Plans are taking shape to demolish the Georgia Dome, giving the Atlanta Falcons a chance to express their confidence that Mercedes-Benz Stadium will open on June 1, 2017.
Team officials have been discussing the potential opening date for Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Though June 1 was seen as a realistic target, there had been recent talk that the Falcons could be seeking a backup plan.
All along the goal in Atlanta has been to start dismantling the adjacent Georgia Dome after it hosts its last event next March. Were it to stay standing for even a few months longer, the stadium could become a venue for Falcons’ preseason games or potentially matches for the Atlanta United FC, which is slated to share Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the Falcons.
However, officials in Atlanta have no intention of keeping the Georgia Dome open for an extend period. The space will be needed for several marquee events at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the Falcons do not foresee any delays to the development of their new facility. More from the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
“We would not take down the Dome or even begin to shut down the Dome unless we were certain of the completion date,” Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay said. “We’re very confident of that (June 1 date) now. If something were to happen along the way before March, we could obviously leave the Dome up (longer). That is not anticipated.”
McKay said the goal is to have the Dome site available for parking and tailgating by the College Football Playoff championship game in the new stadium on Jan. 8, 2018.
“Our thought has been all along that the Dome could get down sometime in late summer or early fall (of 2017), and then you could get the site ready and prepared certainly by December of ‘17, which means it would be ready for the college football championship,” McKay said. “That is definitely the timeline we are on.”
A Monster Jam event is scheduled for the Georgia Dome on March 10, and that is expected to be the stadium’s final opening.
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