It was May and we didn’t know yet about Cape Verde. We had no idea someone from Germany named Freddy would win our hearts with social media posts raving about Waffle House, Buc-ee’s and American hospitality.
The vision of Atlantans and visitors from across the country and world celebrating alongside one another in Centennial Olympic Park was only that — a vision.
Arthur Blank didn’t know the specifics, either. But he was pretty sure about the framework.
“I know our stadium will do a brilliant job,” the Falcons and Atlanta United owner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview alongside his son Josh at his palatial office in Buckhead. “It has for many, many years in many kinds of events … FIFA will be very happy, our fans will be very happy. Not just in the stadium, but around the stadium, too, with Fan Fest and watch parties and things of that nature.”
He was right beyond any shadow of doubt.
We experienced a sporting event in our city’s history unlike any other and so much of it — particularly the life the World Cup took on outside the stadium — was a swirl of sights, sounds, memories and feelings that we’ll want to hold onto. (I will forever be hacked off by the ticket prices.)
A lot of people and institutions deserve credit for a highly successful month of World Cup in Atlanta and beyond. But here, the role played by Blank is difficult to overstate. Without him, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Atlanta’s accompanying identity as a soccer town deserving of the world’s biggest single-sport tournament would not have happened.
In Blank’s life of business and civic triumphs, the eight World Cup games stand apart. He acknowledged as much in a group interview with media at halftime of the England-Argentina semifinal at MBS, referred to as Atlanta Stadium during the tournament, on July 15.
“It’s one of the highlights of my life, personally,” Blank, who turns 84 in September, said.
It’s still a little mind-boggling that a decade ago, the idea of Atlanta as a soccer town was an uncertainty at best, starting with the fact that 17 U.S. cities (plus three in Canada) had MLS teams and Atlanta did not.
Compare that with what unfolded at MBS and throughout the metro area at watch parties, bars and multitudes of other gatherings. More than 500,000 fans packed Centennial Olympic Park for the FIFA Fan Festival, making it one of the most highly attended FIFA festivals in the tournament.
It wouldn’t have happened if Blank hadn’t recognized the energy and scale of Atlanta’s passion for soccer years ago.
Without Blank, there is no Atlanta United. And without Atlanta United, there’s probably no World Cup in Atlanta. Or, for that matter, U.S. Soccer’s training center in Fayette County, which opened in May and bears his name. Or the women’s soccer franchise he purchased that will begin play in 2028. Or, when the 2031 Women’s World Cup is officially awarded to the U.S. (along with Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica), the games that will almost certainly be awarded to Atlanta.
Blank might not have been the first to see how well Atlanta could support soccer. But he was the one capable of tapping the community to the extraordinary degree that he has. Atlanta United burst out of the gates in its first season in 2017 to lead the MLS in attendance. Even as the on-field performance has dipped in recent years, the club’s supporters have not relinquished the top spot.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
It caught MLS off guard.
“I have to tell you we were skeptical at first,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in September 2017, when Atlanta United set the league’s single-game attendance record in its third game in MBS. “Arthur kind of looked at us all and said ‘Atlanta is going to be a great city, it’s going to be a great soccer market. My city will turn out for a great team with a great brand.’ He’s overdelivered.”
The stadium, which received glowing reviews from World Cup visitors, is one more testament to Blank’s gift for seeing what others cannot and bringing it to pass. Before the $1.8 billion sports palace opened in 2017, its necessity was questioned. Atlanta already had the Georgia Dome.
In an interview this week, Atlanta public relations legend Bob Hope recalled being tasked by the state to survey 100 civic leaders to gauge their support for a stadium project as Blank lobbied for a new home for the Falcons.
“It was almost unanimous,” Hope said. “Everybody thought it was a bad idea. But Arthur, he was going to get it done. Now, everybody thinks it’s a great idea. It makes Atlanta so uniquely special.”
Obviously, this was not solely an act of benevolence on Blank’s part. He has surely profited massively from the stadium, which was built with taxpayer help. The World Cup’s success in Atlanta reflects well on him.
But the happy memories metro Atlantans captured from the World Cup’s stay in our soccer town, to say nothing of the millions earned by businesses capitalizing on visitors, are indelible.
For that, we owe Blank a tip of the cap.
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