Major League Baseball awarded Atlanta the All-Star game in the year 2000, making Atlanta the only city to host both an NFL Championship game and All-Star game in the same year. The last time Atlanta hosted an All-Star game was 1972.

"Atlanta is definitely on a winning streak, but the competition for these sporting events is heating up," said Atlanta Sports Council President Gary P. Stokan. "Successes like the All-Star game help Atlanta keep a foothold on it's reputation as the sports capital of the world by securing at least one mega event each year."