Mercedes-Benz Stadium suddenly looks a lot closer to ready for game action, now that artificial turf covers the playing field.
Installation of the FieldTurf surface was completed over the weekend, transforming what until recently had been an area covered with cranes and other construction equipment into an expanse of green on which games will be played beginning late next month.
As Steve Cannon, CEO of Falcons parent company AMB Group, had said early last week: “By the end of the week, it’s going to start really looking like a football arena.”
According to FieldTurf, the company's top-of-the-line "Revolution 360" playing surface was installed atop its "VersaTile" pad system that "not only provides exceptional performance for the athlete with respect to shock attenuation and player comfort, but also provides unmatched drainage properties."
Some 340 feet above the playing field, Mercedes-Benz Stadium's retractable roof is currently in the closed position. It was announced last week that the roof will be closed when the stadium debuts and for a significant period of time beyond that, because the roof isn't yet automated.
The $1.5 billion, 2-million-square-foot stadium is scheduled to open Aug. 26 with a Falcons-Arizona Cardinals exhibition game. Eleven sports events are scheduled in the stadium’s first month of operation, including two Falcons exhibition games, one Falcons regular-season game, six Atlanta United matches and two college football games.
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