Blank Installs First Seats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Above: The first four seats installed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium won’t be lonely for long: The remaining 69,996 seats will start going in this fall.

There may not be much to see inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but now there’s at least a place to sit.

On Thursday, Sept. 1, Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank helped install the first four seats at the $1.5 billion, 70,000-seat stadium with AMB Group CEO Steve Cannon, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Dietmar Exler and season ticket holder Stephen Klee.

Klee owns the seat license for those four seats and was joined by his parents, who are original Falcons season ticket holders from 1966.

“Thank you for your years,” Blank told the Klee family. “You represent what this organization is all about. Seat licenses are about ownership, and having a family experience with this franchise is really important.”

Photos: Mercedes-Benz Stadium Gets Seats (Photos by David R. Cohen)

Blank went to say that some of his fondest memories growing up in New York were going to Brooklyn Dodgers games at Ebbets Field with his father.

The newly installed seats and 95 percent of the remaining 69,996 are 21 inches wide. The seats at the Georgia Dome are 19 inches wide. There will also be more depth between seats for more legroom and wider aisles than what fans are used to at the dome.

“We don’t want to exceed your expectations,” Cannon said. “We want to blow your mind.”

On Aug. 17 Blank, speaking at an Atlanta Press Club luncheon, said Mercedes-Benz Stadium is still scheduled for a June opening.

The Atlanta Falcons’ first regular season game, the last season opener at the Georgia Dome, is scheduled for Sept. 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

More – The AJT’s David Cohen got a chance to try out the new seats (They were comfy).

The AJT’s David Cohen was one of the first to sit down @MBStadium #Falcons #JewishATL pic.twitter.com/d8whtehA6m

— Atlanta Jewish Times (@AtlJewishTimes) September 1, 2016

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