Good morning. This is Leadoff, the early buzz in Atlanta sports.
Chick-fil-A Kickoff game officials aren't worried about whether the retractable roof on Mercedes-Benz Stadium will open when the college-football event is played there for the first time.
That’s because they already have decided to play the Alabama-Florida State and Georgia Tech-Tennessee games on Labor Day weekend with the roof closed to eliminate the variable of weather.
The decision is an example that marquee sports events in retractable-roof stadiums often choose to play with the roof closed.
Gary Stokan, president and CEO of Peach Bowl Inc., which runs the Chick-fil-A Kickoff, said his decision to hold the kickoff event with the roof closed is unrelated to stadium construction issues. He said he prefers for the Sept. 2 and Sept. 4 games to be played with the roof closed to ensure controlled conditions.
“I know when it’s closed, everything is going to go well,” Stokan said. “The air conditioning will be fine. … I think whenever you put on an event the less things you need to be concerned about, the better. And I know with the roof closed it’ll be a great atmosphere and experience.
“If I keep it closed, the weather doesn’t matter. I know I’ve got 72 degrees. I think you want to control the elements as much as you can, obviously, not only for the fans but for the coaches and the players.”
Although the new stadium's opening date has been pushed back three times, most recently to Aug. 26, Stokan said his conversations with the Falcons have left him "fully confident, unequivocally, that we will be playing our two Chick-fil-A Kickoff games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium." Still, Stokan said the decision, announced last week, to hold off on demolition of the Georgia Dome"makes sense" as an insurance policy.
Click here for full storyon the Chick-fil-A Kickoff’s decision to play with the roof closed, not only this year but next year too.
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That Alabama vs. Florida State game figures to be one of the better Week 1 matchups in college football history — almost certainly a matchup of teams ranked in the preseason top five, maybe a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2.
“Week 1 of college football season, I don’t think there’s ever been a game (matching two teams ranked as high as these two could be),” Stokan said. “And these two … could wind up being back here in Atlanta at the end of the season playing in the (College Football Playoff) national championship game.”
Portable seating and standing-room-only tickets are expected to bring the capacity of Mercedes-Benz Stadium to about 75,000 for the Alabama-FSU opener.
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The Hawks-Wizards playoff series heads back to Washington tied at two games apiece after Atlanta's victory Monday night.
Read Chris Vivlamore's report hereand Mark Bradley's column here.
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Check out D. Orlando Ledbetter's list of the top 10 prospects in this week's NFL draft from the state of Georgia. And note that none of them played for UGA or Tech.
