With a lot less acrimony in the process than in the past, the NFL ownership group awarded Atlanta the fourth Super Bowl in the city’s history – the latest in a string of major sporting events set for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“We want to officially say congratulations to the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta community for hosting Super Bowl 62,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.
The announcement was made at the Whitley Hotel in Buckhead while NFL owners were in town for their annual meeting. Super Bowl 62 will be played in February 2028 and will be the second Super Bowl held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (the first one took place in 2019) and the fourth overall in Atlanta (the Georgia Dome hosted the game in 1994 and 2000).
“This community deserves this,” Goodell said. “We have no reservations. Nothing but optimism. We look forward to being here for Super Bowl 62.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Falcons owner Arthur Blank was excited and pleased that the city and his franchise will be hosting the Super Bowl ‘for the second time in a decade.
“We put in an investment of close to $200 million additionally in the stadium since it’s been open, and the last couple of years and over the next few years,” Blank said. “So, the stadium itself is going to be incredible.”
Blank was elated for the city.
“The community will do the usual embracing,” Blank said. “It’s not only about the facilities, it’s always about the people.”
It will be a nine-year break between Super Bowls for the city. Previously, it took 19 years – and a new stadium – to lure the worldwide spectacle back to downtown Atlanta.
Atlanta tried to land the 2009 and 2010 Super Bowls, but NFL owners said no to both bids five months apart. In May 2005, the 32 owners voted to play the 2009 Super Bowl in Tampa instead of Atlanta. In October 2005, they voted to award the 2010 Super Bowl to Miami over Atlanta.
In both votes, memories of Atlanta’s cold, icy week in 2000 helped swing the decision to the Florida cities, owners and league officials said publicly and privately at the time.
After the second rejection, Atlanta retreated for a decade from pursuing a Super Bowl.
When the vote in May 2016 was taken, the NFL owners awarded the 2019 Super Bowl to Atlanta over competing bids from Miami (again), Tampa (again) and New Orleans. The finalists were New Orleans and Atlanta, with Atlanta prevailing on the fourth ballot.
The Atlanta bid committee did not receive any questions from NFL owners that day about the weather. Enough time had passed since the ice storm of 2000.
“In the past, a number of cities would be bidding at the same time,” Blank said. “Be here for the better part of the day, making presentations. One would be voted to win and three would go home. I think the NFL concluded, and I felt this way, nobody connected to the NFL is a loser and shouldn’t feel that way at all.”
Peter O’Reilly, the NFL executive vice president, club business, major events, and international, contacted the Falcons about eight months ago about hosting the 2028 Super Bowl. The franchise thought they’d be up in either 2028 or 2029.
“Since we’ve gone to (one city process) I think it’s only gotten better with the partnerships that we’ve formed because we spend the time during this process to lock arms and solve the tricky parts of the equation during the bid process verses spinning a few different plates at the surface level, voting on one and then sprinting to the finish line,” O’Reilly said. “We’ll sort out a lot together, which will make us better come 2028.”
Blank said, “It’s become much more refined. I think it gives the cities an opportunity to do a better job of the planning than they’ve had before.”
Blank noted that he’d like to see the Falcons, who are currently in first place, in Super Bowl 62.
“I spoke to coach (Raheem) Morris yesterday and told him hopefully we are going to get a vote for 2028,” Blank said. “I expect to play in that Super Bowl and at least one before. Raheem, in his always positive way, said, ‘We’re going to do everything we can to make that possible.’”
Blank appreciated the question, but is realistic
“The Falcons are off to a good start, but there is a long way to go with (17) games and we’ve only played six,” Blank said.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which was built with the assistance of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, is considered one of the better stadiums in the world.
The location of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and having the Georgia World Congress Center, Centennial Olympic Park and other venues for ancillary events within walking distance of the stadium and downtown hotel rooms was a major selling point.
“The greatest compliment a sporting event can give a city is when they decide to come back more than once,” said Dan Corso, president of the Atlanta Sports Council. “When the Super Bowl elects to come to Atlanta twice within nine years, that’s a fantastic compliment.”
The Super Bowl was held in Las Vegas in 2024 and is set to be held in New Orleans in 2025, followed by Santa Clara, California, in 2026 and Inglewood, California in 2027 before returning to Atlanta.
In 2016, several members of Atlanta’s bid committee said they provided the NFL with a “fully funded” bid that estimates the local cost of hosting Super Bowl LIII at $46 million.
Of that total, according to the committee members, $20 million will come from donations that have been pledged by two dozen Atlanta businesses; $16 million from a portion of the Atlanta hotel-motel tax designated for major events; and $10 million from a sales-tax exemption on Super Bowl tickets passed by the Georgia Legislature in 2016.
“The price of these events for the operatives is not going down,” Falcons chief operating officer Rich McKay said. “I would say the beauty of Atlanta is that we’ve always been able to host these events and do it in a very group fashion between the corporate community and us. That’s what we’ll do again.
The legislature has already signed a bill that exempts the sales tax on tickets for Super Bowl 62.
“We’ll figure out what that number is,” McKay said.
The decision was subject to input and approval by the full group of owners. Executives and key owners on the NFL’s fan engagement and major events committee were in favor of a return to Atlanta.
“The Super Bowl is an event that transcends sports,” Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens said.
Atlanta has hosted major events, such as the College Football Playoff, the annual SEC Championship game and the annual Peach Bowl. The city also recently won the 2031 NCAA Men’s Final Four.
In February, Atlanta was selected to host eight matches – including five group-stage matches, a round of 32 match, a round of 16 match and a semifinals match – in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Credit: AJC file photo/Alyssa Pointer
Credit: AJC file photo/Alyssa Pointer
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