It is a gargantuan task to put together the three days of concerts in Centennial Olympic Park that lead up to Monday's College Football Playoff game. It has taken a literal army of people to pull together the event, which will culminate in Kendrick Lamar's free halftime performance.
- 3,500 people involved in planning
- 10 months of planning
- 300 carpenters and set assistants working on stage in Centennial Olympic Park
- Stage and park will be ready by Friday midday
- 20,000 capacity in the park
“The halftime show will be live from the park,” said Jonathan Foucheaux, AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! Producer. “Everyone who's attending and everyone who's at the game will be able to see the halftime show on the amazing screens in Mercedes Benz Stadium but out here (Centennial Park) they'll be able to see Kendrick Lamar perform live during halftime.”
Most of the production crew arrived from all points across America the day after Christmas and have been working every day since. They'll have cameras throughout the park for multiple views of the concert as well as a camera on a cable over the crowd.
Foucheaux says the park can fit 20,000 people but he expects it to fill up fast this weekend. Saturday's headliners are Jason Derulo and Charlie Puth. Sunday's headliners are The Chainsmokers and Bebe Rexha. Doors open at 4 p.m. on both days. On Monday doors open at noon for Darius Rucker, who will play in the afternoon. Kendrick Lamar plays during halftime Monday.
The weekend will be packed with activities for fans, especially Saturday.
“Media day is free and open to the fans,” said Tony Fay, College Football Playoff Media Operations. “They can come out to the Phillips Arena. You'll get a little headset where you'll be able to plug in, and listen to all the coaches and some of the key players up onstage as they go through their final interviews prior to game day on Monday.”
At Georgia World Congress Center, fans can go to Playoff Fan Central for only $8-10.
“Playoff Fan Central which is a 300,000 square foot college football theme park that'll be in the Georgia World Congress Center,” said Fay. “And then you end your night but coming over to Playoff Playlist Live and enjoying big name acts including Jason Derulo.”
Security has been at the forefront of organizers minds for the concerts and fan events.
“We've been working with APD and Ga. State police and the GWCC police for probably about 8 months now to plan this event,” said Foucheaux.
With such strong, and close, fan bases for the teams squaring off in Monday's championships, organizers are expecting a lot of people this weekend.
“We got two teams that are both within a two hour drive of Atlanta,” said Fay. “Both teams draw 80,000 fans to their stadiums. This stadium (Mercedes Benz) is going to hold 72,000 fans. You kind of do the math and you can see how hot the ticket
