Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta , Georgia , United States , between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west . It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL ' s Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA ' s Georgia State Panthers football team . It is owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority . The Georgia Dome was the largest domed structure in the world until 1999 , when London ' s Millennium Dome was completed . Due to its containing the largest playing field in team professional ball sports ( 174 . 4 yards by 140 . 5 yards ) Docklands Stadium in Melbourne , Australia completed in 2000 is the largest domed stadium in terms of building dimensions , although its seating capacity is less than other similar arenas around the world . The Dome is accessible by rail via MARTA ' s Blue and Green lines , which service the nearby Dome / GWCC / Philips Arena / CNN Center and Vine City stations . History . Construction . The Georgia Dome was completed in 1992 at a cost of $ 214 million ( US ) , which came from the Georgia General Assembly , making it one of the largest state - funded construction projects in state history . It seats 71 , 228 for football , and can hold approximately : 75 , 000 for concert s , 53 , 000 for basketball when the dome is fully open and 40 , 000 for basketball and gymnastics when the dome is sectioned off ( one half closed off by a large curtain ) . For most Georgia State football games , the dome is configured with 28 , 155 seats , with only the bulk of the lower level plus the club - level seats available for sale . The record for overall attendance at the Georgia Dome is 75 , 892 for the 2008 SEC Championship Game in football . The structure is located on of land ; the dome has a height of , a structure length of , a structure width of , and a total floor area of . The dome is the largest cable - supported dome in the world . Its roof is made of teflon - coated fiberglass fabric and has an area of . From its completion until the December 31 , 1999 opening of the Millennium Dome in London , it was the largest hooked domed structure of any type in the world , but still remains the largest indoor sporting facility in the United States . Surface . The Georgia Dome originally used AstroTurf artificial surface for its football events . In 2003 , Arthur Blank , the new owner of Atlanta Falcons , funded the new state - of - the - art FieldTurf artificial surface system . Renovations . In 2006 , the Atlanta Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority announced a $ 300 million renovation to the Georgia Dome . The project was separated into two stages . The first stage , which took place before the 2007 NFL season , focused on updating the premium seating areas , including the creation of eight ' super - suites ' as well as an owners ' club . In 2008 , the exterior of the stadium was repainted from its original teal and maroon color scheme to a red , black , and silver color scheme to match the Falcons ' team colors , and the stadium ' s original teal seats were replaced with red seats in the 100 and 300 levels and black seats in the Verizon Wireless Club Level ( 200 Level ) . The entrance gates and concourses were also renovated and updated before the 2008 football season . Additionally , in 2009 the two video screens in both endzones were relocated to a new exterior monument sign on Northside Drive . The interior endzones each received a new and considerably wider High Definition replacement video screen that significantly enhances views of replays and provides for state - of - the - art graphics and digital presentations . That year also saw the installation of a completely new sound system , replacing the previous one that was nearly twenty years old . Major weather - related issues . Three years after the completion of the dome , the integrity of its roof became an issue . During a Falcons pre - season game in August 1995 , a severe rainstorm caused water to pool up on the fabric , tearing part of the material and causing a section of the roof to fall into the stadium . The storm was intense enough that the roof panels could be seen moving during the game , and the water and roof material later fell with enough force to smash seats in the upper decks and knock holes in concrete floors . Fortunately the collapse occurred after fans left the stadium , and no one was injured during the incident . The roof was eventually repaired in a way that prevented similar incidents from occurring in the future . In the 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak on March 14 , 2008 , during the 2008 SEC Men ' s Basketball Tournament , a tornado ripped two holes in the dome during the Alabama – Mississippi State quarterfinal game , which delayed the game for one hour and three minutes . The quarterfinal game to follow between the Kentucky Wildcats and Georgia Bulldogs was postponed to the following day . The resulting damage forced the rest of the tournament to be moved to the Alexander Memorial Coliseum at Georgia Tech . New Falcons stadium . It was announced in 2010 that the Georgia World Congress Center , the stadium ' s operator , is pursuing a new stadium with a retractable roof . If a deal is reached , the Georgia Dome would then be demolished . Events hosted . Football . The Dome is home to the NFL ' s Atlanta Falcons , the NCAA Division I Georgia State Panthers of Georgia State