw little business, even on game days, perhaps since it was actually located far away from most game-day foot traffic. An initial staff of 16 was pared down to one and operating hours were scaled back as patrons continued not to show up. Critics say Fanplex was largely built to justify the existence of the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority, which was originally created to manage

Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in the southeastern United States, located in Atlanta. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of the ...

and The Omni Coliseum, both of which no longer exist, along with

Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta (sometimes referred as Atlanta Zoo) is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoological park in Atlanta, Georgia. The current president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta is Raymond B. King. History Zoo Atlanta was founded in 1 ...

. An October 2, 2006 article in ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' says that the authority has put the facility up for sale twice, but cannot find a buyer at the $2.7 million price it has sought. The miniature golf course is now overgrown and nearby residents complain that the facility has become another vacant parking lot. With seemingly few commercial prospects for the current facility, Atlanta leaders quoted by the paper speculate Fanplex may ultimately be swept up in large-scale redevelopment of areas around the stadium. Starting November 2013, the Fanplex is home to the "A" team of Archer Western Contractors who is currently constructing a 5 million gallon underground storage tank in the media lot across Hank Aaron Drive.

References

{{coord, 33.73405, -84.38739, type:landmark_region:US-GA, display=title History of Atlanta Culture of Atlanta Sports venues in Atlanta