Falcons fans attending Saturday night's NFC Divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers are encouraged to leave a little earlier than normal for the Georgia Dome because of expected heavy traffic delays.
"We've been asked by local authorities to encourage our fans to get to the Dome early," said Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay. "Downtown Atlanta will be packed with numerous activities highlighted by home playoff our game on Saturday night against the Packers. Additionally, the Georgia World Congress Center is hosting the 49th Annual Atlanta Boat Show on their campus and the Hawks have a home game on Saturday at Philips Arena. Those three events alone have the potential to create extremely heavy traffic, so we're asking our fans to get to the Dome as early as possible."
Gates to the Georgia Dome will open at 6 p.m., and the pregame festivities at Falcons Landing have been relocated to the Orange Parking Lot (located on Georgia Dome Drive) because of the inclement weather that has plagued Atlanta for much of the week.
Fans without pre-paid parking are strongly encouraged to use MARTA (mass transit, www.itsmarta.com) because of the limited number of parking spaces that will be available due to the other downtown events that are taking place on Saturday.
In addition to moving Falcons Landing to the Orange Lot, fans will notice an expanded arrival experience at each of the main entrances to the Dome. Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders and the Falcons Drumline will welcome fans upon their arrival to the game.
Upon entering the Dome, the first 60,000 fans will receive a Falcons Rise Up battle flag specially designed for this playoff game.
The Falcons would also like to remind fans that the game is sold out and there is a potential danger of counterfeit tickets being sold in the secondary market. Because of the heightened demand for Falcons playoff tickets, the club has advised the following guidelines to avoid purchasing counterfeit tickets.
Fans may choose to purchase tickets at www.nfl.com/ticketexchange or www.ticketmaster.com.
"The NFL Ticket Exchange powered by Ticketmaster, the only marketplace for fans to buy and sell guaranteed authentic NFL tickets, provides Atlanta Falcons fans looking to buy or sell their playoff tickets a safe, convenient, and League-approved resale platform," said Clay Luter, Ticketmaster's senior vice president of Stadium, Outdoor & College Sports. "Through the NFL Ticket Exchange, the Falcons are able to deliver fans access to the only barcode-authenticated playoff game tickets."
In an effort to help eliminate the sale of fake and counterfeit tickets, the Falcons have incorporated several security devices built into playoff tickets. Some of the overt security devices include holograms, thermo chromic ink, and a specially-made gloss varnish. A counterfeit ticket may be missing one or even several of these or other security features.
Fans purchasing tickets from other sources should be advised that tickets may appear to look authentic but in many cases will not be valid or may be counterfeit. If you purchase invalid or counterfeit tickets, the Falcons will not be able to offer alternative ticket options as both potential games are sold out.
