Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been named the host for a potential AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
The need for a neutral alternative for the AFC title game arose as a result of Week 17, when the Buffalo-Cincinnati game had to be canceled following Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s in-game collapse. With Buffalo and Kansas City played an uneven number of games, a resolution was passed to move a possible championship meeting between the top two seeds in the conference to a neutral site.
That site, as was announced on Thursday, would be the Atlanta Falcons’ home stadium. The lats time the arena played host to a neutral-site NFL game was in February 2019, when Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams took place there.
“We are heartened by the continued improvement and progress of Damar Hamlin in his recovery, and Damar and his family remain top of mind for the entire NFL community,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“We are also grateful to Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons for agreeing to host the AFC Championship Game in Atlanta should the Bills and Chiefs advance. We thank both of those clubs for their assistance in the planning process. We know, if necessary, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will provide a world class atmosphere for the competing teams, our fans and partners.”
The AFC title game will take place on Sunday, Jan 29, at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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