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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;ATLANTA \u2014 The SEC Championship Game is staying in Atlanta.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;SEC commissioner Greg Sankey announced Tuesday that the league will play its title game at the new Mercedez-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta for 10 years, part of a new deal beginning with the 2017 season that runs through \u201926 season. In a press conference at the College Football Hall of Fame, Sankey praised Atlanta as \u201Cforward thinking,\u201D and said the SEC is proud to continue its partnership with the city.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe are thrilled to be carrying that legacy forward in Mercedes-Benz Stadium,\u201D Sankey said. \u201CI think our best days are ahead.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The SEC\u2019s new 10-year deal includes two five-year extensions in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will be the new home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and remains under construction. Falcons owner Arthur Blank, also in attendance at Tuesday\u2019s press conference, said the stadium is about \u201C35 percent\u201D complete.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"This is symbolic of the kind of long-term relationship we want to have with these events,\u201D Blank said.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Atlanta\u2019s Georgia Dome has hosted the SEC Championship Game for 21 years beginning in 1994. The league will keep the title game in the dome for the next two seasons while Mercedes-Benz Stadium undergoes construction. By the end of the SEC\u2019s new deal, Atlanta will have hosted the conference title game for 43 years.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Asked if the SEC seriously considered hosting the conference title game elsewhere, Sankey cited the league\u2019s trust in Atlanta, as well as Blank and Falcons ownership. Sankey described the decision to stick with Atlanta as \u201Crelatively simple.\u201D Since its Georgia Dome debut, the SEC Championship Game has generated more than $1 billion for the city of Atlanta.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After the press conference Sankey wouldn\u2019t comment on other championship sites the conference considered. \u201CWe\u2019re focused in Atlanta,\u201D he said.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The process of extending the SEC\u2019s footprint in Atlanta was a couple of years in the making, according to Sankey. \u201CWe received updates before there were shovels in the ground about the plans and direction,\u201D he said.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mercedes-Benz Stadium will mirror the Georgia Dome\u2019s current capacity of around 75,000 fans. Sankey said technological advances available in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, from signage to video screens, should allow for a more immersive experience for fans.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWhat\u2019s been presented to me really is incredibly innovative compared to that to which we are accustomed,\u201D Sankey said.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The SEC last hosted its basketball tournament in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome in 2014, and on Tuesday Sankey wouldn\u2019t rule out doing the same in Mercedes-Benz Stadium at some point. But last March the SEC kicked off a long-term agreement with Nashville\u2019s Bridgestone Arena, keeping the basketball tournament in the Music City in three-year spurts (2015-17, 2019-21, 2023-25) through 2026. (The tournament will take place in St. Louis in 2018 and Tampa in \u201922).\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sankey said the league hopes to maintain the arena atmosphere for basketball. Thus, no immediate plans exist to move the tournament to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But as for football, the SEC is excited for what lies ahead.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe vision is to build the world\u2019s leading facility,\u201D Sankey said. \u201CWe\u2019re going to have a platform for our teams, our student athletes and our fans that they can enjoy.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/09/08/sec-championship-game-moves-mercedes-benz-stadium-atlanta>