The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stadium celebrates 5 years, plans more big-time events
Friday marked the fifth anniversary of the opening of Mercedes-benz Stadium, which has hosted 11.6 million fans at 226 events since making its debut with a Falcons exhibition game on Aug. 26, 2017.
“Wow, we’ve come a long way — five years, 11 million guests, so many big events and small events and meaningful events,” said Steve Cannon, CEO of Falcons and Atlanta United parent company AMB Sports & Entertainment, which operates the stadium. “It’s unbelievable and gratifying to think of all the purposes that have been served underneath that moveable roof.”
The stadium has hosted a College Football Playoff national championship game ( Jan. 8, 2018), an MLS Cup final (Dec. 8, 2018) and a Super Bowl (Feb. 3, 2019). It would have hosted a college basketball Final Four in 2020 if not for the pandemic. Now, as stadium officials and staffers celebrate the fifth anniversary, they also look ahead to what could be an even bigger stretch of marquee events later this decade.
In June, soccer’s global governing body, FIFA, named Mercedes-benz Stadium one of the sites of 2026 World Cup matches. Last week, the College Football Playoff announced it would return its national championship game to the stadium in January 2025, when Atlanta will become the first two-time host of the game.
The stadium and city are in the process of competing to host two more mega-events: the Super Bowl in 2028 and the Final Four in 2029 or 2031.
“I feel great about our chances,” Cannon said in an interview Thursday with The Atlanta Journal-constitution, “just because of what our package represents.” In addition to the stadium, he cited Hartsfield-jackson International Airport, a “walkable” downtown with ample hotel and convention space, and Atlanta’s “welcoming nature” for such events.
“That’s why these big events keep coming,” he said. “My expectation is they will absolutely continue.”
An NCAA delegation visited the stadium early this month, and the NCAA plans to announce in November the sites of the 202731 Final Fours. Falcons owner Arthur Blank made it known last year that the stadium wants to host the 2028 Super Bowl, but the NFL hasn’t revealed a timetable for a decision on that.
“We’ve repeatedly expressed our interest and our intentions (regarding the 2028 Super Bowl),” Cannon said. “They (NFL officials) have validated that the Super Bowl that took place in Atlanta (in 2019) was a fantastic experience. The execution was among the best. So, we are in the queue.
“We’ve got a compelling story. We’ve got a very interested owner who is advocating with the league and with (NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell) for our city just as hard as he possibly can. We’re absolutely doing our best to make that a reality.”
The stadium staff planned to gather in the massive building’s administrative offices on Friday, Cannon said, for a “huddle” to celebrate together the fifth anniversary. For all of the sports events and concerts held in the stadium over its first five years, Cannon said he’s proudest that it served as a food distribution center early in the pandemic, a mass COVID-19
vaccination site and an early-voting location.
The stadium has become known for innovation, including sharply reducing some concession prices (in 2017) and becoming the first major U.S. sports venue to fully implement cashless transactions (in 2019). Although the stadium is only five years old, AMB Sports & Entertainment officials already envision it evolving into what they’re calling “Mercedes-benz Stadium 2.0” with technological and customer-service advancements.
“We’re going to innovate continuously with a never-finished mentality,” Cannon said.
Going forward, he said the goal is to create a “frictionless” experience — i.e., eliminating standing in lines for guests as much as possible. The stadium currently is testing technology that eventually could give Falcons and Atlanta United fans the option to enter the gates and shop the concession stands based on facial recognition.
For now, the stadium will start its sixth football season with a flourish, hosting defending national champion Georgia against Oregon and Georgia Tech against Clemson in Chickfil-a Kickoff games Sept. 3 and 5, respectively. The Falcons’ regular-season opener is in the stadium on Sept. 11 against rival New Orleans.
“One hundred percent, the best is yet to come for the stadium,” Cannon said.