Centennial Olympic Park Under Renovation Until 2019; Events On Hold After 4th Of July Celebration

April 11,2017

ATLANTA (April 11, 2017) – The Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) is embarking on a $17 million makeover of Centennial Olympic Park following the conclusion of the park’s 20th anniversary capital campaign. The park will remain open to the public while the work is in progress.

Pedestrian access to certain clusters of bricks, as well as to the Fountain of Rings, playgrounds, and certain monuments will be impacted and restricted at select times, as many places in the park will become active work sites. Patrons should visit gwcca.org/park or call 404-222-PARK (7275) for updates on any public access restrictions prior to visiting the park.

As outlined in the Authority’s 2020 Vision strategic plan, the scope of the renovations include creating a pedestrian plaza on Andrew Young International Boulevard, establishing new gateways into the park to the north, strengthening the park’s Olympic heritage with new features, and revamping the Southern Company Amphitheater. All construction work is scheduled to be complete by January 2019.

Spring and summer events at the park – including the Sweetwater 420 Festival (April 21-23), Shaky Beats (May 5-7) and Shaky Knees (May 12-14) music festivals, and the annual Wednesday WindDown and Music at Noon concert series (throughout the month of June) – will take place concurrently with construction, but there will be no further public programming in 2017 beyond the annual 4th of July Celebration. Also, the park is not accepting new bookings for the next 18 months in order to complete all of the construction activities by January 2019. However, the park will honor previous agreements made prior to finalizing the construction timeline, and will host 2018’s College Football Playoff Championship AT&T Playoff Playlist LIVE and the 2018 Sweetwater 420 Festival.

For updates on construction milestones, please visit gwcca.org and click on the "Campus Development" tab.

About Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority
A lasting legacy of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Centennial Olympic Park has become a performing-arts venue, community gathering-space and an anchor for downtown development. The Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA), which owns and operates the 21-acre Park, now includes Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the 3.9 million-square-foot convention center. Additionally, GWCCA manages operations of the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. These public facilities represent the largest combined convention, sports, and entertainment destination in the world. This past year, the GWCCA welcomed more than 2.7 million customers who generated $1.5 billion in economic impact, $87 million in new tax dollars, and sustained more than fifteen thousand jobs in Georgia.

For more information, contact:
Morgan Smith-Williams
Centennial Olympic Park | Georgia World Congress Center Authority
Phone: 404-550-0641
Email: msmith-williams@centennialpark.com
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