MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM: REVOLUTIONIZING THE FAN EXPERIENCE AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2017 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION ❘ street & smith’s sporTSBUSINESS JOURNAL 11AA MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM: REVOLUTIONIZING THE FAN EXPERIENCE CMercedes-BenzHANGING Stadium will be the drawing card for Atlanta to attract the world’s biggest events, while catalyzing THEthe revitalization of the city’s Westside. GAME When ground was broken on the Atlanta Falcons’ and Fortune 500 companies, Atlanta is also the country’s opening weekend game the sport has ever seen. Two Atlanta United’s sparkling new downtown digs in May 10th largest DMA, has its busiest airport that’s within a days later, Monday, Sept. 4, the Tennessee Volunteers 2014, it signaled a paradigm shift for sports facilities. For two-hour flight for 80 percent of the U.S. consuming and hometown Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take the owner Arthur Blank, the stadium was not to be a place public, and offers about 10,000 hotel rooms within a field for the second game of the Chick-fil-A just to play football games — it was to be the mile walk of the new stadium. It’s also got a revitalized doubleheader. centerpiece of Atlanta, one of the nation’s most Centennial Olympic Park, the College Football Hall of Less than a week later, on Sunday, Sept, 10, Atlanta economically thriving and socially vibrant cities, as well Fame, the Civil Rights Museum and the largest aquarium United play their first match in the new building as they as a catalyst of revitalization for the city’s downtrodden in the United States. host FC Dallas. Make no mistake: thanks to its yet historically significant Westside (see page 3A). “If you think about logistics in, logistics out, and the revolutionary conceptualization and design, the facility is Named Mercedes-Benz Stadium, thanks to a 27-year ability to have a downtown walkable event, that’s what as much as Atlanta United’s as it is the Falcons (see sponsorship agreement with the luxury automaker that is all these big events are looking for,” Cannon said. “As page 10A). moving its American headquarters to Atlanta (see page opposed to taking a big event and spreading it out over The following Sunday night, Sept. 17, the Falcons host 8A), the facility will help the city attract the world’s a metro, where events are taking place two hours apart the Green Bay Packers in a nationally televised game on biggest events it is so used to hosting since the Summer through city traffic.” NBC, a rematch of the last season’s NFC Championship Olympics came to town in 1996. On January 8, 2018, Said Tim Zulawski, chief commercial officer at AMB Game, won by Atlanta, 44-21. about four months after the stadium opens, the college Group, “This marketplace is active and reinvests. As a Garth Brooks headlines the building’s first concert on football National Championship Game will be played top-10 market, Atlanta usually doesn’t roll off people’s October 12, and the mega country star’s performance there. In February 2019, the stadium will host Super Bowl tongues when they’re thinking of big media markets or is a harbinger of big-time musical artists sure to make LIII, the third time the NFL’s showcase will be held in big markets in general. Atlanta a destination on their national and international Atlanta. In April 2020, college basketball will take center “We are being aggressive in bringing in events, and tours. stage, as the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Tournament the stadium is the catalyst that activates it all,” he The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, which is in the rotation to comes to the venue. added. serve as a College Football Playoff semifinal, and the The run marks the first time a city will host the college Mercedes-Benz Stadium formally opened its doors HBCU’s Celebration Bowl will also call Mercedes-Benz football National Championship, the Super Bowl and the Aug. 26 for the Falcons’ first home preseason game Stadium home. Final Four in three consecutive years. against the Arizona Cardinals, immediately followed by All told, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host 50-55 events “(The stadium) puts Atlanta in a very special and two Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games on Labor Day weekend. annually that attract 30,000-plus people, in addition to a unique category to attract the globe’s biggest events on The Saturday, Sept. 2 matchup featuring the Alabama plethora of private corporate and consumer events with an ongoing basis, in the same way the Olympics in ’96 Crimson Tide and Florida State Seminoles, the Nos. 1 1,000-10,000 people that will utilize the building’s suites were a transformational moment that took Atlanta from and 