University , the annual host ( since 1998 ) to FCS Classic football game between Florida A & M University and another HBCU opponent ( Southern in 2011 and Tennessee State University in prior years ) , and the annual host to the Southeastern Conference Football Championship Game and the Chick - fil - A Bowl ( formerly known as The Chick - fil - a Peach Bowl and The Peach Bowl ) post - season college football games . The stadium also hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 . The Georgia Dome also annually hosted the Georgia High School Association football semi - finals until 2007 and now hosts the GHSA state championship games for all classifications at the Dome . As a result of damage done to the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina , the Sugar Bowl game between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Georgia Bulldogs was played at the Georgia Dome on January 2 , 2006 , the first time " the South ' s Biggest Bowl Game " was ever played outside the state of Louisiana . The Sugar Bowl finished a string of three football games in four days that started with the Chick - fil - A Peach Bowl between LSU and Miami ( Florida ) and an NFL game between the Falcons and the Carolina Panthers two days later . The Georgia Dome is now the alternative site for the Sugar Bowl in future cases where the Superdome cannot host due to weather or other reasons . Basketball . The Georgia Dome has hosted the NCAA Final Four Men ' s Basketball National Championship in 2002 , 2007 and 2013 , along with regional semifinals and finals in 2001 , 2004 , 2006 and 2012 and NCAA Women ' s Final Four in 2003 . It was also one of two homes , along with Alexander Memorial Coliseum , for the NBA ' s Atlanta Hawks during the construction of Philips Arena from 1997 to 1999 , as well as hosting basketball . While playing at the Georgia Dome on March 27 , 1998 , the Atlanta Hawks set a then - NBA single - game attendance record with 62 , 046 fans . The SEC Men ' s Basketball Tournament has been held at the Georgia Dome during ten seasons , most recently in 2011 and is set to return to the Dome in 2014 . Additional events . Olympics . For the 1996 Summer Olympics , one - half of the arena hosted the basketball competitions ( including final ) while the other half hosted the artistic gymnastics events as well as team handball ( men ' s final ) . Wrestling . The Dome has been host to many WCW Monday Nitro and WWE Raw live events , including the memorable championship bout between Goldberg and Hulk Hogan on July 6 , 1998 . The Georgia Dome also hosted WWE ' s WrestleMania XXVII on April 3 , 2011 which featured the return of Dwayne " The Rock " Johnson to WrestleMania for the first time since WrestleMania XX . Soccer . The stadium was an official candidate venue for hosting matches as part of the United States ' 2022 FIFA World Cup bid . Qatar was selected over the United States to host the 2022 World Cup . On June 24 , 2009 , the dome hosted its first ever soccer match between Mexico and Venezuela . The dome held an attendance of 51 , 115 fans . Precision Turf of Lilburn laid 4 - by - 8 foot grass sections over the dome ' s FieldTurf . Subsequently , on July 22 , 2009 , the Dome hosted an exhibition match between A . C . Milan of Italian Serie A league and Club América of Mexican Primera División league as part of the World Football Challenge . On July 28 , 2010 , Club América revisited the Dome in a friendly against Manchester City from the English Premier League . On February 9 , 2011 , Mexico and Bosnia and Herzegovina played a friendly match in front of 50 , 507 fans . Other events . The Professional Bull Riders ' premier bull riding tour , the Built Ford Tough Series , visited the Georgia Dome from 2003 – 2005 , and again in 2007 and 2012 . The USHRA Monster Jam series comes to the Georgia Dome every January for their winter season kickoff show . It ' s known as the " Super Bowl of Motorsports " and it has become one of the biggest stops Monster Jam makes in North America . From 2004 – 10 , the Georgia Dome played host to the World Championship of the FIRST Robotics Competition . Over 300 teams from around the world qualify annually to compete in the championship held in mid - April . The FIRST LEGO League World Festival and FIRST Tech Challenge Championship also occurred at the same time , in different areas of the Dome . The Championship has moved to the Edward Jones Dome in St . Louis , Missouri for the 2011 competition season . It is also the site of the Drum Corps International Southeastern Championship each summer , and in the fall , the Music for All Bands of America Southeastern Super Regional . In January 2012 , the Georgia Dome hosted the Passion conference , drawing in 44 , 000 + Christian college students and young adults from across the United States and the world . Passion previously held conferences simultaneously in Philips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center in 2010 and 2011 . The 2013 conference was also held at the Georgia Dome and , according to Louie Giglio ( Leader of Passion Movement ) , drew in 60 , 000 + Christian college aged students . Facilities . In 2008 the Georgia Dome started showing safety videos before games , presented by Deltalina , flight attendant " mascot " of Delta Air Lines . The videos were a takeoff on Delta ' s massively popular " Deltalina " inflight safety videos . The videos ' theme was " Delta Safety First " . References . Notes