ATLANTA — Atlanta Police said there is "no threat detected" after investigating a "suspicious package" near State Farm Arena caused the Atlanta Hawks game to be delayed Friday evening.
APD said the suspicious package has been removed and the streets will reopen momentarily.
State Farm Arena released a statement after the incident:
Prior to tonight’s Eastern Conference First Round matchup between the Hawks and Miami Heat, a suspicious package was found outside Gate 2 of State Farm Arena. Out of an abundance of caution, Gates 1, 2 and 3 were temporarily closed by the Atlanta Police Department while the police department, K-9 units and Arena security worked to clear the area and investigate the contents of the package. The contents of the package were not found to be explosive, and the package was removed safely by the Atlanta Bomb Squad.
Around 7 p.m. authorities were seen investigating the area outside the arena in the area of 100 Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW.
The Hawks game is now set to start at 7:55 p.m.
A photo inside State Farm Arena showed people standing around inside the arena as officers investigated the incident.
Earlier, 11Alive's Reggie Chatman, who is at the arena, said fans were initially being held from going down to their seats in certain sections.
Video from inside the arena showed hundreds of empty seats.
Since then, more people have taken their seats. The Hawks also updated fans about the situation happening outside. They alerted the guests the package was removed safely by police.
Cheers were heard inside after the announcement.