Mercedes-Benz Stadium Experience

Written by: Evan Ash

Published: December 29, 2018

A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time to watch my favorite NFL team, the Baltimore Ravens, take on the Atlanta Falcons.  I had a truly wonderful time and I cannot recommend highly enough that other people visit as well.

First, it was so easy to get to the stadium.  I rode on the MARTA subway to get downtown.  The exit from the train station is right between Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena across the street.  It was the first of many contrasts between going to a Falcons game and a Braves game.  To get to SunTrust Park there isn’t a very good mass transit option that I have found, so driving is the only option. And since it’s Atlanta there will be traffic, so pack your patience.  Even worse than that, parking at Braves games is $20 compared to the free parking at MARTA stations and the $5 round-trip fare.

Once I was inside, I needed to consciously remember to close my mouth because one thing after another amazed me.  The concourses were wide and clean.  And all fans can access all concourses.  My ticket was in the 300 level and I could visit the 100 and 200 levels if I wanted.  I took a full lap around the 100 level concourse.  What stood out to me was how the concourse broke out into little bar areas where anyone could walk up to the bar from the concourse and still see the action on the field.

Also, on the 100 level, on the sort of open end of the stadium, the concourse widened out to a larger standing area.  It featured a stage for the stadium DJ (yes, there was a stadium DJ who played hip-hop music during breaks in the game) and in-game host, and a pull handle for a very loud train horn.  This was treated similarly to the #12 flag in Seattle in that someone at least relatively famous (I don’t remember who it was for this game) was invited to ceremoniously sound the horn shortly before kickoff.  The horn also blared for a Falcons touchdown which I guess is similar to the horn that sounds after someone scores a goal in a hockey game (I have never been to a hockey game).  While I was standing in this area, they opened the roof, which is supposed to look like a camera shutter (pictured below).  Again, truly amazing to behold as all 8 panels move in unison to open the roof.  This retractable roof looks so complicated, and I still feel like the words “complicated” and “retractable roof” should not go together.  Seems like it would be easy for the roof to get stuck partially open.

I then made my way up the escalators to the 300 level where my seat was.  There is a portion of the concourse called the 100 Yard Club.  It’s an interesting area for the concourse with bars along the sides and football field markings of the floor.  These markings are supposed to line up with the yard markings on the actual playing surface.

The stadium food is worth mentioning as well.  Most stadiums charge ridiculously high prices for food and drinks just because they can.  At Mercedes-Benz Stadium, however, the food prices are pretty reasonable.  I’m not the type of guy to go to a football game just to sit there and crush beers until I fall over – I’m there to watch the game.  I didn’t get a beer but a domestic draft beer is $5.  My basket of chicken tenders and fries and a bottle of water only cost $8 rather than maybe $14 or $15 at a different venue.

I went to go sit in my seat and had a great view.  The halo video board cannot go without mentioning.  It was huge.  You can’t not notice it.  I sat mesmerized by the giant TV in the ceiling.  To be honest, the screen is so big that it’s almost distracting from the action on the field.  The only complaint I had about the screen was that the down and distance, spot of the ball, and the out of town scores were not up there.  I was expecting a sort of newspaper page type of display where everything I wanted to see was visible all in one place and I could choose the information I needed at the time.  The out of town scores were on ribbon boards in the corners, and the down and distance and spot of the ball were on ribbon boards along each side of the field.

The game itself was a great game (for me anyway).  The Ravens dominated both lines of scrimmage and the time of possession (39:39 to 20:21) on their way to a 26-16 win.  Ever since Lamar Jackson took over for Joe Flacco at quarterback, the Ravens have played much more of a ball-control-and-strong-defense brand of football.  It’s not the prettiest style of play to watch, but there is no denying its effectiveness.  Running the ball and controlling the clock allows your defense to rest and prevents the other offense from getting on the field.  The Falcons only ran a total of five offensive plays in the third quarter.  Matt Ryan was getting talked about as having an MVP type season.  Not after this game.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a great place to watch a game and I look forward to my next visit.