Planetarium-like sports and entertainment venue sets Atlanta opening date
A large new entertainment venue is set to open this summer in downtown Atlanta, and its timing couldn’t be better.
Cosm, a 70,000-square-foot dome that uses the same technology as planetariums to broadcast sports, movies and events, announced Wednesday it will open its Atlanta location June 10 — five days before the city will host its first of eight World Cup matches.
“Opening ahead of the World Cup is especially exciting, as the city will be buzzing with fans from around the world,” a Cosm spokesperson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Cosm will offer both locals and visitors another place to come together and celebrate sports, art and entertainment.”
The venue is a centerpiece of Centennial Yards’ entertainment district, a massive redevelopment in the shadow of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena. The $5 billion project is remaking the Gulch, a 50-acre tangle of rail lines and parking lots, into one of the Southeast’s largest mixed-use districts — an effort often compared to creating a “minicity” within downtown Atlanta.
“The A is rising,” Jeb Terry, Cosm’s president and CEO, said in May 2025 when the Atlanta venue started construction. “There’s so much energy and excitement around this district and development, it’s tangible. You feel it.”
The Cosm in Atlanta will be the company’s third, joining locations in Los Angeles and Dallas. Its main attraction is an 87-foot diameter LED dome that projects sports on a cosmic scale.
The Los Angeles location also features seven bars, an on-site kitchen, a rooftop patio and several lounges and viewing halls that boast their own fleet of screens. Employees also periodically visit seats to take drink and food orders.
The Atlanta location will have some city-specific offerings, like sweet tea and lemon pepper wings, Terry promised during the May ceremony. In an interview, he declined to disclose the estimated cost of the venue’s construction but said once it’s complete, the company will hire hundreds.
Cosm was the first big lease signed in Centennial Yards’ entertainment district. It helped validate the developer’s vision and bring other tenants on board, said Brian McGowan, CEO of Centennial Yards.
“Now you can experience the matches in a way you won’t find anywhere else outside the stadiums — fully immersive, larger‑than‑life and unforgettable,” he told the AJC on Wednesday. “It’s an early glimpse of the bold, world‑class destination Centennial Yards is becoming.”
Centennial Yards is being developed by Los Angeles-based CIM Group. It received city approval in 2018 to start delivering its vision, which is slated to include thousands of apartments, office towers, restaurants, retail, new streets and various attractions. City leaders also approved a $1.9 billion taxpayer-backed incentive package for the project, the largest of its kind in Atlanta history.
Music industry giant Live Nation will also run a 5,300-seat concert venue in the district, but it won’t be ready before the World Cup festivities. A central gathering plaza that can hold 3,000 people is also taking shape.
Cosm’s June 10 grand opening will broadcast Game 4 of the NBA Finals, and its summer sports calendar includes UFC matches, the College World Series, WWE Summer Slam and both the MLB Home Run Derby and All-Star game. It will also show “shared realty” productions of the first “Harry Potter” movie, “The Matrix” and the Cirque du Soleil “O” show during select days in June and July.
Cosm hasn’t announced plans to show World Cup matches at its venues, a company spokesperson said. Tickets and other information are available on Cosm’s website starting at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
