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The 12th annual Sports Business Awards were held on May 22, and Atlanta took home an award! The Sports Business Journal recognized Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the Sports Facility of the Year.
The stadium beat out a list of nominees, including Banc of California Stadium, Fiserv Forum, Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and Atlanta’s State Farm Arena.
Sports Facility of the Year winner @MBStadium's Steve Cannon: "We're a stadium at our core that aspires to be a Ritz-Carlton. We're in the hospitality business." #SBJAwards pic.twitter.com/NBm4E0iC3P
— Sports Business Journal (@sbjsbd) May 23, 2019
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is not only home to the Atlanta Falcons, but also the reigning MLS champions, Atlanta United. Atlanta United also took home the award for Sports Team of the Year. Outside of Atlanta-based teams, the stadium has hosted the Super Bowl, an experience for which it was widely praised. It’s also hosted the College Football Playoff National Championship, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, SEC Championship, MLS Cup Championship, MLS All-Star game, and numerous concerts.
It already has a reputation for being one of the better stadiums in the country, and is slated to host the 2020 NCAA Men’s Final Four and is a candidate host venue for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. The future is bright for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.