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Falcons' McKay Confirms $200M Changes To Stadium, Will Be Ready For '17 NFL Season

Falcons President & CEO Rich McKay on Thursday confirmed that $200M "in changes have been ordered for the new" Mercedes-Benz Stadium, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. McKay is "confident it won't affect the target opening date of June 1, 2017." McKay said, "It's principally in steel from the complexity of design. That's where that (cost) is. We knew that was coming. We've seen it coming. When we decided to do the one-stadium solution and do a downtown solution on a complex site ... this site was complex." McKay: "We're pretty confident in our timetable. June 1 is a good date for us. We're working pretty confidently toward that date, and we feel very good about it. I would say that we have really picked up the pace. You've seen the steel going up. You've seen the numbers of lifts that we have. We're in a pretty good place." About 1,500 workers are "putting in six days a week so the stadium can open as scheduled." McKay said that there "is no guarantee" MLS expansion club Atlanta United FC, who start play in '17, will have the first event at the stadium. McKay said, "I'm not sure we know yet. ... But as far as the opening event and those types of things other than Atlanta United, that remains to be seen. That would be a mystery" (ESPN.com, 6/23). In Atlanta, Tim Tucker notes McKay's assessment "came at the end of a media tour of the new stadium." The original completion date was set for March 1. AMB Group CEO Steve Cannon said, "Everything is pointing to June 1." McKay, when asked if he had concerns about delays to the Falcons' '17 season, said, "No, I do not" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/24).

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