The National Football League announced that Atlanta has been selected to host Super Bowl LIII. The February 2019 contest will be played in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium which is set to open in June 2017. This will mark the third Super Bowl held in Atlanta and the first since Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.
 
“It’s a wonderful day for our city and franchise and I know the people of Atlanta and all of Georgia will deliver a spectacular Super Bowl celebration in 2019,” said Atlanta Falcons owner, Arthur M. Blank. “Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be an outstanding venue for the game and with all of the attractions and hotel rooms within a mile of the stadium this is going to be the most walkable Super Bowl ever. Atlanta has truly transformed since it last hosted the Super Bowl in 2000 and I’m grateful to the NFL and team owners for this very special opportunity.”
 
“I want to extend my thanks and congratulations to the entire bid committee, our local business community and the leaders of our city and state for their strong efforts on this bid,” said Blank. “Mayor Kasim Reed and Governor Nathan Deal have been especially supportive of our efforts to bring events like the Super Bowl to Atlanta and I’m grateful for their vision and leadership in that regard.”
 
The Atlanta Bid Committee, which was led by the Atlanta Sports Council, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, submitted the final bid on April 15. Doug Hertz, president and CEO of United Distributors and Rick Smith, chairman and CEO of Equifax Inc., served as the Bid Committee co-chairs and delivered the successful pitch to NFL owners today in Charlotte. Following the presentation, Arthur Blank privately addressed his peer owners prior to the vote.
 
“The bid process, which began over a year ago, involved several organizations around the community, and it’s extremely rewarding to see the collaborative effort and hard work pay off,” said Dan Corso, executive director of the Atlanta Sports Council. “We are excited to welcome NFL fans from around the world and showcase all that Atlanta has to offer as a first-class host city.”
 
The bid presentation was focused on the theme ‘Atlanta Transformed,’ which highlighted the new infrastructure around the city since Super Bowl XXXIV and the $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, currently under construction in the heart of Atlanta. The Bid Committee also emphasized the unique qualifications that set Atlanta apart, such as the downtown walkability to hotels and world-class attractions like the College Football Hall of Fame, the Georgia Aquarium and National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
 
Officials from the NFL visited Atlanta as part of the bid process in July 2015 and toured ancillary event venues, hotels, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Preview Center and the construction site of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
 
Super Bowl LIII joins the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship and numerous Semi-Final games, as well as the 2020 NCAA Men’s Final Four as the marquee sporting events scheduled to be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The SEC will continue to play its football championship game in Atlanta for the next 11 years, moving into Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017 after closing out a long run in the Georgia Dome this coming December.

Projections from the Metro Atlanta Chamber:

Q. What is the estimated economic impact to metro Atlanta?

A. Our early estimates suggest that metro Atlanta will benefit from approx. $400 million in economic impact.

Q. How did you reach these initial projections?

A. We looked at previous results and estimates of direct, indirect, and induced spending. We also considered issues of potentially displaced activity. Atlanta has a seasonal lull in hospitality around the time of the game, which should mitigate displacement. The hotels will have greater occupancy and, importantly, rent the rooms at higher rates than they otherwise could have.

Q. How does this estimate compare to other recent Super Bowl host cities?

A. The issue of estimating net economic impact, even after the fact, is contentious. And with the Super Bowl continuously growing in size and duration, it’s hard to project year to-year with pinpoint accuracy. However, we are confident that for the future event, a $400 million impact is a comfortably conservative estimate. Our projections are in line with what the most recent Super Bowl region, the San Francisco Bay Area, reported. In March, reports pinned its total economic impact at $350 million, driven in large part by hotel/motel, commercial and private airport revenues. Following the Phoenix Super Bowl the previous year, Arizona State University’s School of Business estimated a net number at over $700 million; a conclusion which many have met with skepticism.

Q. How much of the estimated revenue will benefit the city specifically vs. the region?

A. It’s hard to say this far in advance. In the San Francisco Super Bowl, the city of San Francisco netted only a few million in revenue, as the stadium is located so far outside of the city in Santa Clara. Since Mercedes-Benz stadium will be located right in downtown, the majority of net revenue should benefit the City of Atlanta, Fulton County and the immediate surrounding counties such as DeKalb, Cobb, and Clayton etc. The state as a whole will also benefit from taxation of the added income generated by the event, in addition to the added business and personal income taxes.

Q. Other than the airports and hotel/motel industries, what other industries might benefit the most from the Super Bowl in town?

A. This event will primarily benefit the hospitality industry. The jobs associated with it have the potential to have a significant impact on the reputational strength of our region and our state.

Q. What costs will Atlanta incur in preparing for the event that will offset the potential net economic impact?

A. The host committee bears most of those extra costs, with the municipalities assuming a smaller portion.

Q. Any projection on the number of short-term and long-term jobs that hosting the Super Bowl will create?

A. Because it is a one-off event, the long-term job impact is negligible. How well the event is received will have some long-term reputational effects, which may have some lasting influence. In the short run it is clear that additional labor will be needed for the hospitality and related industries. How that divides between added temporary jobs
and/or extended hours for existing workers is up to the management of the individual firms.