Top Facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Multi-Purpose Arena
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a stadium located in Atlanta, the United States. It is one of the greatest stadiums in the U.S. with modern facilities in which different sports are played. In this article, we are going to take a look at top facts about it.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America. It opened in August 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome and it serves as the home ground of the Atlanta Falcons of National Football League (NFL) and
Atlanta United FCof Major League Soccer
(MLS).
The stadium is possessed by the state government of Georgia through the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, and operated by AMB Group, the parent organization of the Falcons and Atlanta United. In June 2016, the total cost of its construction was estimated at 1.6 billion dollars.
Top Facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Multi-Purpose Arena in Atlanta
One of the
top facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium
is that the stadium publicly opened on 26 August 2017, with a Falcons preseason match against the Arizona Cardinals, in spite of the fact that the retractable roof system was incomplete at the time. Numerous events previously held at the Georgia Dome moved to Mercedes-Benz Stadium after its completion, including the SEC football championship match and the Peach Bowl.
In 2018, it held the College Football Playoff National Championship and the MLS Cup (as Atlanta United held home field advantage), and it also hosted Super Bowl LIII in 2019.
Quick facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Former names:
New Atlanta Stadium (Planning/construction)
Address:
1 AMB Drive Northwest
Location:
Atlanta, Georgia
Public transit:
MARTA, Green Line, Blue Line, at Vine City, GWCC/CNN Center
Operator:
AMB Sports and Entertainment Group
Capacity:
American Football: 71,000 (Expandable to 75,000), Soccer: 42,500, (Expandable to 71,000, standing room to at least 73,019)
Record attendance:
American Football: 78,347 (2019 Peach Bowl, December 28, 2019), Soccer: 73,019 (2018 MLS Cup, December 8, 2018)
Field size:
American Football: 120 yards × 53.333 yards (109.7 meters × 48.8 meters), Soccer : 115 yards × 75 yards (105 meters × 69 meters)
Surface:
FieldTurf CORE
Broke ground:
19 May 2014
Opened:
26 August 2017
Construction cost:
US $1.6 billion (Projected)
Architect:
HOK, tvsdesign, Goode Van Slyke, Stanley Beaman & Sears
Project manager:
Darden & Company
Structural engineer:
BuroHappold Engineering/Hoberman
Services engineer:
WSP
General contractor:
HHRM JV (Comprising Hunt Construction Group, Holder Construction, H. J. Russell & Co. & C. D. Moody Construction Co.)
Tenants:
Atlanta Falcons (NFL) (2017–present), Atlanta United FC (MLS) (2017–present), Peach Bowl (NCAA) (2017–present), SEC Championship Game (NCAA) (2017-present), Celebration Bowl (NCAA) (2017–present), Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game (NCAA) (2017–present)
Website:
MercedesBenzStadium.com
Mercedes-Benz Stadium design
Retractable roof
The stadium's significant feature is its retractable roof, which features a "pinwheel" be made up of eight luminous, triangular panels. Each of the eight panels works on two straight, parallel rails; one rail is used for sliding the panel while the other rail stabilizes the panel.
Closing the sliding roof takes somewhat less time than opening the roof, since it has to disengage the seals at the start of the opening process and slow down towards the completion to prevent the panels from getting wrecked. When opened, the panels are designed to form the illusion of a bird's wings stretched.
Architect Bill Johnson explained that the round opening in the roof was motivated by the Roman Pantheon which was also the working name for the construction design. The retractable roof was designed to be made of a clear, lightweight polymer material that can change its opaqueness to control light, and much of the external is clear polymer or glass to allow sights to the outside. The middle concourse and upper bowl were removed in the east end zone to allow for a free vision of the Atlanta skyline.
Beneath the roof is the "Halo", an 18 by 335 meters, ring-shaped video board around its edge. Covering a total area of 5,793 square meters, it was called by manufacturer Daktronics as being "three times as large as the existing biggest single display board in the NFL" installed at EverBank Field in Jacksonville which was also built by Daktronics. Daktronics also installed more than 1,900 square meters of other LED boards, as well as field-level advertising boards for soccer matches.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium's roof can be kept open under light rain, as the electrical systems for all video boards in the arena are outdoor-rated, and the field has a good drainage system.
Mike Egan, AMB Group senior executive went as far as defining Mercedes-Benz Stadium as "an outdoor stadium with a roof over it" due to these features, but that other elements such as humidity and outside temperatures would be taken into consideration on whether or not the roof would be opened.
