ATLANTA — Hundreds of people filled SunTrust Park on Friday night, not for baseball, but for snowboarding.
It’s a first for the ballpark as it plays host to the snowboard and free-ski Visa Big Air World Cup this weekend.
Eldon Pico told Channel 2’s Lauren Davis that he brought his whole family to see the competition.
“When I first saw this advertised, I thought, 'This is epic, I’m definitely going to hit this up with my family,'” Pico said.
The women’s and men’s snowboarding finals were Friday night. They were snowboarding down a 15-story slope with 800 tons of manufactured snow on top of the baseball diamond.
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The event brought out all the snow enthusiasts in the Atlanta area.
“I love snowboarding. I snowboard in Vail (Colorado) all the time,” Tanner Hill said.
The massive structure has 20 flights of stairs and an elevator for the athletes, who dropped onto a 40-degree slope.
The snowboarders launched at 40 mph while traveling up to 70 feet in the air.
Kids from all ages showed up to watch the boarders, including Alessandro Barbieri, from Portland, Oregon.
“I just came down here because I like the progression of the sport, and I like snowboarding,” Alessandro said.
The Pico family told Davis they are glad they competition brought snow to the south.
“I was like, Friday night snowboarding -- I’m into it. We’re there,” Pico said.
The skiing finals are Saturday. At last check, tickets were still available.
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