MARTA to reopen State Farm Arena station ahead of runoff election

MARTA is reopening its Mercedes-Benz Stadium/State Farm Arena/CNN Center station ahead of the Aug. 11 runoff election at State Farm Arena, located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the transit authority announced in a news release.

The arena is set to become Georgia's largest-ever voting precinct, following a spate of issues during the June 9 primary.

“With the unprecedented challenges we’ve all faced this year, we don’t want voter access to be one of them,” MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker said.

Three months ago, during the onset of coronavirus, MARTA closed the train station as sporting events and concerts were canceled, according to the release.

In that time, the train station has undergone a major overhaul, including a repaired roof, refurbished elevators with new doors and LED lighting and an upgraded fire protection system, according to the news release. The station, including the trackway, was also deep cleaned, and the eight escalators underwent a heavy cleaning.

A date on when the rail station will reopen has not been set, but MARTA officials assured it would be open in time for the general primary runoff election on Aug. 11.

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There had been discussions of selling the building, but those had been put on hold for the Time Warner and AT&T merger.

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