2025 Brings Big Changes to Atlanta
Published December 20, 2024
Big changes are coming to Atlanta in the new year – major sporting events, all-new MICHELIN Guide dining picks, changes in the look and feel of Downtown, additions to a popular attraction and preparations for a really big series of events in 2026. Find out what’s new, and be sure to check our Reasons to Visit in 2025.
Sports
College Football National Championship
The much-anticipated College Football National Championship will be played Jan. 20, 2025, at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will determine the national champion of the NCAA Division/Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2024 season (otherwise known as bragging rights). It will be the final game of the 2024-2025 College Football Playoff, which is the first national championship under the 12-team format. Game time: 7:30 p.m.
Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game
The 2025 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played at Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, on July 15, 2025. This is the third time for the Braves to host the All-Star Game.The team also hosted in 1972 and 2000.
March Madness
The 2025 March Madness tournament starts with Selection Sunday on March 16, 2025, as 68 teams learn that they will play in the 2025 NCAA tournament for men’s basketball. After teams are eliminated in earlier rounds, the tournament gets down to serious business with the games that will determine who plays in the Final Four. Both the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8 will be played at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena with Georgia Tech hosting.
Dining
MICHELIN Guide
Atlanta restaurants receiving 2024 MICHELIN Guide honors were announced in the fall of 2024. That means that when you are looking for an especially delicious place to dine in 2025, there is a new group of MICHELIN Guide restaurants to try. Arrive hungry.
Developments
South Downtown
The area known as South Downtown Atlanta is historically significant, and it is making a comeback. Even though the developer that originally began to revitalize this important section of the city abandoned plans, new players have stepped in and are hoping to give a boost to this area ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which comes to Atlanta in 2026. While there are no concrete plans yet, the new developers hint that the area will become a creative enclave.
The part of the area known as Hotel Row is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hotel Row was home to several hotels built to accommodate passengers going and coming from Terminal Station, once the city’s main railroad station, which sat at Mitchell and Spring streets. The hotels were the Gordon, the Scoville and the Sylvan. All the buildings in the area formed Atlanta’s original business district. Today, the area is making a comeback.
Centennial Yards
By the time worldwide visitors arrive in Atlanta for the FIFA World Cup in 2026, Centennial Yards will have completely transformed the city center. The project will place a sports and entertainment district in the heart of Downtown, adjacent to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena, transforming an eight-acre site into a mixed-used entertainment destination.
Growing
National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights is expanding and will be closed for construction between January and August 2025. When the center reopens, there will be two new wings. The West Wing will include a cafe and three new galleries.The Family Gallery for children younger than 12 will feature hands-on exhibits. Another gallery will tell the history of the reconstruction era, and a special exhibitions gallery will feature traveling and rotating exhibits.
Looking Ahead
Soccer fans know that Atlanta is among the host cities for FIFA World Cup 2026. The city’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium will welcome players and fans from all over the world to the largest edition of the world’s most popular sporting event yet. Forty-eight teams will compete for soccer’s biggest prize in 104 matches across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
There is no shortage of things to do in Atlanta. Whether it’s our world-class and only-in-Atlanta attractions, a fabulous festival or the Fourth of July Peachtree Road Race, Atlanta excels. Always check our calendar of events to find out what’s going on at any particular time.
Journalist Carol Carter writes and edits for Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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