Sports

Skiing and snowboarding in Atlanta? Major competition coming to SunTrust Park

The Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover will take place on a 15-story tall steel scaffold jump structure consisting of up to 29,000 unique pieces, which is then covered with up to 800 tons of snow.

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Skiing and snowboarding in metro Atlanta? It may seem far-fetched, but it's happening at SunTrust Park in just a few weeks.

U.S. Ski and Snowboard is hosting a big air competition Dec. 20 and 21 in partnership with the Atlanta Braves.

[Click here to buy tickets for the event]

The Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover will take place on a 15-story-tall steel scaffold jump structure consisting of up to 29,000 unique pieces, which is then covered with up to 800 tons of snow to create a surface on which the world's best freeskiers and snowboarders can perform.

Athletes will drop into an approximately 40-degree in-run, then launch themselves off the jump at speeds up to 40 miles per hour to perform their biggest tricks while traveling up to 70 feet in the air.

The first-of-its-kind event in metro Atlanta is part of a multiyear commitment by U.S. Ski and Snowboard to bring big air events to new places each season leading up to the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.

"The Visa Big Air at SunTrust Park will bring our sports out of the mountains and to the people in a major metropolitan area," said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. "We are very excited to have Visa as our title sponsor and to partner with the Atlanta Braves to continue to grow the fan base of this exciting sport for our athletes, sponsors and the snow sports industry ahead of the 2022 games in Beijing."

There will be two days of competition starting at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 and 21. Tickets start at just $25.

"We are proud to showcase SunTrust Park to a global audience as the host of this world cup ski and snowboard event," said Derek Schiller, Atlanta Braves president and CEO. "In collaboration with U.S. Ski and Snowboard, SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta will provide an incredible venue for fans from around the region to witness this truly unique event.  It's our privilege to host these world-class athletes."

U.S. Freeski Olympians Julia Krass (Hanover, N.H.) and Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.), as well as two-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper are set to compete. In addition, Olympic gold medalists Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.), Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) as well as the 2018-19 FIS Snowboard Overall Crystal Globe Winner Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) will represent the U.S. Snowboard Team.