As if there were ever any doubt, the SEC championship game will remain where it’s been for the past decade and a half well into the future.
The conference announced Friday afternoon that they have reached an agreement to keep the title game at the Georgia Dome for an additional two years. With five years remaining on a deal consummated in July of 2009, it means the title game will remain at the Dome through the 2017 season.
“The SEC Football Championship Game continues to be one of the premiere college sports events,” commissioner Mike Slive said in a statement. “The Georgia Dome and the Georgia World Congress Center has shown year-in and year-out that it is an outstanding host for our event.”
“We are both excited and honored that the SEC wants to keep their football championship in the Georgia Dome and the City of Atlanta,” Dome General Manager Carl Adkins said. “This event is the most prestigious football championship in all of college football and we are thrilled to keep the game in the Georgia Dome for many years to come.”
While the first two SEC title games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., the title game has been held at the Atlanta facility every year since 1994. 16 of those 17 games have sold out.
Per the release, the annual event has generated over $702 million of economic impact to the city of Atlanta since 2000.