With superstar concerts and NBA playoffs, here’s how to get around downtown Atlanta this weekend

Audrey Washington
·2 min read

Tens of thousands of fans are expected to flood into downtown Atlanta over the next few days for three blockbuster events.

The Atlanta Hawks are gearing up for Game 6 of the NBA playoffs and superstars Janet Jackson and Taylor Swift are taking the stage for concerts.

Janet Jackson was set to perform on Wednesday and Thursday nights at State Farm Arena, but a Hawks win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night pushed the concert back to Friday night. The same night as Taylor Swift’s first concert of her three-night stop for The Eras Tour at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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“It’s going to be magical and enchanting,” said Taylor Swift fan Kayce Hochevar.

Hochevar and fellow Swift fan Alexandra Bringham both plan to take MARTA to avoid traffic.

“We plan on taking MARTA from Midtown to Five Points and then walk over to World Congress Center,” Hochevar said.

“We’re going to meet at one of the stations and then probably get off at the vine city stop,” said Bringham.

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Channel 2′s Audrey Washington spoke with MARTA’s Director of Rail Transportation Jorge Bernard about how they plan to account for the masses of people in one area.

“We are providing additional service on our rail service. So we’ll provide service at the beginning of the events and the end of the events,” said Bernard.

“We’re not going to want to sit in a huge line of people trying to drive out of the stadium, so it’ll be faster for us to take public transportation,” Bringham said.

The Atlanta Police Department will also have officers in the area to direct traffic and control the crowds.

Fans are asked to arrive early and purchase round-trip MARTA tickets to help keep traffic as low as possible.

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