If content is truly king, Atlanta United is about to be re-crowned “Kings of the South.”
The team is going to announce Wednesday that a first-of-its-kind MLS studio will open later this summer with content coming in 2026. The studio is one of three — one very large, one smaller and one podcast-focused — that are part of the $23 million expansion of the team’s headquarters in Marietta.
“It’ll keep us at the forefront of being the premier club in soccer-first technology,” Atlanta United Senior Vice President Sarah Kate “Skate” Noftsinger said in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The size of the large studio is comparable to “SportsCenter” at ESPN or the former “Inside the NBA” at TNT. Together, the two studios take up about one-fifth of the 20,000-square-foot expansion.
The large studio will feature multiple cameras and an LED screen that will enable the club to produce multiple types of content. Everything within will be movable so they can create different types of visuals and stories.
Walking into the under-construction big studio is like walking onto a soundstage. There are lots of lights overhead and holes in the wall where cameras will be placed to cover various angles.
The smaller studio, across a hall, can be disorienting because there are no angles. Everything is curved to eliminate seams in photographs and videos, such as the ones seen introducing players before matches. There is also a podcast studio on the second floor that is more of a traditional rectangular room.
As for the content, Noftsinger said they want to listen to the supporters and partners before determining what will be produced.
“There’s so many more ways to capture and consume content that we’re looking at,” she said. “What’s the best way that we can better connect?”
Noftsinger said the team is going to have “an intense listening period” over the next six months to understand how to leverage the capabilities of the studio to satisfy the fans it has and try to develop new fans around the world. Surveys and conversations will be part of the gathering efforts. The first pieces of content will either stream or broadcast next year.
“I can’t give you a list of what the content would be today, but I can tell you that the dream scenario is to make sure that we have content that’s engaging, that brings more value to our own partners, that engages a younger audience, that also satisfies the appetite that our current fans have,” she said.
The team spent the past 16 months researching how the studio should be constructed. It borrowed ideas from the Falcons, which recently constructed a studio, the numerous movies studios based in Atlanta and other national studios, including Apple before it partnered with MLS.
Noftsinger said the goal of the content isn’t about generating revenue through content or production sponsorships. Emory Healthcare has naming rights to the studios.
“It’s about doing what’s right for your people and your fans, and making sure that we’re satisfying that appetite and putting the best product out that we can from a content perspective,” she said.
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Atlanta United’s 2025 schedule
Feb. 22 Atlanta United 3, Montreal 2
March 1 Charlotte 2, Atlanta United 0
March 8 Atlanta United 0, New York Red Bulls 0
March 16 Miami 2, Atlanta United 1
March 22 Atlanta United 2, Cincinnati 2
March 29 Atlanta United 4, NYCFC 3
April 5 Atlanta United 1, Dallas 1
April 12 New England 1, Atlanta United 0
April 19 Philadelphia 3, Atlanta United 0
April 26 Orlando 3, Atlanta United 0
May 3 Atlanta United 1, Nashville 1
May 10 Chicago 2, Atlanta United 1
May 14 Atlanta United 1, Austin 1
May 17 Philadelphia 1, Atlanta United 0
May 25 Atlanta United 4, Cincinnati 2
May 28 Atlanta United 3, Orlando 2
May 31 Red Bulls 2, Atlanta United 0
June 12 NYCFC 4, Atlanta United 0
June 25 Columbus 3, Atlanta United 1
June 28 at Miami, 7:30 p.m., Apple
July 5 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m., Apple
July 12 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m., Apple
July 16 vs. Chicago, 7:30 p.m., Apple, FS1
July 19 vs. Charlotte, 7:30 p.m., Apple
July 26 vs. Seattle, 7:30 p.m., Apple
July 30 vs. Necaxa, Leagues Cup
Aug. 2. vs. Pumas in Orlando, Leagues Cup
Aug. 6 vs. Atlas, Leagues Cup
Aug. 9 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m., Apple
Aug. 16 at Colorado, 9:30 p.m., Apple
Aug. 24 vs. Toronto, 5 p.m., Apple
Aug. 30 at Nashville, 8:30 p.m. Apple
Sept. 13 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m., Apple
Sept. 20 vs. San Diego, 4:30 p.m., Apple
Sept. 27 at New England, 7:30 p.m., Apple
Oct. 5 at LAFC, 10:30 p.m., Apple
Oct. 18 vs. D.C. United, 6 p.m., Apple
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