Construction starts on planetarium-sized sports and entertainment venue downtown

In the shadows of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena, a new steel structure is rising, one that is expected to be an anchor of downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Yards.

It will soon house a new sports and entertainment venue: Cosm, a 70,000-square-foot dome that uses the same technology as planetariums to create an immersive sports viewing experience.

On Thursday, city leaders and executives from Cosm, the Centennial Yards development and the Atlanta Hawks celebrated the start of the venue’s construction. But instead of a groundbreaking ceremony, since the $5 billion Centennial Yards live-work-play community is well underway, officials had a “steel rising” ceremony.

In the background of Thursday’s ceremony, the cranes that are now ubiquitous in a part of downtown often referred to as the Gulch moved construction materials, and metal clangs echoed across the area, at times nearly drowning out officials’ remarks.

From the top of the parking deck across from State Farm Arena, Jeb Terry, Cosm’s president and CEO, waved at a three-story steel structure behind him, pointing it out as not just steel being lifted but as a sign of growth for the city.

“The A is rising,” Terry said. “There’s so much energy and excitement around this district and development, it’s tangible. You feel it.”

The Cosm ceremony Thursday capped off a week of big momentum for Centennial Yards. Earlier this week, project executives announced music industry giant Live Nation will run a 5,300-seat concert venue in the district.

Cosm signed a lease last summer to be the centerpiece of the entertainment district at Centennial Yards, the redevelopment of some 50 acres of rail lines and parking lots between the Five Points MARTA Station and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. With current locations in Los Angeles and Dallas, Cosm’s main attraction is an 87-foot diameter LED dome to project sports stars 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 Thursday’s 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.

Brian McGowan, CEO of Centennial Yards, said Thursday Cosm was the first big lease signed in the district, which made it “a lot easier to sell for other potential users after we had this lease signed.”

After the remarks, officials and Cosm employees signed a 3-by-1.5-foot steel plate that will be one of the anchors in the foundation for Cosm’s dome.

Live Nation committing to a space in the development is an affirmation of the original vision, which is to create a sports and entertainment district among the best in the world, McGowan said.

While the concert venue won’t be completed in time for the World Cup, Terry and McGowan said they are working toward having Cosm ready by the time the world descends on Atlanta.

“I think our collective goal is to be ready for the World Cup,” Terry said. “We feel good about the progress. I think we’re in a good spot.”

Several other components within Centennial Yards will be ready before Atlanta’s World Cup matches, including a 19-story apartment building, the 292-room Hotel Phoenix with dining options and an expansive “fan zone” that can hold between 3,000 to 4,000 people. Centennial Yards is working “feverishly” to finish the Cosm component by 2026, McGowan said. They also need to hire a team to operate the fan zone.

— Staff writers Zachary Hansen and Savannah Sicurella contributed to this report.