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College football’s championship game set a few Atlanta records

First presidential visit to a college football championship since 1980 First All-SEC College Football Playoff national championship matchup First College Football Playoff national championship overtime finish Highest-rated college football game in Atlanta (47.8 rating) to air on ESPN Highest-attended college football game in Atlanta with 77,430 fans
By
Jan 30, 2018

Alabama's overtime victory over Georgia in the College Football Playoff championship game Jan. 8 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium drew 77,430 fans, a record for a college football game in Atlanta.

And that’s not the only record it set for Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s championship debut.

Organizers of the four-year-old College Football Playoff say previous attendance records were broken for several of the ancillary events: Playoff Fan Central, a three-day, 300,000-square foot interactive fan festival in the Georgia World Congress Center; Media Day, held in Philips Arena two days before the game; and the Extra Yard 5K race, held one day before the game.

About the Author

Tim Tucker, a long-time AJC sports reporter, often writes about the business side of the games. He also had stints as the AJC's Braves beat writer, UGA beat writer, sports notes columnist and executive sports editor. He was deputy managing editor of America's first all-sports newspaper, The National Sports Daily.

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