Sports

GAME ON!

You probably won’t be able to attend your favorite sporting event yet, but you still can stay close to the action with these in-person recreational activities and virtual professional events. BY WENDY BOWMAN

PRO WATCH

ATLANTA FALCONS AND ATLANTA UNITED FC

While the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer will play their scheduled September games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, no fans will be allowed to attend due to the pandemic. This decision will affect two Falcons home games, including the home opener against the Seattle Seahawks Sept. 13 and the Sept. 27 game against the Chicago Bears.

Atlanta United will hit the field with no fans in attendance for the first phase of MLS continuation of play in local markets, including the club’s three home matches Aug. 22 against Nashville SC, Aug. 29 against Orlando City SC and Sept. 2 against Inter Miami CF. The schedule for the second phase of competition has not yet been released and will include additional September home matches, which would be played without fans. www.atlantafalcons.com www.atlantaunited.com

ATLANTA BRAVES

The final homestand of the Atlanta Braves’ regular season at Truist Park Sept. 21-27 will take place without any fans in the stands, but virtual spectators still can enjoy a great

The Painted Pin

match-up with the Boston Red Sox Sept. 25-27. Also on the lineup: the team’s annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration Sept. 18-20, as well as a five-part YouTube series (www. youtube.com/braves) entitled “1995: Rise of the A,” chronicling the relationship between the Braves World Series championship run in 1995, and the rise of the music and entertainment scene that shaped Atlanta’s culture today. Several Braves players, alumni, Atlanta artists and entertainers appear in the series, including pitcher Touki Toussaint, alumni David Justice and Outkast’s Big Boi. www.braves.com

Continued from page 25 RECREATIONAL ENDEAVORS LUCKY STRIKES

Created in 2014 by restaurant industry vet Justin Amick and his partner, William Stallworth, Painted Hospitality operates a duo of one-of-a-kind entertainment-driven concepts. Their first, The Painted Pin, is an upscale boutique, bar, bowling and entertainment venue in Buckhead’s Miami Circle, and the second, The Painted Duck, is a “distinguished drinkery,” duckpin bowling and gaming parlor in the Westside’s Stockyards Atlanta development. Just some of the fun activities on tap at The Painted Duck include 16 full-service duckpin bowling lanes along with Belgian feather bowling lanes, indoor horseshoe pits, knuckleball, toad in the hole, shuffleboard, a basketball 3-point and free-throw shoot out, air hockey and snookball (a hybrid sport that blends pool with soccer). The Painted Pin, meanwhile, offers 20 full-service lanes, plus iconic games like shuffleboard, skee and bocce ball and Ping-Pong. www.thepaintedpin.com www.thepaintedduckatl.com

TOPGOLF ATLANTA

Want to bone up on your golf game and have fun at the same time? The Midtown outpost of Topgolf Atlanta is now safely welcoming guests back into its three-level, 65,000-square-foot facility. Among the activities available at the golf entertainment complex are more than 100 climatecontrolled bays, where guests can earn points for hitting dartboard-like targets on a 240- yard outfield with microchipped golf balls, as well as mini-golf and a full-service restaurant. Guests must wear a face mask upon entry to the venue until they get to their table or outdoor hitting bay, while playing mini-golf and while moving throughout the venue. www.topgolf.com physically distancing with a two-story largest selections of draft beer, plus a

Max Lager’s Wood-Fired Grill & Brewery

PLACES TO GAME WATCH If you’re not able to attend your homegrown sports bar remains one of favorite sporting event yet, no the safest spots to watch all of the action worries. You can stay close to thanks to sanitation, social distancing and the action and watch the game additional guidelines implemented at at many popular spots around each locale. town. Here are our top picks. www.tacomac.com THE BATTERY ATLANTA Watch the games at STATS with 70

Many locales are now open for dine-in high definition televisions and 7 different services within this 1.5 million-square-foot audio zones. A limited menu of favorite mixed-use destination just steps from American food will be offered along with Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. home brewed beers, wine and cocktails. • Sports & Social has lots of space for www.statsatl.com sports bar, gaming parlor and social MAX LAGER’S WOOD-FIRED lounge, highlighted by a 30-foot, GRILL & BREWERY high-definition LED TV for watching Enjoy home-field advantage and favorite teams. huddle downtown at Georgia’s oldest • PBR Atlanta, a Coors Banquet Bar brewpub. Ideal for watching the game, serves up cowboy cool with a side of Max Lager’s has a menu of awardurban chic, complete with line dancing, winning beers and wood-fired cuisine. cold beer, hard drinks and a little Upstairs, Brewery Tavern offers TVs for bull riding. viewing all the action and 30 beer taps. • Yard House has one of the world’s www.maxlagers.com STATS BREWPUB menu boasting 100-plus items made HARD ROCK CAFE from scratch daily. Hard Rock Cafe is an excellent location www.batteryatl.com for sports viewing, with a robust menu of starters, salads, burgers, entrées and TACO MAC METROPOLIS AND more along with creative cocktails, beer VIRGINIA-HIGHLAND and wine. Numerous televisions ensure

Known for its best-in-class Buffalo wings, guests are close to all the sports action vast selection of craft beers on draft and of the day. top sports-watching environment, this www.hardrock.com/cafes/atlanta