As sports weekends go, they don’t get much bigger than this, with three Braves games at Turner Field, two college football matchups at the Georgia Dome, the season opener for the Bulldogs in Athens and a weekend of racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway keeping metro highways jammed with sports fans.
The good news for all those fans: It’s Labor Day Weekend, so the state Department of Transportation has suspended the usual weekend construction projects that would have blocked lanes of some metro interstates.
The Braves play the Phillies at Turner Field, with first pitches scheduled for 7:35 p.m. on Friday, 4:05 p.m. Saturday and 5:05 p.m. Sunday.
The Chick-Fil-A Kickoff games at the Georgia Dome will see Tennessee taking on North Carolina State at 7:30 p.m. Friday, while Auburn and Clemson clash at 7 p.m. Saturday. Meanwhile, in Athens, UGA takes on Buffalo Saturday at 12:20 p.m. at Sanford Stadium.
Next door to the Dome, the Atlanta Dream plays Connecticut at 3 p.m. Sunday at Philips Arena.
South of town, it’s a big race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with a full slate of races and qualifying on Friday and Saturday leading up to Sunday night’s AdvoCare 500.
In addition to football, baseball and basketball games, several other major events will bring thousands more visitors into downtown this weekend.
The annual Dragon-Con pop culture convention will be going on all weekend at several downtown hotels, while the Melia Hotel in Midtown is hosting Atlanta Black Pride Weekend.
The Dragon-Con Parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Woodruff Park, going north on Peachtree Street to Baker Street, then right on Baker.
Other events around town include the AJC Decatur Book Festival Saturday and Sunday on the square in downtown Decatur, and the Powers Festival, which runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Powers Pavilion on Ga. 34 outside of Newnan.
Centennial Olympic Park will be hosting free Downtown Touchdown concerts at 5 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday featuring music from Smash Mouth, Sister Hazel and several other acts.
Festival-goers and others with outdoor plans on the holiday weekend might have to dodge a few scattered showers, according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley.
Chandley said there’s a 30 percent chance of rain through Monday, along with highs near 90 degrees and lows in the low 70s.
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