CHARLOTTE -- Days before Atlanta earned the bid to host Super Bowl LIII at the $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2019, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank admitted another owner raised concerns about how the city would handle an improbable ice storm, such as the one that hit the last time Atlanta held the Super Bowl (2000).
Blank's immediate response was, "I reminded him that was 16 years ago and the weather in Atlanta, due to climate changes, it's changed. So, it's beautiful now. ... We don't think that will be an issue. I understand that was 1-in-100-years kind of freak stuff.