3 teams in preseason rankings, is arguably the best and club areas. being an under-appreciated southern city to giving it Tours of the stadium offered to Atlanta tourists, both national and global spotlight,” said Steve Cannon, convention goers and businesses will culminate with the former president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA attendees kicking field goals on the football field or OLDY who Blank hired in 2016 as CEO of his family of F soccer goals on the pitch and having their pictures OB businesses, AMB Group. “This is that next transformational R taken and projected onto the 101-feet mega column. moment for Atlanta.” “We have plenty of ways to be open 365 days a Blank’s vision for the stadium went beyond building a year,” McKay said. new home for the Falcons and the new MLS franchise, Added Michael Drake, chief revenue officer at AMB Atlanta United. Sports and Entertainment, “We will be the busiest stadium “There’s a bigger purpose here,” said Rich McKay, in the country from Day One.” president of AMB Sports and Entertainment. “This building And when the fans walk up to and enter Mercedes- can move us forward in a really cool fashion. In Benz Stadium, they will see a sports facility like no other, partnership with the Georgia World Congress Center, the an “engineering marvel” in Cannon’s words. It features: city, the state, there’s no event internationally that we can’t host and we shouldn’t host. ■ A fan-first design that allows attendees to flow freely “The object of this project from Day One was not just around the building and congregate at neighborhood to build a better Georgia Dome, it wasn’t to build a new bars located around the concourses. stadium, it wasn’t to build a stadium that would produce more revenue — it was to change the stadium game. ■ A retractable roof, the signature element of the We believe this project will do that.” building, that consists of eight motorized steel panels, To each and every executive at AMB Group, the city The Falcons’ first regular-season game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium designed to resemble petals, that weigh 500 tons of Atlanta doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves as will be in prime time against the Packers, a rematch of last season’s each. NFC Championship Game, won by Atlanta, 44-21. one of the nation’s top business centers. Home to 20 CONTINUED ON 6A 2A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION ❘ street & smith’s sporTSBUSINESS JOURNAL AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2017 MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM: REVOLUTIONIZING THE FAN EXPERIENCE Stadium catalyzes Westside revitalization Any time public money, no matter “They all have to be at the table, and how small the percentage of the they have to have a meaningful role,” overall project, is put toward building a Fernandez said. new facility for a sports team, there is oundation The process of revitalizing the pushback. “Why are we using tax dollars F Westside, though, will be neither easy to fund a billion-dollar enterprise,” is the amily nor short. Blank outlined a lengthy time question asked by naysayers. F frame for his group. AMB Group has the perfect answer LANK “He says it in meetings all the time: as to why it’s accepting $200 million ultimately building a stadium is not that in bonds backed by hotel-motel taxes B M. hard — I’m not sure I agree with him — toward construction of the new $1.5 RTHUR but affecting change on the Westside is billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in A going to be very difficult and it’s going Atlanta: The stadium will serve not only to take a long time,” McKay said. “It’s as the home to the Atlanta Falcons, not a five-year commitment, it’s not MLS’s Atlanta United, major national a 10-year commitment. It’s a 20-year and international sporting events and commitment.” the world’s biggest musical acts, as well It’s a long-term commitment, and as the new centerpiece of downtown, one with teeth — it’s already having real it will also catalyze the revitalization of impact on the people of the Westside. the city’s Westside, one of the poorest Here’s how: neighborhoods in the southeastern United States. Job opportunities Knocks opponents use in their case Arthur Blank and his wife, Angie, greet Westside residents Ms. Billie Walker and her daughter. Through Westside Works, a program against public funding include owners that connects Westside residents with moving their teams outside the city job opportunities, over 160 people have and into the suburbs, the facilities sitting So, on one side of the road sits a shiny are all stepping up significantly with been hired by construction firms that empty and unused the majority of the new stadium; on the other, about millions of dollars in investments in our built the stadium.