Silverbacks Park – Atlanta Hustle

Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey

Silverback Park
3200 Silverbacks Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30340

Year of opening: 2004
Ability: 5,000

Silverbacks Park has been home to various professional sports teams over the years, including men’s and women’s soccer, rugby, and its current resident, the Atlanta Hustle of the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA). The Hustle joined the league, then known as the American Ultimate Disc League, as part of its expansion leading up to the 2015 season. What started with just eight teams grew to a league with 24 teams spanning two countries , including 22 in the United States and two in Canada, located in Montreal and Toronto.

Silverbacks Park takes a unique approach to concessions: aside from a small stand on the upper walkway that serves bottled and canned drinks and snacks, there is no traditional concession stand. Instead, Willie B’s Bar and Grill on the north end of the stadium offers a full menu including burgers, grilled hot dogs, wings, chicken tenders, tacos, salads and more Again.

Willie B’s also has a full-service bar with 14 beers on tap, including Athens-based Creature Comforts’ flagship beer, Tropicalia. For those not interested in beer, there are options like Truly Hard Seltzer, Twisted Tea, and Prosecco on tap. Canned beers including White Claw, Angry Orchard and Long Drink are also available. Non-alcoholic options include Coca-Cola products, various energy drinks, Mexican soda Jarritos, and coconut water.

Please note that menu prices do not include taxes and gratuity, which are added when paying for the order.

Silverbacks Park doesn’t have much of a traditional main entry point – the gates adjacent to the main parking area are a bit nondescript, but the staircase leading to a secondary parking lot on the south side of the stadium provides a better view of the game zone and stadium.

Silverback Park is like any other ultimate frisbee field, similar in size to a football field, with an 80-yard-long playing area and two 20-yard-long end zones. Basic scoreboards hang at each end of the field to show playing time and score, but the one at the north end sometimes doesn’t work and the times displayed on the boards don’t appear to be in sync either.

Ultimate is a game of constant motion with few to no breaks in the action, leaving little time for gaming or fan interaction activities. However, the breaks between shifts are very fan friendly. Children are often brought to the sidelines at midfield to compete after the 1st and 3rd quarters. Even though there isn’t much time between scores, the team takes the time to recognize the groups at the game that night.

Adding to the entertaining nature of the game, DJ Hank plays popular music throughout the match that you can easily find yourself dancing in your seat to. Game host TJ Baker provides commentary throughout the game and announces highlights. Baker and DJ Hank have also been known to sprint down the sidelines with a Hustle flag to celebrate scores, creating a fun gaming experience.

All tickets are general admission seats, which include most nearby seats except midfield, which is reserved for season ticket holders. Seating is limited to one side of the field.

Silverbacks Park is in Atlanta, an unincorporated city hemmed in by the I-285 flyover ramps. The neighborhood is a mix of residential neighborhoods, office parks and shopping centers. While dining options in the immediate area are primarily chain restaurants, Buford Highway, known in Atlanta for its concentration of highly regarded international restaurants, is not far away.

The area surrounding Silverbacks Park doesn’t offer much in the way of recreational points of interest, but with the accessibility of I-85 into downtown Atlanta, an almost endless number of options can be found about 24 km by car. Closer to the frisbee site is downtown Tucker, with several local shops and restaurants, as well as the Tucker Brewing Company. A little further, Stone Mountain Park offers a variety of activities, including a 36-hole golf course, miniature golf, and hiking trails around and on the world’s largest piece of exposed granite. Visitors can also take a cable car to the summit.

Although the immediate area doesn’t offer many options, there are certainly a few within a reasonable drive.

The Hustle has a loyal following, made up largely of Atlanta’s Ultimate Frisbee community. Many fans wear either Hustle shirts or jerseys or gear from their high school or college frisbee clubs.

Attendance typically ranges from a few hundred to nearly a thousand fans per game, and they are ready to support The Hustle. Fans are also engaged, often responding to the game host’s call-and-response chants and cheers during the game.

Overall, Hustle fans support their hometown team and appreciate the visitors’ efforts; they do a great job embodying the sportsmanship around which the ultimate frisbee is built.

Silverbacks Park is located at the junction of one of the busiest interstate intersections in the country, known as “Spaghetti Junction”, known among locals for its significant traffic delays during evening rush hours. The Hustle did, however, take Atlanta’s traffic into account when planning start times, aiming to minimize rush-hour challenges for fans – Friday night games don’t start until 8 p.m. and the Saturday, the first draw takes place at 7:30 p.m.

The terminus of Metro Atlanta’s Northeast Line, MARTA, is approximately three miles from Silverbacks Park. If you’re using the subway to get to the stadium, carpooling is probably the best option to get there, as sidewalks are limited in the area.

The first parking area inside the gates fills up quickly, as it serves both Silverbacks Park and the adjacent recreational league soccer fields. A larger field accessed via a service road along the west side of the stadium leads to stairs leading to the facility’s south entrance.

The concourse, raised above pitch level, surrounds most of the seating bowl. Visitors with reduced mobility may have difficulty accessing the upper concourse if entering through the north doors or moving from the walkway to the ground floor after crossing the south end of the stadium.

Ticket prices start at $20 when purchased online, and rise to $25 for walk-in purchases. This can be a bit steep, especially when combined with a $5 parking fee. However, each ticket includes a drink voucher for a beer, seltzer, soda, or bottled water, which adds some value.

At Willie B’s, food prices are comparable to those at a typical bar and grill. Customers should be aware that an 18% gratuity is automatically added to the bill – this is noted on both sides of the menu but can easily be overlooked.

Trophies won by previous teams that called Silverbacks Park home are on display behind the bar at Willie B’s.

At halftime, fans are invited onto the field to throw their Frisbees, and after the game, they can return to the field to take photos and chat with members of the Hustle team, then throw their Frisbees again .

The Hustle is doing a lot to grow the game of Ultimate Frisbee in the Atlanta area. During the summer months, the team hosts its own Future Camps and supports local Ultimate Frisbee camps run by neighboring communities. These efforts help foster passion for both the game and the team.

With players nicknamed “The Waiter”, “The Watchtower” and “The Machine”, the festive atmosphere of ultimate frisbee is only the tip of the iceberg here. The entire experience at Silverbacks Park is highly entertaining, from the action on the field to the lively environment surrounding the match.

Although not at the forefront of professional sports, ultimate frisbee remains a very engaging and entertaining experience. The game is fast-paced and high-scoring, with goal plays possible from any position on the field at any time. Players display blazing speed, impressive vertical jumps, and a willingness to extend completely horizontally to play, adding to the excitement. The combination of the players’ impressive physical abilities and the fun atmosphere of Atlanta Hustle matches ensures that even newcomers will enjoy a night at Silverbacks Park.