Internal design
One of the
top facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium
is that it also has characteristics specific for college football use. It opened with two large locker rooms, which are capable of housing 100 players, indicating the much larger size of college football rosters compared to those of the NFL.
Nevertheless, the stadium did not initially include another feature important in that context—stairways connecting the seats to the field, making it hard for bands to enter the field for halftime performances. Needless to say that most NFL teams including the Falcons, do not have bands.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium also has a soccer-specific formation, with retractable lower bowl seats to extend the field, and automatic curtains that limit the capacity to about 42,500.
The stadium combines contemporary art with its interior and exterior design, with more than 180 commissioned works, including pieces by Nari Ward, Hank Willis Thomas, and Steven and William Ladd.
The centerpiece of the art collection is Gábor Miklós Szőke's stainless steel sculpture The Atlanta Falcon, which the artist said is the biggest freestanding bird statue in the world.
Facilities
One of the
top facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium
is that In March 2019, after a trial in 2018, the stadium became one of the first main professional sports arenas in the United States to only accept "cashless" payment procedures for transactions at concessions inside the stadium, such as credit or debit cards, and mobile payments.
This only applies to concessions; cash is still approved for ticket sales and any third-party merchandising that may operate through events, and kiosks are provided for loading cash onto prepaid debit cards with no transaction fees charged.
To reflect native culture, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium also have cooperation with Atlanta-based restaurants, chains, and cooks to have presences as concessions under the "Best of Atlanta" banner, including Chick-fil-A, The Varsity, Kevin Gillespie, and others.
In keeping with the supporter first pricing policy, these partners approved to not mark up their prices in comparison to their outside locations. As with all other locations under a long-lasting corporate policy, the Chick-fil-A does not operate on Sundays, with no exclusion, although the stadium's main tenant primarily plays on Sundays. During Sunday events, the Chick-fil-A stand is replaced by an unbranded "Fries Up" stand operated by Levy Restaurants.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium history
In May 2010, it was stated by numerous news outlets that the Atlanta Falcons were interested in replacing the Georgia Dome with a newly built open-air stadium, even though at the time it was planned to retain the Georgia Dome to continue holding non-NFL events.
The club was pursuing a new stadium due to the team's wish to play outdoors, as well as Falcons club holder Arthur Blank's interest in hosting another Super Bowl.
The stadium was also pursued as a likely effort for a location of a future
FIFA World Cup. Kansas City-based architectural firm Populous released all-inclusive plans for the recommended arena in February 2011.
Populous' early cost estimate for the project was 700 million dollars. In line with the master plan, the stadium would have a maximum capacity of 71,000, but can expand to 75,000 for distinct events such as the Super Bowl. It will also feature multiple club levels, suites and exhibition area.
In April 2012, Populous released a new price estimate of 947.7 million dollars, which was considerably more than the earlier proposal of 700 million dollars.
In April 2012, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated that if an agreement was reached, the new stadium's building would be expected to begin in 2014, with the Falcons to begin regular-season play in 2017.
The recommended site of the new stadium is a huge parking lot in Atlanta's Vine City neighborhood, which is less about a kilometers north of the Georgia Dome's current position. Once building was complete, the Georgia Dome would consequently be destroyed.
On 24 August, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated that an official contract could be achieved on the construction of a new arena by the end of 2012. They also reported on 10 September that Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed said site developments could likely bump the total cost to 1.2 billion dollars; nevertheless, that does not increase the actual building price, which still remains at an estimated 948 million dollars.
On 10 December, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, in an undisputed decision, accepted the plan and most of the agreement terms for the new arena plans.
As said by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, the term sheet is non-binding and changes could be made at any time in respect of stadium construction. Stadium location, though, is yet to be worked out; suggested locations being reported are within walking distance of the Georgia Dome, with one site placed one-half mile north, and the other one block directly south, at the one of the stadium's current car parks.
On 7 March 2013, the Falcons and the city of Atlanta decided to build the new downtown arena. The maximum community support for the project was 200 million dollars, coming from the hotel-motel tax in Atlanta and independent Fulton County.
The Atlanta City Council formally accepted the stadium on 19 March 2013. The council voted, 11–4, in favor of the use of city hotel-motel taxes to pay 200 million dollars toward building expenditures and possibly several times that toward costs of investing in, maintaining and operating the stadium through 2050. On 21 May 2013, the NFL accepted a 200 million dollars loan to the Falcons organization for the purpose of construction the stadium.
The Falcons revealed a conceptual design for the new arena on 18 June 2013, with a suggested capacity of 70,000 attendees, 7,500 club seats, and 180 luxury suites.
