Entertaining Clients? Why The Atlanta Falcons' New Stadium Is The Best Ever

This week in a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Atlanta Falcons will take the field for the first time in their new home: the $1.5 billion, 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Designed to create the ultimate live-game experience, the stadium will boast several unique architectural features and some of the most fan-friendly accommodations in American professional sports.

First and foremost, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will draw attention for its incredible, Ancient Greece-inspired retractable roof. Though engineers are still working out the kinks in the process, the roof will be able to open or close in 11 minutes once ready. Architecturally, it is breathtaking when seen from both above and below — something consistent with the rest of the stadium’s aesthetics. Other popular components of the building will be the Window to the City (a 16-story-high wall of floor-to-ceiling glass providing a view of downtown Atlanta) and a huge metal bird statue by artist Gábor Miklós Szóke. The stadium will be eco-friendly as well, with features such as a 600,000-gallon cistern to gather rainwater and reuse it, and the installation of 4,000 solar panels around the complex.

Aside from the roof, though, what will most wow spectators will be the “halo board” video screen. A circular video screen that wraps 360 degrees around the stadium, just below the roof opening, the board is 58 feet tall and, if stretched out in a line, 1,100 feet long. Billed as the largest video screen in the world, it can show one continuous image or be divided into up to 12 separate sections.

Perhaps as impressive as the stadium’s design will be the ways in which the designers kept the fans’ experience first and foremost throughout the building’s conception and construction. Seat sizes were increased (relative to those in the Falcons’ former home, the Georgia Dome), and “feather boards” — video screens airing NFL RedZone to engage fantasy football players — will be active in multiple locations during Falcons games. Above all, the price of concessions, always a thorn in the side of fans attending live games, will actually be a selling point for Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Some of the deals, such as hot dogs for $2, nachos for $3 and beers for $5 — not to mention sodas with unlimited refills — are almost unheard-of for pro sports stadiums. Not only that, the stadium will serve at least 40 different beer brands from more than 1,200 taps. Offering a bevy of great food and beverage options at very low prices is not only a kind gesture by the team’s ownership, but also an incredibly smart business move that is going to make the entire live experience at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that much more enjoyable.

After the Falcons-Cardinals exhibition game on Aug. 26, Alabama and Florida State will kick off the opening weekend of college football at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 2. Then, during Sunday Night Football on Sept. 17, the Falcons will play their first regular-season game in their new home against the Green Bay Packers, a rematch of the 2016 NFC Championship Game that sent the Falcons to the Super Bowl.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the College Football Playoff’s championship game next January, as well as the 2019 Super Bowl and the men’s NCAA Final Four in 2020. Sooner than later, the new arena will claim its place as one of the premier venues in professional sports.