County of building: Fulton County
Location of building: 441 M.L.K. Jr Dr NW, Atlanta
Owner: Georgia World Congress Center Authority
Operator: Atlanta Falcons Football Club
Prospective Tenants: Atlanta Falcons Football Team, Peach Bowl (NCAA), Atlanta United FC (MLS)
Broke Ground: May 19, 2014
Estimated completion: June 2017
Architect: Goode Van Slyke and Stanley Beaman & Sear
Estimated Cost: $1.4 Billion
Height at completion: 305 feet (30 stories)
"The Atlanta Falcons have a name for their new home.
"The Falcons' new stadium, currently scheduled to open for the 2017 season, will be named Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the team announced Monday. The deal runs through 2042, reports ESPN.
"The Falcons broke ground on the new $1.4 billion facility in 2014. Taxpayers will contribute $200 million to construction, and possibly several times that amount toward operating the stadium through 2050.
"Mercedes-Benz also has a naming rights contract with the New Orleans Saints' Superdome through 2021. In the overlapping seasons, the NFC South rivals will both use the name on their home field." ~ Sports Illustrated
"The winning design, submitted by HOK, featured an eight-panel retractable roof that resembles a pinwheel, and a glass wall that opens with the roof, to allow in fresh air.
"The roof design included eight triangular translucent panels, that when open would create the illusion of a bird's wings extended. Surrounding the opening of the roof would be a halo video board that will enclose the playing surface, stretching from one of the 10 yard lines to the other and then curving around the end zones to complete the oval.
"Artist's rendering showing the ring of LED screen in action
In January 2015, the Falcons announced the hiring of Daktronics, a South Dakota-based firm, to build the stadium's electronics display. The announced features include a circular 58-foot-by-1,100-foot circular LED board that would ring the opening of the stadium's roof, and would be "three times as large as the current largest single display board in the NFL" installed at EverBank Field in Jacksonville (also built by Daktronics). In addition, the company plans to install more than 20,000 square feet of other LED boards, including field-level advertising boards for soccer games.
"The venue will include a 100-yard bar that will stretch the length of the football field in the upper concourse, along with a fantasy football lounge and premium club seating at field level, behind the teams benches.
"The mechanical curtains close off the upper bowl from the rest of the stadium for lower-capacity Atlanta United FC matches.
Architect Bill Johnson said the circular opening in the roof was inspired by the Roman Pantheon ("Pantheon" was also the working name for the building design). The roof was designed to be made of a clear, lightweight polymer material that can adjust its opacity to control light, and much of the exterior will be clear polymer or glass to allow views to the outside. The middle concourse and upper bowl were eliminated in the east end zone to allow for an unobstructed view of the Atlanta skyline.
"Atlanta United FC General Manager Jim Smith said the design had "soccer in mind from the very beginning", pointing to the retracting lower bowl seats to widen the field, and mechanized curtains that limit the capacity to about 29,000 and makes the stadium feel more intimate." Wikipedia