Roof work delays Falcons’ stadium opening
ATLANTA — The planned opening of the $1.5 billion Mercedes Benz Stadium has been delayed by ongoing roof construction.
Steve Cannon, the CEO of Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank’s businesses, said Tuesday the delay is a “timeline” issue. He insisted there is no concern about how the roof will work.
“Yes, we have a complex design and we have a complex building,” Cannon said. “But there has never been any concern about the operability of the roof.”
Cannon said installation of the roof petals is three-quarters complete.
“Normal steelwork has taken longer than anticipated, and that has had an impact on the overall timeline,” he said.
The new opening date of the stadium is the Falcons’ Aug. 26 NFL preseason game against Arizona.
The stadium with its complicated roof, which will open like a camera lens, had been set to open on July 30 with MLS Atlanta United’s game against Orlando City. That game has been moved to July 29 at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium, where the expansion team’s first two home games have been played.
Two Atlanta United home games planned for August at the new stadium will be rescheduled: Aug. 13 against Minnesota and Aug. 19 against Los Angeles. Cannon confirmed no more games will be played at Georgia Tech after July 29, as that stadium must be prepared for the 2017 college football season.
The Falcons have scheduled another home preseason game against Jacksonville for Aug. 31.
Plans have not changed for two Chick-fil-A Kickoff games at the new stadium: Alabama/Florida State on Sept. 2 and Tennessee/Georgia Tech on Sept. 4.
Even so, Cannon said the demolition of the Georgia Dome will be put on hold as an insurance policy until a certificate of occupancy is granted for the new stadium.
PITTSBURGH — Dan Rooney’s priorities were always clear. Family. Football. Faith. Ireland.
It’s the order they came in for the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers president and chairman, however, that occasionally became blurry. Often in the best way possible.
The evidence could be found Tuesday in the pews at St. Paul’s Cathedral, a cross section of a singular life that stretched far beyond his native city yet never seemed to stray from its roots.
The 90-minute funeral celebrating Rooney, who died at 84 last Thursday, offered a glimpse into a man who turned a moribund franchise into a dynasty, helped refine the vision of the modern NFL and attempted to ease regional tensions as U.S. ambassador to Ireland. All the while remaining the guy from Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood simply known as “Dan.”
“He was a Pittsburgher,” Cardinal Donald Wuerl said. “He was the best of us.”
To the right in the massive sanctuary sat hundreds of current and ex-players — from Hall of Famers Joe Greene and Franco Harris to current stars Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown to alums whose careers were far more modest — whom Rooney treated as surrogate sons and grandsons. In the middle sat NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, men who relied heavily on Rooney’s counsel.
Down in front sat good friend and former President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, there to pay tribute to Rooney’s legacy and offer comfort to his wife Patricia, son Art II and the rest of what is considered the city’s first family.
Scattered throughout were friends, well-wishers and strangers just off the street who filled the crowded sanctuary to say goodbye.
“He never lost the common man touch,” Wuerl said.
Farewell to Rooney
Hawk retiring as Packer
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Linebacker A.J. Hawk announced Tuesday that he will retire as a member of the Green Bay Packers after 11 NFL seasons.
“The first thing that needs to be said about A.J. Hawk is that he is a good man,” general manager Ted Thompson said. “He was a terrific teammate and a true professional during his career, and we were lucky to have him. A.J. will always be a Packer.”
The 2006 draft pick out of Ohio State ranks first in franchise history with 1,118 career tackles. Hawk played in 142 of a possible 144 regular-season games with Green Bay. He played one season with Cincinnati and appeared in one game for Atlanta last year. The Packers said his 158 games played from 2006 to 2015 were the most among NFL linebackers over that span, and he led Green Bay in tackles five times during his career — tied with Nick Barnett for most in team history.