Mercedes-Benz Stadium announces free bike valet for Falcons, United games

Atlanta sports fanatics looking to offset the cost of tickets will soon have a free option for getting to games at the city’s gleaming new arena.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has teamed with the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition to provide a free bike valet service for anyone attending Atlanta Falcons’ games and United matches.

The service, operated by Two Wheel Valet, will be available starting two hours before kickoff, and then ending an hour after Atlanta victories (or rare losses).

Officials stressed that bicyclists need only to pedal up to the valet (located at the main gate, 1414 Andrew Young International Boulevard NW) and drop off their wheels, with no pre-booking or app-downloading required.

A few more specifics on how the process will work, as outlined in a press release:

“The valet will utilize a digital check-­in service for cyclists to quickly and efficiently check their bikes in. When dropping off their bikes, cyclists simply provide their phone number, and they will be sent a text that includes a secure claim ID and the time that the valet will close. Helmets, lights, bags, and locks can all stay on the bikes, making bike parking easy, fast, and secure.”

Bike-valet services are a growing trend at stadiums, universities, real estate developments, and events (see: most Atlanta festivals) to encourage shifts toward bicycling as a transportation mode.

“We started offering bike valet during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and we’re proud to see this tradition continued with our newest sports venue,” Rebecca Serna, ABC Executive Director, said in the release. “Hopefully this trend will spread to other Atlanta institutions wanting to give their patrons better transportation options.”

ABC officials have mapped out optimum bicycle routes to Mercedes-Benz Stadium (see below), which make use of new bike paths and lanes throughout the city.

Graphic via Atlanta Bicycle Coalition

Speaking of ABC, the final Atlanta Streets Alive of 2017 will take over Peachtree Street in Midtown and downtown Sunday, Sept. 24. Atlanta United happens to have a home match that afternoon, too.

Sounds like a winning combo.

• The Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium, now finished, in 27 photos [Curbed Atlanta]