Centennial Olympic Park is a 22-acre (89,000 m2) public park located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, owned and operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. It was built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) as part of the infrastructure improvements for the 1996 Summer Olympics. It plays host to millions of visitors a year and several events, including a summer popular music concert series, the annual SweetWater 420 Fest and an annual Independence Day concert and fireworks display.
Tornado damage to Centennial Olympic Park (base of toppled light tower visible near middle of photo)
Centennial Olympic Park, 2011
Fountain of Rings
Olympic Rings at Centennial Olympic Park
Georgia World Congress Center
The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is a convention center in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Enclosing some 3.9 million ft2 in exhibition space and hosting more than a million visitors each year, the GWCC is the world's largest LEED certified convention center and the fourth-largest convention center in the United States. Opened in 1976, the GWCC was the first state-owned convention center established in the United States. The center is operated on behalf of the state by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, which was chartered in 1971 by Georgia General Assembly to develop an international trade and exhibition center in Atlanta. The authority later developed the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which replaced the Georgia Dome. In 2017, the Georgia Dome was closed on March 5 and demolished by implosion on November 20 while Mercedes-Benz Stadium officially opened on August 26. While the GWCCA owns Mercedes-Benz Stadium, AMB Group, the parent organization for the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer's Atlanta United FC, is responsible for the stadium's operations.
The Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta
The Georgia World Congress Center on March 15, 2008 after a tornado