Mercedes-Benz Stadium had not yet hosted its first regular-season game when the World Cup conversation began. The $1.6 billion venue in downtown Atlanta, built by Arthur Blank over three years, opened in August 2017 with a set of features that read like a FIFA compliance checklist: a retractable iris-style roof that closes in approximately 10 minutes, 4,000 solar panels, advanced water conservation systems, and a multi-purpose field designed to meet international soccer regulations.
Atlanta was one of 39 U.S. cities under consideration for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, part of a joint North American bid with Canada and Mexico. The stadium's specifications gave the city a technical advantage that most competitors could not match — an enclosed, air-conditioned venue with a grass-ready surface in a region where summer heat is a genuine operational concern.
More Than a Building
CEO Steve Cannon described the facility as having "the most eco-friendly footprint of any stadium of its kind" and emphasized the development team's obligation to be "responsible downtown neighbors." The language was deliberate — Blank and his organization understood that a $1.6 billion building in the middle of a city carries responsibilities beyond the events it hosts.
The stadium's opening schedule reflected its dual identity: the Falcons' preseason debut against the Arizona Cardinals the following weekend, and Atlanta United's first match at the venue on September 10 against FC Dallas. From day one, the building served two franchises and two sports — a flexibility that would later prove essential to the World Cup bid.
The Bid Takes Shape
Atlanta's World Cup candidacy was built on Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but it extended beyond the building itself. The surrounding infrastructure — MARTA rail access, the hotel district along Peachtree Street, Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia World Congress Center — gave Atlanta a concentration of event-support facilities that few American cities could rival.
Nine years after this article was published, the bid succeeded. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of 16 venues hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with group-stage matches beginning June 15. The building that Steve Cannon described as a responsible downtown neighbor is about to welcome the world.
Original reporting by GPB News, Georgia Public Broadcasting, August 21, 2017.
