Atlanta Is the #1 Sports Business City in America. NYC Is Second.

Sports Business Journal just ranked Atlanta the #1 Best Sports Business City in America. Over New York. Over Los Angeles, which finished sixth.

This is not a fan poll. This is 120 sports business executives, 2,384 markets evaluated, and 540,000 data points. Industry consensus. The kind of ranking that doesn't care what you think — it just counts.

In 2023, Atlanta was #5. Three years later it's #1. While New York was being New York and LA was being LA, Atlanta quietly built something no other American city can match right now.

The receipts: 8 FIFA World Cup matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — including a Semifinal — starting in 8 days. The best record in baseball (44-21) playing at Truist Park. A $5 billion mixed-use development going up next to State Farm Arena, which Billboard ranked the 7th busiest arena on the planet. A Super Bowl locked in for 2028. A $250M U.S. Soccer National Training Center opened this May in Fayette County. Arthur Blank owns the Falcons, Atlanta United, and the stadium. Delta, Coca-Cola, and Home Depot sponsor every venue in the city.

The top five: Atlanta, New York City, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Minneapolis-St. Paul.

LA is sixth.

Atlanta went from #5 to #1 in three years. The city wasn't waiting to be discovered. It was building.

Name a better sports city right now. I'll wait.