x
Breaking News
More () »

More than 76,000 pack Mercedes-Benz Stadium for its first college kickoff

The first college game in the shiny new stadium took place between two heavy-weight teams - number one-ranked Alabama and number three-ranked Florida State.

ATLANTA -- Two top teams took to the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday - and they brought thousands of fans right along with them - 76,330 to be exact.

The first college game in the shiny new stadium took place between two heavy-weight teams - number one-ranked Alabama and number three-ranked Florida State.

Amazing ??#MBStadium #CFAKickoff pic.twitter.com/c9e69nxucx

— MercedesBenzStadium (@MBStadium) September 3, 2017

The grills were fired up early as tailgaters filled the parking lots and nearby areas - all as the state-of-the-art arena towers in the background.

Some of the fans were locals but many more were tourists. All of them were excited for the game and for the many different events going on over the weekend.

"Yeah, there's a lot of stuff going on," one fan said. "There's Dragon Con and a couple of conventions going on. Buckhead was absolutely packed last night."

"It's beautiful; It's a whole lot better than the Georgia Dome," another fan said. "It's my first time coming down here. I have family here. I'll be here plenty more times."

The Crimson Tide ultimately took the honor of winning this college kickoff game 24-7.

And not far from the stadium, more than 80,000 people are in downtown for Dragon Con. It's the thirty-first year for the annual convention. The parade was Saturday morning.

But it doesn't end there. Black Gay Pride is this weekend and, on Monday, Georgia Tech will play their first game of the season - also at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Before You Leave, Check This Out