This weekend, Atlanta’s $1.6-billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host its biggest event to date – Super Bowl LIII.
The game will be viewed by 150-million-plus people worldwide and the full slate of events held across the city of Atlanta during Super Bowl week will pour an estimated $185 million into local hotels, restaurants, retailers and other businesses.
But the impact of this stadium – praised as “one of the most beautifully designed stadiums on the planet” by Architectural Digest – will extend far beyond the Super Bowl and other games, concerts and events held there.
Arthur Blank, owner the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, has stated: “the city is on fire” economically, and his goal is for the stadium to help Westside communities around the stadium share in that success.
Here’s a rundown of some of the key developments and initiatives taking shape near the stadium:
John F. Kennedy Park just west of the stadium is undergoing a $2-million renovation as part of the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee’s Legacy 53 initiative to create a lasting impact beyond the game itself. The improvements will include an artificial turf playing field, a community walking path, new playground equipment and a basketball court.
The Home Depot Backyard, 11-acres of multi-use greenspace created on the site of the former Georgia Dome, serves as a large tailgating space on game days and a community park the rest of the year. The “backyard” offers a destination playground, a 3-tier pavilion, and a large central lawn for soccer games, movie nights, farmers markets and more.
A 1,000-room Signia Hilton, a new upscale hotel brand from Hilton Worldwide, will serve the adjacent Georgia World Congress Center and a growing entertainment district in the area that includes Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Rodney Cook Sr. Park, a new $45-million, 16-acre park under development in the Vine City neighborhood, will feature a great lawn, public performance space and 18 monuments to civil rights and community leaders.
Westside Works is a long-term initiative focused on creating employment opportunities for residents of Westside communities and provides access to skills training, job readiness programs and more.
Reverb by Hard Rock, an 11-floor boutique a few blocks south of the stadium, will feature 200 rooms and a rooftop bar. Expected to open in 2020, the hotel is a new spinoff of the Hard Rock Hotel brand.
The 104-key Clarion Inn & Suites, completed in spring 2018 and situated in walking distance to the stadium, marked the first hotel opening in years on Atlanta’s Westside.