New historic marker for 1996 Games unveiled in Centennial Olympic Park

November 2,2016

Source: Jill Vejnoska, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"It’s just a little over 150 words on a sign not much larger than the average flat screen TV.

But the historical marker dedicated to the 1996 Summer Olympics that was unveiled Tuesday morning in Centennial Olympic Park carries an outsized message about the power to make big things happen in Atlanta.

“I’ve often said that this park is the greatest physical legacy of the Atlanta Games,” said Billy Payne, the man who first got the idea to try and bring the 1996 Summer Olympics here and then went on to run them as head of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. “But what we really did was prove to ourselves that we can achieve any dream that we articulate.”

Payne was joined by a Who’s Who of heavyweights from business, politics and Atlanta’s Olympic past for the dedication of a new Georgia historical marker near the park’s visitor’s center. Current and former Atlanta mayors Kasim Reed and Andrew Young both spoke at the ceremony, which took place in conjuction with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority being honored by the Georgia Historical Society."

Read the full article at the link above.