Soccer leaders looking to transform abandoned football stadium in northwest Atlanta

An abandoned stadium could be the new home of a state-of-the-art soccer facility. It’s located in Northwest Atlanta, just north of Clark Atlanta University and west of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

From the outside looking in, the now abandoned Alonzo Herndon Stadium doesn’t look like much. But Bunmi Jinadu with United Soccer USA Africa said it has so much history. “This is a historic site. This is the Alonzo Herndon Stadium. It’s named after the first Black millionaire in Atlanta,” said Jinadu. It was also used as a stadium in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. “But ever since then it’s been abandoned,” said Jinadu.

Jinadu said his team conducted a study on this stadium and the area and soccer leaders said the stadium has potential. That’s because it sits right in the heart of the Atlanta University Center (AUC).

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium is up the street. “I see this stadium being a training ground for teams that come and play friendly matches with men and women during the FIFA window. I see collegiate soccer. I see international soccer coming from across the globe. We have the busiest airport in the world,” he said. Jinadu said the stadium could possibly bring millions and millions of dollars to the area and the city.

“Those economic dollars could be used to build up this community,” said Jinadu. They plan on presenting all of the data to the U.S. Soccer leadership. The U.S. Soccer Federation announced that they plan on moving their headquarters to Atlanta ahead of the 2026 World Cup Games. “That in itself makes Atlanta the epic center for soccer in America and we need to be prepared for that,” said Jinadu.

Jinadu said Clark Atlanta University owns the property and his team will present the proposal to Clark Atlanta University for them to consider selling the stadium. As far as how much this project will cost, Jinadu said there are investors already lined up to split the bill. We’re talking between $15-$100 Million.