Good morning. This is LEADOFF, the early buzz in Atlanta sports.
Before the Georgia Dome is imploded, it will be emptied.
That considerable process has restarted following last week's decision to move forward with preparing the Falcons' former home for implosion Nov. 20.
Schneider Industries, a St. Louis-based company hired earlier this year to liquidate the contents of the 25-year-old Georgia Dome, is holding a sealed-bids sale of equipment and fixtures that won't be reused elsewhere on the Georgia World Congress Center campus.
“All available Dome facility assets, bulk seating, furniture, fixtures, equipment (and) video boards are for sale,” according to a notice on Schneider’s website.
“Memorabilia (will be) offered at a later date,” the notice states.
Assets for sale include two large video boards, LED ribbon boards, back-up generators, restaurant equipment and suite furniture. On-site inspection tours by prospective buyers were scheduled at the Dome early last week, with sealed offers for “bidder-created bulk packages” due last Friday, bids slated to be awarded by 4 p.m. today and removal of items to take place over the summer and possibly slightly beyond.
Meanwhile, online sales of Georgia Dome seats to the general public continue. Priced at $599 for a connected set of two, seats now are scheduled to be delivered by early August.
A memorabilia auction and "fan farewell festival" sale are "coming soon," according to the online sales site. In an interview earlier this year, Schneider Industries chief operating officer Dan Rosenthal said memorabilia available to fans could include Falcons lockers, pieces of Georgia Dome turf, pictures and signs, among other items.
The process of emptying and liquidating the Dome was put on hold this spring amid concerns about construction delays with Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Stadium officials announced in April that demolishing the Dome would be delayed as an insurance policy against further delays. But recent construction progress led officials last week to resume decommissioning the Dome.
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More than 500,000 homes in the Atlanta TV market watched Monday night as Golden State defeated Cleveland for the NBA championship.
ABC’s telecast of NBA Finals-clinching Game 5 posted a 21.0 rating in Atlanta, higher than in any other metered market outside the states of the participating teams. Two markets in California (San Francisco-Oakland and Sacramento) and two in Ohio (Cleveland and Columbus) drew higher ratings than Atlanta.
The rating is the percentage of households that watched on average. A 21.0 rating in the Atlanta market equals an audience of about 507,000 homes. For each of the five games of this year’s NBA Finals, the Atlanta rating was among the top six nationally and among the top three outside California and Ohio.
See more here.
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DON’T MISS …
Falcons defensive tackle Dontari Poe earned a $125,000 bonus Tuesday — for weighing less than 330 pounds. See D. Orlando Ledbetter's story here.
A lackluster home schedule and perhaps other factors affected demand for UGA football tickets. See Seth Emerson's report here.
Second baseman Brandon Phillips hopes to stay with the Braves but knows he and others could be traded. See David O'Brien's story here.
What does Ted Turner say now about the Braves' move to Cobb County? Find out here.
Just imagine Aaron Judge's bat in the heart of the Braves' lineup. It could have been there – if the Braves had made a different call with the 31st pick of the 2013 MLB draft. See story here.
