I decided to take a trip up to The Arena at Gwinnett Center on a Sunday when there was nothing going on. You can always read the instructions on the website, but I've never trusted website instructions.
So, I headed out from Chamblee to I-285, and then took North I-85 from there. Here are some details of the trip:
* The goal: to get to the "Sugarloaf Parkway" Exit. As it turned out, this would be exit 108. However, that's a strange exit. You get off on Exit 108 -- which diverts you for a little while and then you see another sign that says "Exit 108". In the end, you end up taking Exit 108...twice.
* You turn right off the exit. You'll be going under the interstate and shortly afterwards you cross Satellite Boulevard. You want to start getting in the left lane at this time.
* The Arena at Gwinnett Center will be on your left. There should be a sign. It should be across from the Georgia Baptist Missionary Center, or some permutation of those words. I saw "Georgia" and "Baptist" in there.
It's not hard to find. Traffic was heavy but there were a lot of lanes and none of those annoying traffic crawls associated with downtown Atlanta. Of course, this is Sunday afternoon; who knows what it will be like on Friday night?
I't's a very new looking place. Philips Arena is Gritty City; The Arena at Gwinnett Center is Shiny Suburbia. The building was completed in 2003; the gloss is still on everything.
There's a crapload of parking. Lots as long as the eye can see. You might need to hike, but parking, from what I understand, is free - that's $10 in your pocket right there.
4 comments:
If it were me, I'd take a few hours off, go early and eat dinner around there. That area is really congested all the time and Fridays especially will be tough.
The arena is nice on the inside also. It's not Philips (smaller, less expensive) but it works. The garage was added not too long ago so that added extra parking. I have to 2nd the traffic sentiments, allow for extra time getting there simply because Gwinnett is crowded by default, an event just ads to it. There are restaurants in walking/driving distance so afoundingfan's idea is a good one. It'll be interesting seeing the Dream court someplace other than Philips.
Game Friday is at 7:30 pm, not 7 pm as mentioned in an earlier post.
Gives you more time to get out there!
Game Sunday if needed would be at 3 pm.
Man! A fan tailgate would be fun.
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