With critical milestones achieved at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and overall construction on track for its opening on August 26, the process of decommissioning the Georgia Dome has been restarted. The date for implosion of the Dome has been set for Monday, Nov. 20 at 7.30 a.m. eastern time. The major work of stripping and preparing the Georgia Dome for implosion will begin in earnest over the next two weeks. The Atlanta Falcons will host the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL preseason game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 26 as the first major event in the new stadium.

As announced in late April, the site of the Georgia Dome will become a green space known as The Home Depot Backyard. It will serve as parking and tailgating areas on game days for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United of MLS. The 13-acre site will be activated as a community space on non-game days throughout the year once complete.

“Significant progress on Mercedes-Benz Stadium is achieved every day and we’ve hit a few exciting milestones on the roof over the last week,” said Steve Cannon, chief executive officer of AMB Group, LLC. “With strong confidence, we’ve asked the contractors to move forward getting the Georgia Dome ready for implosion on Nov. 20.”