They’ll have to wait until summer to play in their own stadium, but one of MLS’ newest teams will be able to give their home fans a show in a temporary home.
Atlanta United announced that they would begin their inaugural 2017 season playing in Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. The 55,000-seat college football arena will provide a temporary home for the expansion side until their own Mercedes-Benz Stadium is ready in the summer.
“The excitement and anticipation for Atlanta United to begin play in Atlanta is evident every time we interact with the supporters so we are very pleased to partner with Georgia Tech to get our home schedule started,” said Steve Cannon, CEO of Atlanta United’s parent company, AMB Group. “We’re equally pleased with the on-going progress at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It is going to be an outstanding venue for our team and an incredible customer experience for the supporters. We look forward to announcing more in regards to the grand opening events schedule early next year.”
The team originally planned to play the first three months of the season entirely on the road, similar to the approach Toronto FC took this season with their home stadium under construction. Instead, Atlanta United will play a balanced schedule of home and away matches and anticipates debuting their new stadium in the late summer, pending the 2017 MLS schedule.aat
“With the amount of excitement we’ve seen for the club, especially over the past few months as our season ticket sales have continued to rise, it was evident that playing at home for the first part of the season was in the best interest of our fans and our players.” stated team president Darren Eales, “We’re very pleased that we are able to open the 2017 MLS season at Bobby Dodd Stadium.”