Arthur Blank pointed out that the groundbreaking of the stadium would be conducted the last week of March 2014. Then Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive was closed forever, the Mount Vernon Baptist Church held its last Sunday service on 9 March and the historic church was destroyed.
Friendship Baptist, the place of birth of both Spelman College and Morehouse College, was also ruined and repositioned to make room for the stadium. Because of legal problems surrounding the issuing of bonds, the new arena did not break ground until May 19, 2014.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium construction delays and opening
The stadium anticipated opening date was postponed three times due to the complexity of the eight-panel retractable roof. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium was initially intended to open on 1 March 2017; nevertheless, the opening date was later postponed to 1 June 2017, then to 30 July 2017, and then to 26 August 2017.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium Additional construction and renovations
Expecting to address worries of overcrowding at the entrance and exit areas of the stadium, officials of the stadium announced that they plan to add some more doors to the stadium.
Overcrowding and congestion was a regular worry and criticism from fans attending major events during the stadium operation in the first year. Fans appearing the College Football National Championship match reported important delays in both entering and exiting the arena, with some reporting wait times that exceeded 45 minutes to get out of the stadium after the match.
A pedestrian bridge was scheduled but not initially opened when the stadium first opened. The bridge was finalized in January 2019 at a cost of 33 million dollars. It has a serpentine like structure on both ends, and a cover over the main area with customizable LEDs.
The bridge connects match day car parks and the Vine City MARTA Station to the northwest side of the arena and The Home Depot Backyard, allowing pedestrians to avoid crossing the crowded, 6 lane Northside Drive.
On 7 February 2019, stadium officials said that the artificial grass would be replaced prior to the Falcons' 2019 season as part of nearly 2 million dollars in important developments of the stadium. Officials of the stadium also said that the turf would be replaced approximately every two years given the number of events, both private and public, held each year at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium retractable roof problem
Several reports of the roof leaking during the stadium's opening season caused some concerns for the stadium's design team. Through the College Football National Championship Game in January 2018, a number of media reported an important leak that appeared to be happening just over the field of play near the 25-yard line.
Bill Hancock, College Football Playoff Executive Director, stated that he and his team had been made aware of the issue concerning water leaking from the roof and that he believed that the issue did not affect the ground of play during the match. Neither team playing in the match reported any issues with the playing surface.
Stadium officials made clear after the initial leaks that were reported back in October 2017 that the issue was not a "leak" but rather a "few drops of water" that were falling from the roof around some parts of the arena.
Officials stated that the issue was due to the fact that the roof was still not completely mechanized yet, and that the issues would be fixed before the Falcons' 2018 season. They also stated that the issues were usual for newly built stadiums with sliding roofs.
Falcons president Rich McKay told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he wanted all issues with the roof to be fully resolved before the 2018 season.
On 29 May 2018, the retractable roof was opened for the first time since October 2017 for construction. Stadium officials said that the roof would be open for 10 days, regardless of weather, to finish work on mechanizing the roof.
After the 10-day repair duration, an unknown time frame would be necessary for final commissioning work, after of which, operation of the roof would be turned over to stadium officials.
Work on the retractable roof finished on 14 July 2018. On 25 July 2018, in a demonstration to reporters of the media, the retractable roof was opened and closed for the first time as intended, with both processes taking about eight minutes each.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium costs and financing
One of the top facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium is that on 21 August 2015, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated that Mercedes-Benz would obtain the naming rights for the stadium, and this was later confirmed by a press conference at the stadium site on 24 August. Under the stadium contract with the city of Atlanta and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, the Falcons organization controls the stadium's naming rights and gets all related income.
Then-Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon, who would then join the Falcons' organization in 2016 as CEO of AMB Group, said that the sponsorship would last 27 years, calling it the biggest marketing agreement in Mercedes-Benz' history, but Cannon would not reveal the full price of the contract; though, Sports Business Daily reported in February 2016 that the naming rights contract was valued at 324 million dollars.
Mercedes-Benz also held a 10-year naming rights contract for the Louisiana Superdome agreed in 2011. Total sponsorship sales for Mercedes-Benz Stadium have reached 900 million dollars.
Although the stadium is owned by the state, it is operated by AMB Group, the parent organization of the Falcons and Atlanta United. All operating incomes of Mercedes-Benz Stadium go to AMB Group and not to the state. Moreover, AMB Group does not now pay any property tax on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Major events at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
On 19 May 2015, Mercedes-Benz Stadium was given Super Bowl LIII in 2019, marking Atlanta's first time hosting the match since Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.
