Mercedes Benz Stadium Implemented Contingency Plan During Atlanta Water Outage Crisis

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Mercedes Benz Stadium welcomes 3 million visitors a year, and over the weekend the stadium managed to welcome fans for an Atlanta United game – despite a power outage water just a few hours before the event.

Dietmar Exler, the stadium’s chief operating officer, said a plan was already in place to deal with the water shortage.

“It’s absolutely necessary to be prepared,” Exler said. “We do four to five tables a year where we get all the agencies like police, fire, EMS, the Georgia World Congress Center, Fulton County together and we go into a room and for a few hours talk of a scenario.”

Officials said they had just completed a five-hour scenario with city and public health officials on how to respond and handle a water outage inside the stadium.

Joe Coomer, vice president of stadium security, said they are in constant contact with the Atlanta mayor’s office and the water department.

“We find that our scenarios come true about 40 percent of the time,” Coomer said. “I feel confident knowing that Mercedes Benz Stadium is the best prepared stadium in North America simply because we are very open. We have so many events here.

In this scenario, stadium officials used hand sanitizer in restrooms and did not sell fountain drinks. And employees had to boil water to wash their hands.

The stadium is preparing to host the national college football championship next year and the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

“This confirmed once again the importance of communication. If something happens, let’s get the right people in the room right away,” Exler said.

In addition to Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta News First checked with officials at nearby State Farm Arena. The arena also runs emergency event scenarios throughout the year and once it had water pressure it was able to host Megan Thee Stallion’s concert Sunday night and Monday night using bottled water and hand sanitizers.

Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.