Downtown Atlanta has hosted its share of premiere sporting events. The area is commonly considered a prime location for many of these events because of the attractions and accomodations of the local area, which has undergone a major renovation over the past decade.

Among the major tourist attractions of the area include the Centennial Olympic Park (a reminder of the very successful 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic games), and the CNN center, home to the country's largest cable news network. Throw in the newly opened Georgia Aquarium (world's largest aquarium), and the future location of the World of Coca-Cola Musuem, and the entire area is a bustling tourists dream. The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce even sits above the Centennial Park, as if symbolizing the increased revenues that the city receives when major sporting events select this area for its events.

Just north of this downtown area is Georgia Tech's campus, a prime location to see ACC football and basketball. The Varsity, just a block from campus and two blocks from the football stadium is one of the nation's top quick-service restaurants, a sports fanatics dream, fast, greasy food.

The Georgia World-Congress Center is the city's largest convention center, and is a fabulous location to house many fan fest events, like those held for the Peach Bowl, Super Bowls, SEC championships, and all-star games. Even the MLB all-star fan fest was held here despite the fact that Turner Field is miles away.

Phillips Arena, directly adjacent to the CNN Center and a major stop along Atlanta's MARTA west line, is home to both the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers. While both have been struggling franchises for many years, the Arena is first-rate and has recently hosted the NBA all-star game and was selected to host to the lockout-cancelled NHL all-star game.

The Georgia Dome is a large facility that hosts some of the most exciting events in Atlanta. The home of the Atlanta Falcons for over 10 years now, this dome hosted both the basketball and gymnastics events in the Olympics that both resulted in gold medals for the United States. The Super Bowl has been played on the Dome's artificial turf many times and is annually among the finalists for Super Bowl Host contention. The SEC has commonly played both its football and basketball championship events inside the dome, and the Final Four for both Men's and Women's basketball have been played here as well. The Sugar Bowl, a major BCS bowl game is also being played here as a substitute location for the Katrina damaged Superdome in New Orleans.

The major renovations to this local area have made Atlanta one of the premiere cities in the country to host major sporting events. Because of the tourist attractions within walking distance of these sporting venues, the city should continue to be among the many considered to host these events for years to come.