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Inside Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium today

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Two and 1⁄2 years after its groundbreaking, this $1.5-billion venture is becoming a rather impressive football pantheon

By Josh Green
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Inside the Atlanta Falcons' new stadium today.
View from the nose-bleeds.
Photos: Josh Green, Curbed Atlanta

Bob Evans, project superintendent at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, looked skyward through a giant halo of steel Wednesday morning and offered this summation of the $1.5-billion coliseum: “It’s one-of-a-kind. It’s unique. It’s been a good engineering feat.”

That’s understatement number one.

Two and 1⁄2 years after breaking ground, the Atlanta Falcons’ futuristic new roost is beginning to look suitable for hosting NFL (and MLS) contests. Locker rooms and concessions stands are going in. More than 24,000 tons of steel is almost all in place. And nearly 2,000 workers are still reporting here every day, around the clock.

Now for understatement number two:

“We’ve still got quite a bit left to do,” Evans said.

During a media tour, officials assured visitors the stadium will be finished for the Falcons’ first gave next year, even after the completion date had been moved back from March, forcing the Atlanta United soccer team to play at least some home games at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium next year.

In any case, the stadium marked a key milestone Wednesday with the installation of the final major steel truss for the section of the roof that won’t move. Have a look at other progress in the photos below ...

Once through security, this 2.5-acre plaza will essentially serve as the front door for ticket holders. From this view, the stadium is facing the heart of downtown Atlanta. This facade will be transparent with glass, as seen below ...
Sound advice.
Makeshift signage abounds.
One of many concession stands being finished now. Options will include a top-level bar that’s 100 yards long, married in position with the actual field — and with a visual that allows those in line to see where the ball is.
This massive LED board will project through the primary glass window toward downtown and, in the words of one official, “blow people’s mind.” Let the below photo of a rendering illustrate ...
More sound advice.
Next to the massive window, the 300-level concourse (i.e., the top floor) offers this public gathering space that promises to be festive.
The view from said concourse window stretches from Castleberry Hill to the King and Queen towers of Sandy Springs.
One stratospheric port-o-let.
This is the nose-bleed view maybe 20 rows from the top. The venue has a more intimate feel than its domed predecessor. It’ll have about 1,000 fewer seats (roughly 71,000) than the Georgia Dome.
High above, workers install the final significant beam of the fixed-roof section. As many as 2,200 employees have been on site at one time, working 24/7, and many of them signed this beam. The stadium has basically topped out.
This 55-foot structure being assembled on field will hold the massive video halo that will ring the stadium’s portal to the heavens.
Meanwhile, on the field ...
Construction on the oculus, which will open like a camera’s aperture and reveal this portal, is expected to begin later this year and wrap in March. The stadium will require 14 acres of roofing overall
The finished modernistic colossus, with the roof closed.
Days are numbered for the Falcons’ current home next door, which seems almost archaic in comparison.
Jonathan Phillips, Curbed Atlanta
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1 Georgia Dome Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30314 404 223 9200 Visit Website

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