Atlanta has quickly accelerated to become an epicenter for sporting events in the Southeast. Sporting events like the 2018 College Football Championship, 2018 MLS All-Star Game, Super Bowl LIII and the NCAA Final Four in 2020 position Atlanta on the global stage for world-class events. As the spotlight is on Atlanta for Super Bowl LIII, the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee, partners and fans around the city are gearing up for the big game.
Atlanta has quickly accelerated to become an epicenter for sporting events in the Southeast. Sporting events like the 2018 College Football Championship, 2018 MLS All-Star Game, Super Bowl LIII and the NCAA Final Four in 2020 position Atlanta on the global stage for world-class events. As the spotlight is on Atlanta for Super Bowl LIII, the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee, partners and fans around the city are gearing up for the big game.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) hosted the quarterly Technology Leadership Council meeting with updates from leaders at Atlanta Tech Village, Sandbox, TruRating, Venture Atlanta and more. The meeting began with an update from Grant Wainscott, MAC’s senior director of technology ecosystem expansion, on the Atlanta Sports Council (ASC), the team focused on recruiting major regional, national and international sporting events to metro Atlanta.
Atlanta’s business community is involved in the ASC and the work to grow and develop sports in metro Atlanta. Major wins include the Braves expansion, Philips Arena expansion, record-breaking attendance for the MLS All-Star Game and a $2.5 billion investment in Atlanta sports.
Scott Henderson, CEO and co-founder of Sandbox ATL, and David Lightburn, president and co-founder of Atlanta Tech Village, gave an update on the Super Bowl Technology Committee, which is focused on showcasing Atlanta as a global leader through the lens of Super Bowl LIII. Henderson and Lightburn detailed the committee’s Super Bowl Live activation, which will combine event programming with Atlanta’s tech scene. The committee is currently working with livestreaming video platform Twitch to invite major Twitch personalities to visit Atlanta neighborhoods while livestreaming.
Jill Bentley, NAM marketing manager for TruRating, gave an overview on the company’s technology to democratize customer feedback at point of sales locations, giving real-time event insights with an 88-90 percent response rate.
Michael Theisen-Jones, MAC’s manager of global business development, discussed the Metro Export Challenge, which works to increase international investment in metro Atlanta. The Metro Export Challenge offers 30 grants to small- and medium-sized businesses in the region. Applications for the Metro Export Challenge are now being accepted until August 31.
Simeon Spearman, director of digital product for ChooseATL, detailed THEA, Atlanta’s OTT video streaming platform. Launched last year, THEA now has over 1 million views, 40 channel partners, over 600 videos and over 7,500 hours watched.
Mike Becker, 2018 chairman of Venture Atlanta, reminded council attendees of the upcoming Venture Atlanta Conference on October 16-17. For more information on the conference and for the full lineup, visit their website.
The 2018 Technology Leadership Council will return on November 1. Additional participation opportunities for the year include Atlanta Cyber Week from October 8-12, P20 Summit from October 9-11, TechStars Demo Day on October 15 and Money 20/20 Las Vegas from October 21-24. If you have any questions on how your organization can engage with MAC, please reach out to Grant Wainscott.
