The Copa América, which begins in Atlanta, will show the world el Mercedes Benz Stadiuma futuristic stadium, iconic in its design and the most sustainable in the US, where it only takes 7 minutes to close its roof or the waste generated in each match is used for composting, but which until 5 days ago had artificial grass.
The choice of Atlanta as the venue for the opening match of the Copa América and the presence of Argentina, with Leo Messi at the helm, made the plans of AMB, owners of the Atlanta Falcons, of the NFL, and Atlanta United, of the MLS, who wanted to wait until February 2026 to install natural grass, a requirement imposed by FIFA for it to host eight matches in the next World Cup, including a semifinal.
The debate, however, began even before Conmebol designated Atlanta as one of the venues for the Copa América. It was Leo Messi’s signing for Inter Miami that fueled controversy over whether the world champion was willing to play in the six MLS stadiums that have artificial grass.
Although Messi recalled that he grew up playing on artificial pitches in Barcelona, his absence due to fatigue from the match his team played in September in Atlanta encouraged a controversy in which David Beckham himself intervened – it takes three days to recover after playing on synthetic grass, he assured.
AMB decided to change the artificial grass last March… for another synthetic one. In anticipation, however, it installed an underground ventilation and irrigation system and it was not until last Sunday, after Atlanta United played against Dynamo, that the surface change was undertaken.
“It’s strange, but here they do everything quickly. Let’s hope it’s better tomorrow, for the good of football,” Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni highlighted on the eve of the inauguration, when asked about it.
With natural grass included and more than 70,000 fans in the stands, the Mercedes Benz will display all the advances that make it a unique venue in the world.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium, ready for the opening of the Copa América
Arthur Blank, the owner, wanted 14 years ago for the venue that replaced the Georgia Dome to be something iconic for the city. And the HOK architecture studio gave him 7 years and 1.6 billion dollars later a work of art, which is inspired by the Roman Pantheon for the use of light and the art of origami in its design.
With a retractable roof made up of eight translucent triangular pieces like petals, it gives the impression that they rotate when opened, when in reality they slide vertically on 16 rails. It opens in 8 minutes and closes in 7.
The other great attraction is the circular screen attached to the ceiling (Halo Board), which inspired the one recently installed at the Santiago Bernabéu, which gets the fan even more into the game.
An architecture designed to avoid reverberation, 2,000 WIFI points, 670 food and drink sales points – with rounded prices to speed up sales by not having to give change – solar panels and a water collection system turns the venue into a futuristic work, the first to achieve Platinum True certification thanks to its sustainability, which allows it to take the waste generated by each match to a composting plant, where it is converted into soil that fertilizes the urban garden located in its surroundings. A work of art where Messi will begin the path to winning his second Copa América.
