von Daniel Kugler
After Decision by the NFL and its owners that the AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral venue under certain conditionsthe venue is now also certain, just in case.
Should one of three possible scenarios occur, the AFC Championship Game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons. The NFL officially confirmed this in a statement.
More detailed information on ticket sales in this scenario will be announced at a later date.
Sal Capaccio, who accompanies the Buffalo Bills as a journalist for the sports radio “WGR 550”, had already brought Atlanta into play as a potential venue.
Indianapolis will not host the AFC Championship Game
So the league quickly finds a logistical solution for this novelty. Indianapolis had previously turned down the host role. That was reported by the Indianapolis Business Journal. However, it is not known whether Indianapolis was the NFL’s first choice or just one of several options.
According to the report, Indianapolis has scheduling conflicts with the booked Indy Convention Center. A national volleyball tournament, which is expected to attract up to 30,000 spectators, will be held at the associated Lucas Oil Stadium.
The city expects peak occupancy of more than 7,000 hotel rooms over the weekend of January 28th and 29th. Accordingly, Indianapolis responded quickly to the league’s request that the Colts’ stadium was not available for the AFC Championship Game.