Super Bowl LIII

Piedmont Park with the start and finish at 10th Street near Park Tavern. The USATF certified course and Peachtree Road Race qualifier will be run on grass, road, gravel, wooden bridge and dirt paths through the park. There will also be a 3.1-mile drumline all along the racecourse starting at 8 a.m., so come early to enjoy the music. To register and for more information, visit mlkday5k.com.

Atlanta History Center

There will be free admission to the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead and the Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Among the highlights will be a 1 p.m. screening of Frederick Lewis’ documentary “Paul Laurence Dunbar: Beyond the Mask,” about the life and legacy of the first African American writer to achieve national and international fame, followed by a conversation with the filmmaker. Another highlight is a 3:30pm talk by Adam Parker, author of “Outside Agitator: The Civil Rights Struggle of Cleveland Sellers Jr.” For the full schedule of events and activities, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.

Championship game causes excitement, headaches for Atlanta

By Collin Kelley and John Ruch

While there’s always plenty of excitement surrounding a Super Bowl, the championship game has caused consternation and headaches for local officials and, perhaps more unexpectedly, music fans.

At this writing, rock band Maroon 5 is rumored to be the headliners for the half-time show at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but music fans and musicians themselves have expressed their disappointment at the choice since Atlanta is rife with local superstars.

The Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee has announced plans for Super Bowl LIVE, a multi-day festival featuring events, activities and music. Centennial Olympic Park in Downtown will be the site of the free festival leading up to Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, Feb. 3. Confirmed musical acts include DJ Smurf, Waka Flocka, Goodie Mob, Yin Yang Twins, YFN Lucci, Tag Team and DJ Holiday.

While fans are concerned with the match-up and fun quotient, residents are concerned that the Super Bowl may take traffic cops off local streets and there’s talk of putting the General Assembly session on hold as out-of-town lawmakers struggle to find hotel rooms.

The Buckhead Community Improvement District, which hires off-duty police officers to direct commuters, is bracing for what its chairman called “horrific” traffic for the week of festivities prior to the game. Those officers likely will be on Super Bowl security duty, BCID officials say.

Meanwhile, at the Gold Dome, there is early talk of suspending the General Assembly’s session during the Super Bowl period, said state Rep. Deborah Silcox (R-Sandy Springs).

“They won’t delay the [start of the] session,” which is scheduled to begin Jan. 14, Silcox said. The early word from the legislature’s leadership, she said, was “more like a generic, ‘we may take a couple days off’ kind of thing.”

The legislature has “got the lodging to consider as well as just the issue of traffic given the proximity of the Capitol to the event sites,” said Kaleb McMichen, a spokesperson for House Speaker David Ralston. “The Super Bowl has a series of ancillary events taking place the entire week leading up to the game itself, so that adds to the considerations when it comes to traffic.”

Jim Sprouse, executive director of the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association, confirmed that Atlanta hotels are filling up with Super Bowl guest bookings, which will have an impact on the availability of rooms for politicians.

McMichen said no decision will be made on how to handle Super Bowl-related “special logistical challenges” until the session calendar is set by a joint House and Senate resolution sometime after the session begins Jan. 14.