The College Football Playoff National Championship game will return to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2025 and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida in 2026. In an announcement Tuesday inside The Benz, it was confirmed the city of Atlanta will host college football’s biggest game for a second time.
“We are excited to return the College Football Playoff National Championship to Atlanta,” College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock said. “When the playoff was created, the goal was to move the national championship game to 10 different communities in the first 10 years of the playoff. After visiting 10 different communities during our first 10 years of existence, we accomplished our goal of sharing this celebration of college football with the entire country.”
“Bringing the game back to Atlanta was a simple decision when we looked at everything,” Hancock added. “One of our greatest title games took place in Atlanta in 2018, and the city could not have been a better host. A state-of-the-art stadium, a walkable downtown with venues to host all the activities surrounding national championship weekend and great people made Atlanta an obvious choice to be the first city to host a second title game.”
Atlanta hosted the game in 2018 as the Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Georgia Bulldogs 26-23 in a thrilling ending in overtime.
Joining Hancock for the announcement was Atlanta Falcons owner and CEO Arthur M. Blank, Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp, and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
“This is a big win for everyone involved and we are excited for the Atlanta community,” said Dan Corso, president of the Atlanta Sports Council. “As soon as we wrapped up the successful hosting of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship, we were ready and eager to throw our name back into the hat. Atlanta is accustomed to hosting major sporting events, but this event is one that fits our community really well. We are grateful to the College Football Playoff for allowing us this opportunity for a second time and look forward to officially beginning the planning process with multiple partners in the community.”
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California will host the CFP National Championship game in 2023 and NRG Stadium in Houston will be set to host the title game in 2024. Atlanta and Miami will host the College Football Playoff National Championship game, finishing out the current contract that will end in 2026. The CFP will likely to expand and open to new television partners when a new deal is signed ahead of the 2026 season. Although, it is not clear if the Playoff will expand to eight or more teams.
“We are excited that the State of Georgia and Mercedes-Benz Stadium have been selected to host the College Football Playoff National Championship for the second time in the past ten years,” said Governor Kemp. “As the premier event of the college football season, and through the collaboration of the State, City of Atlanta, and our business community, we look forward to hosting more than 100,000 guests who will enjoy Georgia’s southern hospitality and a first-class experience.”