Roof construction delays stadium opening in Atlanta
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 threequarters 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 Atlanta Falcons’ August 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.
MLS: Galaxy claim McInerney off waivers
CARSON >> The LA Galaxy have claimed forward Jack McInerney off waivers from the Portland Timbers.
McInerney has scored 43 goals while playing for four teams in his Major League Soccer career.
He was drafted by the Union in 2010 and scored 24 goals for the club before getting traded to Montreal in 2014. He also played for Columbus before joining Portland last season.
McInerney scored five goals in 24 games last season for the Timbers, who placed him on waivers last month.
Colleges: NCAA returns events to N.C.
RALEIGH, N.C. >> The NCAA has awarded coveted men’s basketball tournament games and other events to North Carolina, effectively ending a boycott that helped force the state to repeal parts of a law that limited protections for LGBT people.
The governing body announced decisions for events through 2022, two weeks after the NCAA said it had “reluctantly” agreed to consider North Carolina again for hosting duties. It had stripped North Carolina of seven championship events for the past sports season and said it could relocate more events if there wasn’t a change in the “bathroom bill.”
The list of events included men’s basketball tournament opening-weekend games in Greensboro in 2020 and Raleigh in 2021, as well as a women’s basketball tournament regional in Greensboro in 2019.
Running: Switzer’s bib retired
BOSTON >> A day after Kathrine Switzer returned to the course on the 50th anniversary of her 1967 landmark run, the first official female entrant saw her bib No. 261 retired by the Boston Athletic Association. It’s the first number to be retired, though B.A.A. spokesman Jack Fleming said No. 61 has been held out of circulation in honor of Johnny Kelley, who started the race a record 61 times (and finished 58).
Fans crowded the brief ceremony, hugging and posing afterward for pictures with Switzer, a women’s running pioneer. “People have such an appreciation for what running has done for them and how it’s changed their lives,” said Switzer.