Atlanta Super Bowl Date Announced

ATLANTA, GA -- We knew the place, now we know the time: The NFL on Thursday released the official date of Super Bowl LIII, which will be played at Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Save the date: Feb. 3, 2019 is the Atlanta Super Bowl, the league said.

“We are excited to officially have the date for Super Bowl LIII from the NFL,” Dan Corso, President of the Atlanta Sports Council and Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Host Committee, said in a statement. “Atlanta’s preparations are well under way as we get ready to showcase the city to the rest of the sporting world.”

The 2019 date is the third time Atlanta has been awarded a Super Bowl. In Jan. 30, 1994, the city hosted Super Bowl XXVIII featuring Dallas vs. Buffalo. Six years later, on Jan. 30, 2000, Atlanta welcomed St. Louis and Tennessee for Super Bowl XXXIV.

The game was marked by an infamous stabbing in Buckhead, which implicated Ray Lewis. The weekend was also marred by an ice storm that paralyzed travel in and out of the city.

City leaders and Atlanta sports luminaries, including Falcons owner Arthur Blank lobbied heavily for a Super Bowl, especially in light of the new plans to build the team's new venue, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

NFL owners agreed to award Atlanta Super Bowl LIII at a meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 24, 2016.

It's a high time for the Falcons, who are coming off a Super Bowl appearance in February, the second in the team's history.

Image via Craig Johnson / Patch