Mayor Kasim Reed, The Home Depot and Mercedes-Benz Stadium Announce The Home Depot Backyard
April 24,2017
Mayor Kasim Reed joined Arthur Blank, Craig Menear, Chairman and CEO of The Home Depot, David Allman, Chairman of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, and Frank Fernandez, Vice President of Community Development for the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation to announce The Home Depot Backyard, a 13-acre greenspace in the current Georgia Dome footprint. The space will be used for game day parking, arts and culture events, entertainment, and community activations beginning in 2018. During a press conference today, Mayor Reed unveiled the renderings of The Home Depot Backyard to community members and several representatives from nonprofits serving the Westside Atlanta neighborhoods.
“I am proud to join Mercedes-Benz Stadium and The Home Depot to announce this exciting new amenity,” said Mayor Reed. “My Administration has made it a priority to revitalize Atlanta’s Westside and has worked to bring new public and private resources to support economic and civic development in the area. The Home Depot Backyard is yet another example of the City of Atlanta and its vital partners’ commitment to West Atlanta, and will serve as a gateway to Downtown, to our cultural district and to the world’s greatest sports venue, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.”
“While we have stores across the country, Atlanta is our hometown. We are proud today to share our long-term commitment to both Mercedes-Benz Stadium and our neighbors in the Westside. Fans and community members are going to have the best backyard in sports,” said Craig Menear, Chairman and CEO of The Home Depot. “Beyond the stadium, we continue to work with partners like the Atlanta Beltline, Habitat for Humanity, HouseProud and many others to revitalize outdoor spaces and perform critical home repairs in the Westside – part of our commitment to giving back to our communities.”
Arthur Blank shared that the design of the stadium and the decision to build in the heart of the city was borne out of a vision to create a more connected, accessible downtown – one that offers residents and visitors a permanent area to play and build a sense of community.
“Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be one of the finest sports and entertainment venues in the world, and more importantly, a catalyst for transformation in the surrounding neighborhoods of Atlanta’s historic Westside,” said Blank. “We are proud to have it grace the iconic skyline of downtown Atlanta, and we are even more proud to have a partner in The Home Depot to help us create a space that will drive connectivity and community engagement between the Westside, downtown, and all of Atlanta.”
The Home Depot Backyard plans to offer unique game and match day experiences for Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United fans as well as year-round opportunities for the community to enjoy the space through arts, culture and entertainment events, military veteran appreciation activities and everyday access to a beautiful greenspace with play areas. Additional details for upcoming events will be announced over the next year.
To conclude the program, Frank Fernandez of the Blank Foundation introduced Latonda Henderson, who will serve as Director of Community Activation for Mercedes-BenzStadium. Henderson will work with The Home Depot Foundation and other nonprofits partners to create compelling community-oriented programming at The Home Depot Backyard for Westside communities and throughout Atlanta.
“The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is committed to fostering a new era of community engagement in Atlanta, and enhancing the fan experience at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium,” said Latonda Henderson. “I look forward to working with partners to activate exciting programs which will extend beyond the stadium and lift up the communities and neighborhoods in the area and citywide.