Here’s what to know about the first few games inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
Aug. 26: Atlanta Falcons exhibition game vs. Arizona Cardinals, the stadium's official opening
The first official game inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be the Falcons exhibition game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. The Falcons lost the first two exhibition games while the Cardinals (1-1) are coming off a 24-23 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Aug. 31: Atlanta Falcons exhibition game vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Falcons will host their final exhibition game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. The Jaguars (1-1) play the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 25 before facing the Falcons in Atlanta.
Sept. 2: Alabama vs. Florida State in a Chick-fil-A Kickoff college football game
In the first of many college football games to be played inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Alabama and Florida State will face off in the first of two Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games. Alabama returns to the field after allowing Clemson to score 21 points in the fourth quarter of January’s 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Alabama went 14-1 last season while Florida State went 10-3, ending last season on a five-game win streak.
Sept. 4: Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee in a Chick-fil-A Kickoff game
The second of two Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games is the first matchup between Tennessee and Georgia Tech on the football field in 30 years. The two teams used to be in each other's top two teams to beat every season, but the series stopped in 1987. Tennessee enters its fifth season under coach Butch Jones and Georgia Tech enters its 10th under coach Paul Johnson.
Sept. 10: Atlanta United vs. FC Dallas in the stadium's first soccer match
Atlanta United's first game inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be on Sept. 10 after the team played the first nine home matches of the inaugural season at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium. Atlanta's home matches on Aug. 13 against Minnesota United and Aug. 19 against the LA Galaxy were originally scheduled to be the first Atlanta Untied matches in the new stadium, but construction delays caused the two matches to be scheduled to later dates.
Sept. 17: Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay Packers in regular-season home opener
The Atlanta Falcons play the first regular season game inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Sept. 17 after opening the season at Chicago. The last time the Falcons and Packers faced off was in last season's NFC Championship game at the Georgia Dome where the Falcons left with a 44-21 win.
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