World Cup 2026

Inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium: The busiest stadium in America

As officials prepare for the 2026 World Cup, AS USA went behind the scenes at Atlanta’s state-of-the-art stadium.

Mitch Martin

Journalist, AS USA

A journalist, soccer fanatic and Shrewsbury Town fan, Will’s love for the game has withstood countless playoff final losses. After graduating from the University of Liverpool he wrote for a number of British publications before joining AS USA in 2020. His work focuses on the Premier League, LaLiga, MLS, Liga MX and the global game.

Update: May 16th, 2026 17:26 EDT

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With it’s futuristic design and one-of-a-kind oculus roof, Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of the most impressive of this summer’s World Cup venues. But it’s not just for show; the Atlanta venue claims to be the busiest stadium in the country.

Less than nine years on from its official opening, ‘MBS’ has already hosted the Super Bowl, MLS Cup and college football’s National Championship game, twice. It is the home stadium of MLS side Atlanta United and NFL team Atlanta Falcons. Beyoncé played four nights of last year’s Cowboy Carter Tour at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, while The Weeknd, AC/DC, Karol G and Ed Sheeran are all lined up in the next few months.

The 72,000-capacity venue was chosen for the 2024 Copa América and the 2025 Club World Cup, and will host eight games at the 2026 World Cup this summer. All of that makes it “the busiest in the country,” according to Vice President of Stadium Operations Adam Fullerton.

So with the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, AS USA was invited to go behind the scenes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to see how the country’s busiest stadium is preparing for the biggest show on earth...

Multi-purpose, soccer-specific

Inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium: The busiest stadium in America — Mercedes-Benz Stadium was designed to feel like a soccer-specific venue. Mitch Martin

As many MLS clubs have discovered, simply repainting the lines at a nearby NFL stadium and adding some nets is not the best approach. Although Mercedes-Benz Stadium was initially intended to house the Atlanta Falcons, team owner Arthur Blank hoped that the venue would also help attract an MLS expansion team to the city, which it subsequently did.

As such, the stadium’s sharp, geometrical design is unlike the vast majority of NFL or multi-sport venues. Speaking to officials, they insist that it is a ‘soccer-specific’ stadium, built with steep, noise-trapping tiers to create the atmosphere and the viewing angles that soccer fans expect. It is a far cry from the gentle, open-air curves of Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium or Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

The stadium’s regular capacity is 72,000 but it is expandable to 75,000 when required. Most importantly, however, the stands are designed in a way that ensures that there are no unseemly gaps between the field and the fans when the stadium switches between NFL and soccer layouts. It looks, feels and sounds like a top-level soccer stadium.

A marvelous mechanical roof

Given the regularity, and the variety, of the events at MBS, a retractable roof is essential. A sudden downpour or a long drought - neither of which is uncommon in Georgia - could have drastic consequences for the carefully coordinated event schedule.

The stadium’s state-of-the-art oculus roof uses eight triangular panels - known as pillows - that converge like a camera lens, allowing organizers to block out the elements when needed. AS USA spoke to Fullerton about the World Cup plans and the stadium chief confirmed that the roof will remain closed for the entirety of the World Cup. That will help to protect fans and players from the sweltering summer heat and provide a stable environment for the real star of the star: the grass.

Lessons learned from grass mistakes

For all the planning and preparation, what will really matter this summer is the on-field action. With a year-round schedule that includes soccer, football and music concerts, Mercedes-Benz Stadium typically uses an artificial turf surface that can easily be swapped in and out depending on the event. However FIFA demands that a ‘real’ grass surface is used for all World Cup games, leaving Fullerton and his team with a lot of work to do.

The pressure was on, given that a recent attempt to host an international soccer tournament in Atlanta did not go to plan. When Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted the 2024 Copa América opener between Argentina and Canada, players and coaches were unhappy with the hastily installed grass surface. Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez called it “a disaster,” complaining that the newly-laid grass field “jumped up on you as you ran.” Head coach Lionel Scaloni agreed that the surface was “not up to standard” and significant changes have been made since then.

Crucially, in 2024 the grass field had been laid just five days before the start of the Copa América; not enough time to allow the new surface to properly ‘bed in’ and give it an authentic grass feel. Things are very different this time around.

