Atlanta prepares to host college football championship game
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Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
Atlanta is just days away from hosting the College Football Playoff National Championship, and city officials are keeping safety and security top of mind as tens of thousands of Ohio State and Notre Dame fans arrive for the game.
Why it matters: Monday's game, which starts at 7:30pm, is Atlanta's third major event within the last month, after the Peach Drop on New Year's Eve and the Peach Bowl on New Year's Day.
- It's also one of the first major events a large city will host since the New Years Day terror attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured 57 others.
What they're saying: Mayor Andre Dickens said in a media briefing earlier this week that the city is not "not resting on our laurels" when it comes to event safety.
- "This is a huge undertaking, and I speak for all of us when I say we will not rest until all of our residents and visitors leave safe with a positive experience and great stories to tell when they get back home and when our city can get back to business as usual, as well," he said.
- The city began preparing for the game a year in advance, training and holding exercises in anticipation of numerous scenarios that could unfold, Dickens said.
Expect to see more cops: This weekend, officers will work 12-hour shifts and the agency has canceled off days, meaning everyone in the Atlanta Police Department will be "be out working on the streets and under assigned areas," police chief Darin Schierbaum said at the briefing.
- The chief also encouraged residents to call 911 or flag down an officer "if a vehicle, if an individual, if a package does not look right" or if they see anything posted on social media threatening to cause harm.
Wanna go to the game?: Be prepared to give up much of your paycheck. The lowest price for one ticket to the game is an eye-watering $1,400, as of Thursday afternoon on Ticketmaster.
Fun fact: Atlanta is the only city that's hosted the championship game twice, the last time being in 2018 between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the UGA Bulldogs.
Plus: A parade honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day will also be held Monday, with the procession starting at noon and marching from Peachtree and Baker streets to Ebenezer Baptist Church.
- The parade route will close at noon and the streets will reopen around 4pm, said Atlanta police chief deputy Charles Hampton, who oversees the special events division.
- As the festivities leading up to the game ramp up, Hampton said, the department's tactical and civil disturbance units and bicycle response teams will be on standby.
- "The nation will be watching, and we want to make sure that all our visitors, our residents, are here and enjoy themselves," he said of this weekend's events.
The big picture: Large-scale events are nothing new in Atlanta. On June 20, 2024, the city welcomed more than 70,000 people who attended the Copa América match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Dickens said.
- Exactly a week later, President Biden and candidate Donald Trump came to Atlanta for the debate that changed the course of the incumbent's reelection campaign.
The bottom line: If you're planning to venture into Downtown or near the stadium on Monday, remember to be patient, show yourself and others grace, take deep breaths and use MARTA or a rideshare service.