AECOM Hunt served as construction manager – in a joint venture with Holder Construction, C.D. Moody Construction, and H.J. Russell & Company – for the state-of-the-art stadium, which is home of the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United.
The stadium officially opened to fans on August 26, 2017 for an Atlanta Falcons versus Arizona Cardinals preseason exhibition game. As a multi-purpose venue, the stadium’s flexible design allows for up to 83,000 seats.
A standout feature of the stadium is a one-of-a-kind retractable roof composed of eight, 1,600-ton panels that each cantilever to resemble a camera shutter opening and closing. In addition, Mercedes-Benz Stadium houses a circular, 360-degree, “halo” video board that completely surrounds the top of the dome. The facility saves more than 40-percent in energy use compared to typical stadiums due to an extensive water capture and reuse system, over 4,000 solar photovoltaic panels, LED lighting, energy monitoring equipment, and energy-efficient glazing.
Fast facts
AECOM Hunt served as construction manager (in the joint venture Holder-Hunt-Russell-Moody) for the new 72,000-seat multipurpose Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This world-class sports and entertainment facility is the new home to the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United. The stadium will host major sports and entertainment events, including the 2018 College Football Playoff Championship game and 2020 NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball championship.
Changing the game
The stadium’s major architectural highlight is its one-of-a-kind retractable roof — composed of eight, 1,600-ton panels that each cantilever 200 feet — that looks similar to a camera shutter opening and closing. It takes less than 8 minutes to open the roof.
A new 360-degree HD “halo” video board is the largest in the world at 58 feet tall and 1,000 feet in circumference. It features 64,000 square feet of LED, giving every fan excellent sightlines no matter where they sit.
Over 1,800 wireless access points, and 4,000 miles of fiber optic cable running to the access points, ensure the stadium is “future proof.”
Going green
Water conservation and management was a core focus of the stadium’s design. The facility captures rainwater for reuse in a cooling tower and in irrigation of the landscape and trees. It is 42 percent more water efficient than the Georgia Dome.
Solar panels, LED lighting, energy monitoring equipment and energy-efficient glazing will save more than 40 percent in energy use compared to typical stadiums.
