Last night's Packers-Falcons "SNF" matchup was the first regular season NFL game held at the new Mercedes Benz-Stadium, and NBC's Al Michaels said it was a "dream come true" for Falcons Owner Arthur Blank. Michaels said, "You can see the Halo that surrounds the entire upper rim of the stadium and there we are on the Halo." NBC's Cris Collinsworth said, "Unbelievable what a place this is. It really is exciting though. Every time we come to a new stadium and get a chance to open it up, they just keep getting more and more impressive. It's an awesome place." He added, "Congratulations on your new stadium and what looks like a successful opening night here" ("Packers-Falcons," NBC, 9/17). NBC's Michele Tafoya said, "One of the unique things about this $1.5 billion stadium is the retractable roof, when it opens resembles a camera aperture. They flipped the switch at around 2:00 this afternoon and it took about two hours to open, they'll eventually have that time down to minutes." She added, "Another signature part of this building is the 360-degree halo over the playing field, the largest video board in all of U.S. sports, and welcoming fans to the stadium is a 73,000-pound falcon statue. At 41.5 feet tall, it's the largest bird sculpture in the world" ("Football Night In America," NBC, 9/17).
