For the first time, Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s retractable roof was moved to the closed position Saturday.
The roof’s eight motorized steel panels, called petals, each weighing 500 tons, were moved from open to closed in a construction highlight eagerly awaited by stadium officials.
“Another huge milestone and an engineering marvel!” Steve Cannon, CEO of Falcons parent company AMB Group, tweeted.
The retractable roof largely was installed in the closed position, but was moved to the open position in April for workers to complete the petals by placing the tips on the ends, Mike Egan, AMB Group senior vice president, said earlier this week.
He said closing the roof at this point would be a slow, meticulous process — with workers closing the petals a bit, taking measurements to check alignment, fine-tuning, closing them a bit more, taking more measurements, on and on until the move was completed.
“Right now, each petal has its own remote control, so when you’re closing the roof now, each petal is being operated on its own,” Egan said. “By the time we get to the opening of the building, there will be, in effect, one button in a control room that will operate all eight of the petals.”
Ultimately, the roof will close routinely in 12 minutes or so, he said.
Now that the petals are back in the closed position, the next step is to shroud them in ETFE, a translucent plastic-like material that will let in natural light while keeping rain out.
The stadium, which has had its opening date pushed back three times because of roof-related issues, is now slated to open with a Falcons exhibition game Aug. 26. Officials expressed confidence during a media tour Thursday that construction will be completed and the roof fully operable by then.
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