Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Project facts:
Name: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Owner: Georgia World Congress Center Authority
Type: Entertainment, Sports, Stadium, 71,000 Seats
TIV: $1.4 Billion

Project Duration: 3 years
Number of Man Hours Worked: 17,618
Contractors Worked With: 12

Cranes On-site
12 Conventional Crawler Cranes
1 All Terrain Crane
4 Hydraulic Truck Cranes
6 Rough Terrain Crane
1 Boom Truck
Total: 24

The story

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium has 71,000 seats and a roof that can be folded down. Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer plays their home games there. The Atlanta Falcons play their home games there. The field is owned by the GWCCA, but the Falcons and the NFL have a 30-year deal to run it. The building began in April 2014 and was finished in June 2017. On 14.5 acres, the top can be pulled back and looks like an oval. The walls of the stadium are made of clear glass that lets light in and gives a view of the city of Atlanta.

What It Covers

Because of the size and scope of this project, it needed complete lift systems that met the strictest safety standards. The 24 cranes that Maxim Crane has given range in size from 40 to 2,535 tons and include crawlers, all-terrain cranes, hydraulic truck cranes, rough terrain cranes, and boom trucks. Maxim Crane has run and taken care of most of the lifting equipment. In addition, Maxim Crane helped with research and planning. Because of this, over 72,618 machine hours were finished without any major problems.

Here are some key details about the stadium:

Construction and Opening: Mercedes-Benz Stadium was constructed in downtown Atlanta and officially opened on August 26, 2017.

Tenants: The stadium serves as the home venue for two major professional sports teams: the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS).

Design and Features:

• Retractable Roof: One of the notable features of the stadium is its retractable roof, which is composed of eight triangular panels that can open or close in a manner resembling a camera aperture.
• 360-Degree Video Halo Board: The stadium boasts a 360-degree, 58-foot-tall circular video board called the “Halo Board.” It is one of the largest video displays in any stadium, providing an immersive experience for fans.

Seating Capacity: The seating capacity of Mercedes-Benz Stadium varies depending on the event. For NFL games, the standard seating capacity is approximately 71,000, but it can be expanded for special events.

Sustainability: The stadium is designed with a focus on sustainability and environmental efficiency. It includes features such as LED lighting, water conservation measures, and solar panels.

Hosted Events:

• Super Bowl LIII (2019): Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted Super Bowl LIII on February 3, 2019.
• NCAA Final Four: The stadium has been chosen as the venue for the NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball tournament.
• Name Sponsorship: The stadium is named after Mercedes-Benz, a multinational automotive manufacturer, as part of a naming rights agreement.

Important events

NFL

Mercedes-Benz Stadium was chosen to host Super Bowl LIII in 2019. This will be Atlanta’s first time holding the game since Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.

If both the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs made it past the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, the stadium would have been a neutral site for the 2022 AFC Championship on January 29, 2023.

The Chiefs would have been the home team as the AFC’s top seed. The neutral site placement was made because the schedule wasn’t fair because the Bills’ game against the Bengals in Week 17 at Paycor Stadium had to be cancelled because Bills back Damar Hamlin had a heart attack that could have killed him on the field.

Because the Bengals beat the Bills in their Divisional game, the AFC Championship would be held at Arrowhead Stadium instead of Lincoln Financial Field. After the game, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow joked that the Bills and Chiefs ‘better send those returns (back)’

College Basketball

The stadium was set to hold the NCAA Final Four in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was cancelled on March 12, 2020. However, it would have likely moved to a smaller Atlanta venue, like the State Farm Arena or the McCamish Pavilion, which is home to Georgia Tech, the host school of the Final Four, anyway, since fans were not allowed to watch the tournament the day before.

College and high school

From the 2016 season on, the Peach Bowl, the Celebration Bowl SEC Championship Game, and the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game all moved from the Georgia Dome to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In a deal that lasts until 2027, the SEC Championship will play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets agreed to play one home game each year at Mercedes-Benz Stadium from 2021 to 2026. This was revealed on February 26, 2019.

Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz Stadium were the sites of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship. For the first time since 1982, the Georgia Bulldogs lost the national championship game in overtime to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The football championship games for Class 1A Private School and Class 3A were held at the field on December 8, 2017, by the Georgia High School Association (GHSA). Due to light snow in Atlanta and North Georgia that weekend, the four games that were supposed to happen the next day were moved to campus and the last two championship games that were supposed to happen that day (Class 5A and Class 6A) were rescheduled.

Atlanta United hosted MLS Cup 2018 on December 8 and the 2018 Celebration Bowl was set for December 15. This meant that the 2018 GHSA football playoffs had to be held on December 11 and 12. The GHSA said in May 2019 that starting in 2019, the football playoffs would be moved from Mercedes-Benz Stadium to Centre Parc Stadium, which is a redevelopment of Turner Field.

They said this was because renting Mercedes-Benz Stadium was more expensive than renting the old Georgia Dome. Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the GHSA Football Championships again in 2023. It will also be the site of the first GHSA Flag Football Championships.

Soccer

▶ On October 22, 2017, Atlanta United played Toronto FC in an MLS regular season match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. There were 71,874 fans there, which was more than the previous record of 68,875 fans who saw an Atlanta United match against Orlando City in September, which was also the first time the roof was opened for a football match. Atlanta United also had the most fans in a single season.

