Mexico v Paraguay | Hopping across The Pond

International Friendly Match

Saturday 28th May 2016

Kick off 17.00 Actual 17.40

Mexico 1 Paraguay 0, attendance 63,049

32′ 1-0 A. Guardado

@ Georgia Dome

1, Georgia Dome Drive Northwest

Atlanta, GA 30313

$44 admission + $9.30 fees, Print at home ticket

No programme.

Another trip done as a day return, this time courtesy of Delta Airlines. With a 22.20 flight back to Dallas, this was always doable, even allowing for the fact that games involving Mexico always fail to kick off on time, but as this is now the norm, then easy to allow for it in planning. The Atlanta Subway, known as the MARTA, runs from the airport, with both the Georgia Dome and Philips Arena, home of the N.B.A.’s Atlanta Hawks, using the same station. The basketball arena is right outside, whilst the football stadium is a couple of hundred yards further on. The cheapest ticket avaiable, transport wise, was the $10 day ticket. Very good value for transport to and from an airport.

Georgia Dome is home to the Atlanta Falcons of the N.F.L., although they are due to move in to the brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the 2017 season, which will also be home to the new M.L.S. franchise Atlanta United. The new stadium is well underway and is hardly a ‘move’ at all, as it is probably only 100 yards from the current stadium.

When it opened in 1992, the Georgia Dome was the largest fully covered stadium in the world by capacity, although now surpassed. Capacity is 74,228 these days, although the stadium has held 80,892 for an SEC American Football Championship Game in 2008. The stadium will be demolished once the Mercedes- Benz Stadium is up and running, thus becoming a car park and new 800 room hotel.

Once again the Mexican support turned out in huge numbers. Both these countries are warming up for next months Copa America Centenario, being held outside South America for the first time, here in U.S.A., to celebrate 100 years of the tournament. Mexico will certainly fancy their chances of reaching the semi final at least, having not lost since a defeat to Ecuador in a Copa America match in June 2015, a run now stretching to 18 matches, including friendlies.

With the help of gaining an hour due to the time zone and a prompt pick up at the airport by the other half, I was home for midnight.