was the case for every stadium that used this design concept, the fundamentally different sizes and shapes of baseball and football fields made it inadequate for both sports. In the baseball configuration, 70% of the seats were in foul territory. In the football configuration, seats on the 50-yard-line—normally prime seats for football—were more than away from the sidelines. One unusual feature of this stadium is the fact that, unlike most multi-purpose stadiums – where the football field was laid either parallel to one of the foul lines or running from home plate to center field – the football field here was laid along a line running between first and third base. Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum has a similar configuration. Thus, a seat behind home plate for baseball would also be on the 50-yard line for football. The stadium was refurbished for the 1996 season prior to hosting the Olympic baseball competition. Unlike similarly designed outdoor stadiums—such as Riverfront Stadium and Busch Memorial Stadium—Fulton County Stadium always had a natural grass surface. However, for many years it was notorious for its poor field conditions. Until 1989, it didn't have full-time groundskeepers. Instead, it was tended to by a municipal street-maintenance crew. Due to the elevation of the Atlanta area (situated at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains), the stadium boasted the highest elevation in baseball when it opened, at above sea level. It retained this distinction for 27 seasons, until the expansion Colorado Rockies entered the National League in 1993. The high elevation and the Southern summer heat made it favorable to home run hitters, resulting in the nickname "The Launching Pad." Until the Florida Marlins arrived (also in 1993), the stadium was the hottest in the majors. Fulton County Stadium was designed by a joint-venture team of FABRAP (Finch Alexander Barnes Rothschild & Paschal) and Heery, Inc. Seating capacity References External links Two vintage postcards showing the stadium from the air. Both cards were published around 1965 or 1966 TerraServer photo of old stadium outline in parking lot, and Turner Field 1965 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Venues of the 1996 Summer Olympics Sports venues demolished in 1997 Demolished sports venues in Georgia (U.S. state) American football venues in Atlanta Atlanta Braves stadiums Atlanta Falcons stadiums a Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion Defunct American football venues in the United States Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct multi-purpose