Centennial Olympic Stadium Stadium

Centennial Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, was the main stadium for the 1996 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. It served as the primary venue for the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies and athletics competitions.

The stadium held about 85,000 spectators during the Olympics and was built with an athletics track and temporary seating to reach that capacity. After the Games the facility was reconfigured into a baseball stadium known as Turner Field, and later adapted again for use by Georgia State University football.

Constructed in the mid-1990s specifically for the Atlanta Games, the venue was planned from the outset for conversion to a long-term sports facility following the Olympics. Its post-Olympic conversions have been a major part of the site’s history and use.

The stadium sits in the Summerhill neighborhood just southeast of downtown Atlanta, within the city’s urban core and near other sports and cultural venues.

• Olympic capacity: Seated roughly 85,000 spectators during the 1996 Olympic Games.
• Post-games conversions: Reconfigured after the Games into Turner Field for Major League Baseball and later adapted for college football use by Georgia State University.

The Olympic site is in downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park. By MARTA (metro), get off at Five Points or Peachtree Center and walk (roughly 10-15 minutes) to the park and stadium precinct. Numerous city buses serve the area and rideshare services are plentiful.

• If visiting the Olympic Park complex, check schedules - the stadium and surrounding sports facilities sometimes host events that limit access.
• Note the stadium's post-Olympic history: parts of the site were redeveloped into Turner Field and later converted for other uses - local tours often explain the 1996 legacy and controversies.
• Combine a visit with nearby Centennial Olympic Park, which is a short walk and has plaques and memorials describing the 1996 games.