▶ On March 11, 2018, Atlanta United played D.C. United in an MLS regular season game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. There were 72,035 fans there, which was the biggest crowd in MLS history.

▶ The 2018 MLS All-Star Game was set to take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 23, 2017, against the Italian team Juventus. It took place on August 1, 2018, and 72,317 people showed up, which was the most ever at an MLS All-Star game.

▶ On December 8, 2018, Atlanta United hosted the 2018 MLS Cup final against Portland Timbers. Atlanta United had home field edge because they beat Portland in the regular season. Atlanta beat Portland by a score of 2-0 to win their first MLS title. At first, 73,019 people watched the game, which was a Major League Soccer record for a single game.

▶ In the 2019 Campeones Cup, Atlanta United played host to Club América on August 14, 2019. A crowd of 40,128 people watched Atlanta beat América 3–2 to win their first Campeones Cup. This was the most people who ever came to a Campeones Cup event.

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Tournament	Spectators
October 22, 2017	Atlanta United	2–2	Toronto FC	2017 Major League Soccer season	71,874
March 11, 2018	Atlanta United	3–1	D.C. United	2018 Major League Soccer season	72,035
August 1, 2018	Juventus	1–1 (5–3 pen )	MLS All-Stars	2018 MLS All-Star Game	72,317
December 8, 2018	Atlanta United	2–0	Portland Timbers	2018 MLS Cup	73,019
June 5, 2019	Mexico	3–1	Venezuela	International Friendly	51,834
August 14, 2019	Atlanta United	3–2	Club América	2019 Campeones Cup	40,128
August 27, 2019	Atlanta United	2–1	Minnesota United FC	2019 U.S. Open Cup Final	35,709
June 12, 2021	Mexico	0–0	Honduras	International Friendly	70,072
August 31, 2022	Paraguay	1–0	Mexico	International Friendly	51,387
July 26, 2023	Brighton & Hove Albion	2–0	Brentford	2023 Premier League Summer Series	70,789
	Chelsea	1–1	Newcastle United
September 12, 2023	Mexico	3–3	Uzbekistan	International Friendly	33,81

Copa América de 2024

Several Copa América games will be held at the stadium in 2024. The first game of the event will also be held at the stadium.

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Spectators
June 20, 2024	Argentina	–	TBD
June 27, 2024	United States	–	TBD

2026 FIFA World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will have games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It is one of eleven American venues and one of five MLS venues that will hold games. In line with FIFA’s rules on corporate-sponsored names, the stadium will be briefly renamed “Atlanta Stadium” during the event.

The Rugby World Cups in 2031 and 2033

The cities of Atlanta and others are being thought about to hold games during the 2031 and 2033 Rugby World Cups.

Concerts/Live music

Many people who went to Garth Brooks’s first show at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 12, 2017, were disappointed and asked for their money back because the sound quality was so bad that they didn’t think it was suitable for a concert. The stadium officials said that plans are being made to help make the stadium sound better.

Since the first event, the stadium’s sound has been worked on to make it better. Suites got new speakers, the angle of the bowl speakers was changed, and delays were added to cut down on echo. Reports said that the sound quality at a Kenny Chesney concert in May 2018 was better than at the first event. There were 51,312 people at Chesney’s show, and it made $5,068,000.

After seeing Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift played there for two nights in August 2018 as part of her Reputation Stadium Tour. Over the two nights that were sold out, Swift played to 116,746 people and made $18.8 million. She was the first musician to play the stadium’s main stage on two nights in a row.

Also in August 2018, Beyoncé and Jay-Z played on the On the Run II Tour for two nights. There were 105,170 people at the two shows, which brought in $14,074,000.

As part of his tour in November 2018, Ed Sheeran played at the venue. There were 50,906 people at the show, and it made $5,021,000. This show was the last stop on the tour’s 2018 leg. It was called the “Top Tour of 2018.”

In March 2019, George Strait played a one-time show at the venue. Chris Stapleton, Chris Janson, and Ashley McBryde were also on the bill. There were 55,255 people at the show, and it made $11.9 million. In the venue’s history, this was the most successful single-night concert. It was also George Strait’s third show to make more than $10 million.

Kanye West held a listening party for his new record Donda on July 22, 2021. Apple Music was the only service that could live stream the show. After the listening event was over, West chose to stay at the stadium for a while to keep working on the album until it was finished. He turned the locker rooms into temporary living and recording spaces. On August 5, 2021, there was another listening party for the record at the stadium.

Kenny Chesney went back to the venue on May 21, 2022, as part of his Here and Now Tour. The show had been pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coldplay and H.E.R. played at the venue on June 11, 2022, as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour.

Luke Combs played there on July 30, 2022, with Cody Johnson, Zach Bryan, and Morgan Wade as guests.

As part of his After Hours till Dawn Stadium Tour, The Weeknd played there on August 11, 2022.

On September 22, 2022, Elton John played there as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

Taylor Swift came back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium three times in a row on April 28, 29, and 30, 2023, as part of her Eras Tour. She was the first act to headline the venue three nights in a row.

On May 27, 2023, Ed Sheeran came back to the venue for the first in-the-round show as part of his Tour. He performed for 76,335 people, which broke the venue’s record for the most people at a show.