NEWS BRIEF: Atlanta picked to host 2025 college football national championship

Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be the stage for the college football championship game in January 2025, the Atlanta Sports Council announced this week. The city last hosted the event in 2018 when the Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Georgia Bulldogs.

“Bringing the game back to Atlanta was a simple decision when we looked at everything,” said College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock. “A state-of-the-art stadium, a walkable downtown with venues to host all the activities... and great people made Atlanta an obvious choice to be the first city to host a second title game.”

The championship is yet another preeminent sports event Atlanta gets to host in the near future: the Southeastern Conference football championship game is coming up in December; the men’s college basketball regional championship is set for 2025; and a number of World Cup soccer matches will be played here in 2026. The city was to have hosted the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Truist Park, but the plan was scuttled by Georgia’s contentious new laws affecting voting rights. Details: thenortheastgeorgian.com