Countdown begins for Super Bowl in Atlanta next year

With the Philadelphia Eagles soaring to victory in last month’s Super Bowl in Minneapolis, the City of Atlanta was officially handed host responsibilities in a ceremony on Feb. 5 at the Mall of America.

Super Bowl LIII will be played in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Downtown.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attended the ceremony, along with members of the Atlanta Super Bowl LIII Host Committee, including Executive Director Carl Adkins and Chief Operating Officer Brett Daniels, as well as President of the Atlanta Sports Council and Super Bowl LIII Host Committee Board of Directors Dan Corso. Representing the City of Atlanta at the ceremony was Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

“We are officially on the clock for Super Bowl LIII and we couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity to showcase Atlanta to the rest of world,” said Daniels. “We are already a full year into our planning process and know everyone will feel the incredible passion and pride of our city as we intend to put together the best Super Bowl experience ever.”

The Atlanta Super Bowl LIII Host Committee introduced a video at the press conference titled, “We Are ATL,” featuring popular Atlanta musician, actor, philanthropist and devoted NFL fan, Ludacris. The video also included Atlanta residents in locations around the city describing what the words ATL mean to them. Watch the video below.

Commissioner Goodell delivered a ceremonial NFL football to the Atlanta Host Committee while unveiling the official Super Bowl LIII logo.

For more information, visit atlsuperbowl53.com.

WRS, the South Carolina developer behind the revamp of Underground Atlanta, has released new renderings of the four-block redevelopment, including the area known as Kenny’s Alley – or Block 3 as it’s now known – at the southwest corner of Central and Alabama.

Featuring more than 150,000 square feet of retail, office and communal areas, construction on Block 3 began in January and is expected to be complete in 12 to 14 months, according to a media release from WRS. Design and architectural improvements have started that include:

■ The removal of the former Underground Atlanta food court along Central Avenue. This will open up the alley level to the street as shown in the above rendering.

■ WRS is opening up the “Exchange” building to Upper Alabama to provide more of an open-air connected corridor between Kenny’s Alley and Upper Alabama.

■ Replacement of all retail windows with modern/industrial office storefronts that will be customized based on tenant size.

■ Repair of the circa 1882 Block Candy Co. building at 86 Pryor, and replacement of its 1980’s storm windows with historically-accurate and energy efficient ones.

■ Removal of 1980’s “mall” touches like escalators and miscellaneous metal screening.

■ Repair and repainting of all façades, with addition(s) of street art and murals throughout.

■ Reworking of interior access so that it functions more like an office/ workshop space rather than a circuitous mall.

“It is important for us to modernize this footprint while restoring and keeping as much of the charm as we can of this iconic area,” explained Scott Smith, CEO of WRS, Inc. “We are investing a great deal in the structural safety of Block 3 while upgrading systems including all new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. We are working to bring everything to current code including new windows, lighting and new water quality measures for future tenants and patrons.”

Block 3 is also the permanent home of The Masquerade nightclub and concert venue as well as co-working space Post-Office.