College basketball
One of the top facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium is that it was scheduled to hold the 2020 NCAA Final Four. On 2 March 2020, the competition was totally cancelled outright due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however it would have likely shifted to a smaller Atlanta venue in any situation, as the competition was closed to spectators the day before.
Association Football
On 22 October 2017, Atlanta United played an MLS regular season game against Toronto FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in front of 71,874 attendees, beating the record they set for the largest crowd in a stand-alone MLS game in September against
Orlando City. In this match for the first time the roof was opened for an association football match). Furthermore, Atlanta United set the single-season record for spectators.
On 11 March 2018, Atlanta United played an MLS regular season match against D.C. United at the stadium in front of 72,035 spectators, setting the record for the largest crowd in the history of MLS.
On 23 October 2017, it was proclaimed that the 2018 MLS All-Star Game would be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Italian team
Juventus. It was held on 1 August 2018, and set a new record for attendance at an MLS All-Star match, with 72,317 spectators.
On 8 December 2018, Atlanta United hosted the Portland Timbers in the 2018 MLS Cup final match. So they earned home field advantage by virtue of their regular season record over
Portland. Atlanta beaten Portland 2–0, winning their first-ever MLS title. The match originally reported a single-game attendance record for Major League Soccer, with 73,019 spectators.
On 14 August 2019, the team hosted Club América in the 2019 Campeones Cup. Atlanta beaten América 3–2, winning their first-ever Campeones Cup in front of 40,128 fans. This attendance set an attendance record for Campeones Cup.
Concerts at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
On 12 October 2017, the opening concert at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, featuring Garth Brooks, received prevalent disdain, including demands for refunds, due to the reported terrible acoustics that many people deemed unfit for concert sound. The stadium authority said that plans are proceeding to help develop the acoustical quality of the stadium.
Since the opening concert, efforts were made to develop the acoustics in the stadium. New speakers were added to groups, the angle of the bowl speakers was adjusted and delays introduced in order to decrease echo.
In a concert in May 2018 featuring Kenny Chesney, reports were that the sound quality had enhanced since the first concert. Chesney's concert attracted 51,312 people and earned 5.068 million dollars.
After concerts by Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney, the arena hosted Taylor Swift for her concert at two nights in August 2018 as part of Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour.
Over the two sold-out nights, Taylor Swift performed to an audience of 116,746 people and earned 18.089 million dollars. She was the first music act to perform at the stadium for two successive nights.
Moreover in August 2018, Beyoncé and Jay-Z performed for two nights as part of the On the Run II Tour. The two performances earned 14.074 million dollars and were attended by 105,170 people.
Ed Sheeran performed at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium as part of his ÷ Tour in November 2018. The performance was attended by 50,906 people and grossed 5.021 million dollars. This show marked the end of the 2018 leg of the tour, which was promoted as the Top Tour of 2018.
In March 2019, George Strait performed a unique concert at the stadium, along with musical guests Chris Stapleton, Chris Janson, and Ashley McBryde. The concert was attended by 55,255 people, and got 11.9 million dollars. This became the highest grossing single night concert in the stadium's history, and became George Strait's third show to earn more than 10 million dollars.
On 22 July 2021, Kanye West held a listening event for his next album Donda. The event was also live streamed fully on Apple Music. After the listening event finished, West decided to in the short term reside at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to continue working on the album until the end, converting locker-room amenities into temporary recording studio spaces and living areas. Another listening party event for the album took place on 5 August 2021 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Moreover, the Rolling Stones had a concert on 11 November 2021.
After being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenny Chesney is going to return to the arena on May 21, 2022, as part of his Here and Now Tour.
Coldplay will perform at the arena as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour on 11 June 2022, along with special guest H.E.R..
On 30 July 2022, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host Luke Combs with guests Cody Johnson, Zach Bryan, and Morgan Wade.
Elton John's final tour, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, will perform at the stadium on 22 September 2022.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in popular culture
One of the top facts about Mercedes-Benz Stadium is that on 4 January 2018, the arena was the theme of the premiere episode of Building Giants on Science Channel. Using film of the building along with CGI, the construction process is explored in detail.
It was pointed out in the episode that the heaviest truss pieces were erected by the biggest conventional crawler crane ever made in North America, a Manitowoc Model 31000 which is rated at a capacity of 2,535 US tons (2,300 metric tons).
A train horn resounds after every Falcons and United score and win, which is a sign of Atlanta's railway history.
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