Good morning. This is LEADOFF, today’s early buzz in Atlanta sports.
As work continues on the roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the lead structural engineer for the new Falcons stadium expressed confidence Monday in the one-of-a-kind design.
“Everything to date shows that the roof will work as intended,” Erleen Hatfield, a partner in the New York office of BuroHappold Engineering, said.
About 2 1/2 weeks ago, the final major steel truss for the fixed portion of the roof was erected. The next steps are to remove the temporary shoring towers that have held up a massive amount of steel and carefully monitor the roof trusses as they settle a bit.
“They’ve got one (shoring tower) down so far, and everything is good,” Hatfield said. “It has met all our expectations.”
This process is routine for roofs on such projects, she said.
“It’s pretty common for these big roofs to have some sort of jack-down phase. It’s difficult to build a truss 700 feet long for any of these NFL or baseball stadiums,” she said. “We’ll monitor it just like we always do and review all the data afterward to confirm everything is as anticipated.
“We have seen nothing of concern.”
After removal of the first temporary shoring tower at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hatfield said the roof settled “a little bit less than what we expected. That is a good thing.”
Early next year, the retractable portion of the roof is scheduled for installation in 32 pieces — four pieces for each of the roof’s eight petals. That will be followed by installation of the halo-shaped video board, which will encircle the field within the circumference of the roof opening.
“It certainly is a one-of-its-kind in the way the roof works,” Hatfield said. “However, the bogies (which will move the retractable panels) are on a flat surface, they don’t go uphill or downhill, and we understand how the mechanization pieces all work. So I’m very confident everything will be fine and work as intended when they push the button.”
That would be the button to open and close the roof on the $1.5 billion building.
* * *
Turning to metro Atlanta's other new stadium, the Braves' SunTrust Park is 82.5 percent complete.
That’s the precise figure Cobb County Manager David Hankerson provided to county commissioners last week.
He also said the Braves’ administrative offices at the stadium are on track to be ready for occupancy Dec. 9.
The Braves said Monday that they’ll move into the new offices in December, “exact date to come.” The team’s Turner Field lease expires Dec. 31.
* * *
In a reminder that the Falcons will be due to give up a home date to play an international game within the next few seasons, the Miami Dolphins announced Monday that they'll play a "home" game in London next season (against the visitor Saints).
NFL owners passed a resolution in 2014 requiring teams to host an international game within five years of a winning bid to host the Super Bowl.
Earlier this year, the Dolphins (and Miami) won a bid to host the Super Bowl in February 2020. On the same day, the Falcons (and Atlanta) won a bid to host the Super Bowl in February 2019.
The Falcons have said they won’t play internationally next season, and that makes sense because one wouldn’t expect the NFL to want a team to give up a home date in its first season in a new stadium. But the Falcons will owe a Super Bowl debt of one home game sometime after 2017.
LEADOFF appears on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
About the Author