On a tour of the stadium, Fullerton revealed that the old artificial turf had been removed in January 2026, following the culmination of the Falcons’ NFL season. From there, the team completely renovated the surface system, planting the grass on top of a newly-introduced layer of natural sod. That was given a few months to bed in and test for any issues, with the USMNT playing two March friendlies on the Atlanta field.

AS USA was in attendance for both of those games and there were no notable issues with the surface. Nevertheless, that grass will be replaced again this month, with the final playing surface installed and given a full month to settle in before the World Cup. That, organizers hope, will prevent a repeat of 2024 and ensure that the field is ready for eight high-profile World Cup games in the space of a month.

De-branding ‘Mercedes-Benz Stadium’

As the name suggests, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium is covered in branding for a certain German car manufacturer. However FIFA’s hosting agreement demands that stadiums remove all signs of outside sponsorships, ensuring that there are no conflicts with the World Cup’s big-spending commercial partners. That means that officials at Mercedes-Benz Stadium - which will be known as the Atlanta Stadium for the duration of the World Cup - have a big job on their hands.

Fullerton estimate that there are well over 2,000 individual pieces of Mercedes branding that will need to be replaced or covered for the tournament. Some of them are relatively simply to remove, others - like a Mercedes car suspended midway up a 100ft wall - are less easy to take down. When asked, Mercedes quoted a six-figure sum to remove it for the World Cup. Officials in Atlanta decided that another, cheaper option will suffice.

However the biggest issue, in every sense, is the huge Mercedes-Benz logo emblazoned across the stadium’s roof. Visible from passing airplanes, a clever disguise will be needed to ensure that it is not shown on aerial broadcast shots. Fullerton has not yet revealed how they plan to obscure that piece of branding, but is confident that it will be suitably hidden before the stadium’s first game on June 15.

Expensive entry, cheap eats

The city of Atlanta was engaged in a long-running effort to secure hosting rights for this summer’s tournament and it has been rewarded with eight games, behind only Dallas (nine games) and level with New York/New Jersey and Los Angeles. There are group stage matches featuring No. 1-ranked Spain and African champions Morocco, along with one game each in the round-of-32, round-of-16 and the semi-final.

Of course, like all World Cup 2026 venues the price of entry is exorbitantly expensive. At time of writing, the cheapest in Atlanta are the $600 tickets to watch Czechia take on South Africa at lunchtime on a Thursday, hardly the most appealing of fixtures for such a hefty figure.

Like with all modern sports stadiums, hospitality areas are a priority and a significant proportion of tickets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium are categorized as ‘premium’ options. In Atlanta, this means that fans can select anything from ‘lounge-access’ tickets to lavish hospitality boxes. Stadiums in the US typically reserve around 10-15% of the total capacity for these more expensive options; at MBS, more than 20% of all available seats are classed as premium.

But while FIFA dictates the ticketing, the Atlanta organizing committee was able to cling onto pricing decisions for stadium concessions and has maintained one of the most fan-focused food initiatives in US sport. Mercedes-Benz Stadium offers the ATL Fan Fare menu, with $2 hot dogs, $3 cheese nachos and refillable soda for $2. Even a beer (small, domestic) is available for the relatively low price of $5. And, of course, there are an abundance of options with more than 600 points of sale and an average wait time of just two minutes.

The biggest event, at the busiest stadium

Ticketing aside, the logistics for match-going fans are impressively straight-forward. The stadium’s downtown location means that fans can utilize Atlanta’s MARTA public transport system to get to and from the stadium. Fans can take a short, fairly pleasant walk from the FIFA Fan Fest in Olympic Park to the game.

Finding accommodation should not be difficult in a city that hosts major events with such regularity; there are 13,000 hotel rooms in downtown Atlanta, 112,000 in the Atlanta metro area. The airport is also accessible with public transport, with flights to more than 160 domestic destinations and 85 cities overseas.

This summer’s World Cup is expected to bring more than 225,000 fans to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, many of whom will be visiting the venue for the first time. Organizers hope that the World Cup will generate an economic impact of $500 million for the state of Georgia and help to further the city’s claim to host more major sporting events in the future.

Atlanta will host the Super Bowl again in 2028, the college basketball Men’s Final Four in 2031 and is on the shortlist of host cities for the Rugby World Cup. This summer’s World Cup is just one entry in a long list of global events to take place in Atlanta, but it promises to be something special. The 2026 World Cup will be the biggest-ever edition of world’s most-watched sporting event, a fitting spectacle for America’s busiest stadium.