Georgia Dome History

When compared to other NFL venues, the compendium of Georgia Dome history is a rather thin one. The domed stadium, which also has served as the home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, opened in 1992. It cost more than $200 million to build and can house more than 71,000 fans during football games. The Georgia Dome is the largest cable-supported domed stadium in the world, until 1999 it was the largest domed venue of any type worldwide. However, that honor now belongs to the Millennium Dome in London, England, which is a massive 20-acre facility that opened just before January 1, 2000. Among the events it has hosted are the Summer Olympics, the SEC Football Championship, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Super Bowl, the SEC and ACC basketball tournaments and both the NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four, as well as concerts and other notable events. While young, the Georgia Dome certainly is an exceptional facility that already has seen its fair share of special events.

Special Events in Georgia Dome History

Georgia Dome history also includes some notable and record-setting events. The venue holds the NBA regular season attendance record, as 62,046 fans watched a game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls on March 27, 1981. It also holds single-game, average and total attendance records for the ACC basketball tournament and the finals and total attendance records for the NCAA Men's Final Four. In March 1995, sprinter Michael Johnson set an indoor record in the 400m by completing the race in 44.63 seconds. In 1996, the Georgia Dome housed the largest hot dog in history, a wiener that was nearly 2,000 feet long and was wrapped twice around the venue's playing field. On October 8, 1998, Ken Blackburn set a record for the longest ever flight (27.6 seconds) by a paper airplane at the Georgia Dome. And in a more conventional record, Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams set an Super Bowl record by throwing for 414 yards in Super Bowl XXXIV, held at the Georgia Dome on January 30, 2000.