*By Carlo Versano*
If there's one person aside from the 800,000 unpaid federal workers who is hoping the government shutdown ends soon, it's Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The mayor of Atlanta is less than two weeks away from hosting Super Bowl LIII, which is a logistical and security nightmare even when the city's airport *isn't* being slowed down by mass TSA sick-outs.
"I'm extremely concerned," Bottoms said of the possibility that the shutdown may continue through Super Bowl weekend.
Though Atlanta is "no stranger to big events" ー it has hosted Super Bowls, MLS championships, college football championships, and, of course, the 1996 Olympics ー it relies, as every city does, on government workers like air-traffic controllers and TSA agents to move people in and out of its airport, the world's busiest. Bottoms said the prospect of thin airport staffing is "quite frightening" during a week when passenger traffic is [expected](https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/by-the-numbers-what-atlanta-can-expect-as-super-bowl-liii-comes-to-town/) to increase by a full 33 percent a day, with 750 additional flights landing daily at Hartsfield Airport.
"We are most concerned about security" at the airport, Bottoms said. Stadium and game security will be handled by private contractors and a mix of local and federal law enforcement agencies unaffected by the shutdown.
Super Bowls are typically one-time economic boons for their hosts, and this year, when Atlanta will show off its gleaming, year-old stadium, could generate as much as $400 million in game-related revenues, according to Bottoms.
Dan Corso, president of the Atlanta Sports Council, added that the city has been planning for this year's Super Bowl since 2016, when it was awarded the bid by the NFL, and is particularly thrilled about flaunting its Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The venue has made headlines for its dazzling retractable roof and having the world's largest "halo" scoreboard, but it's also famous (in a good way) for its concession prices.
Fans can get a hot dog and a soda (with refills) at the stadium for $3.
"It's really the finest sports and entertainment venue in the world," Corso said.
Shutdown or not, Bottoms said the city is gearing up to host the Rams and Patriots in what is expected to be an exciting match-up, after both teams scraped by in overtime to reach the big game (and not without [controversies](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/sports/nfl-calls-los-angeles-rams-new-england-patriots.html).
"It's an opportunity for us to showcase our city in a way that we wouldn't otherwise have on the worldwide stage," Bottoms said.
"You can already feel the energy."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/stage-is-set-for-super-bowl-liii-in-atlanta).
Super Bowl Sunday is the ー well ー Super Bowl of building brand awareness, particularly for food and beverage companies. This year, Pepsi and Frito-Lay, both units of PepsiCO ($PEP), are once again among the snack giants planning to use the 100 million-plus members of the expected television audience to launch new products and elevate brands in their respective portfolios. Frito-Lay CMO Jen Saenz spoke to Cheddar Tuesday alongside Greg Lyons, the CMO for Pepsi, which is known for its Super Bowl ads and social media engagement tied to the Big Game.
Apple is planning a subscription service that would function like Netflix for games, according to people familiar with the matter. The iPhone maker has also discussed partnering with developers as a publisher, which could signal ambitions to assume distribution and marketing costs for games.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019.
Following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling year that cleared the way for sports gambling, fans in seven states can bet on the upcoming Super Bowl for the first time ー and leaders in the budding industry are anticipating the Big Game will deliver their biggest day yet. “We expect the Super Bowl to be our single biggest day in the company’s history,” Mike Raffensperger, the chief marketing officer for betting platform FanDuel, told Cheddar.
FightCamp is a new fitness company that streams boxing classes from top instructors direct to consumers. The classes can be tailored to the needs of boxers at all levels of expertise ー from newbies to punching pros said co-founder Tommy Duquette.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 25, 2019.
The New York Knicks and its jersey sponsor, the website-building platform Squarespace, are doling out assists to four local businesses as part of the second annual "Make It Awards." "Partnering with Squarespace to help those entrepreneurs get their businesses to the next level was something we were very interested in doing and it's been a major hit," said MSG Sports' senior vice president of business operations, Kristin Bernert, in an interview on Cheddar.
The Delaware Blue Coats will make their debut Wednesday night at the brand new Philadelphia 76ers Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del., and the team will share the spotlight with an arena that boasts five stories, can seat 2,500 fans, and includes three NBA-regulation basketball courts. The flashy new arena was designed to promote youth sports in the state of Delaware and the greater Philadelphia region. "It's all geared towards youth," Chris Heck, the president of the Philadelphia 76ers, told Cheddar.
The NBA is transparent about its approval of legalized, regulated sports betting ー but the league is also clearly communicating that it wants a fair share of the money wagered on its games. "It's our view that if state governments are going to be authorizing private entities, in most cases casinos, to generate significant revenue ー billions of dollars of revenue ー off of the NBA competitions, that the NBA participate in some way," said the NBA's head of fantasy and gaming Scott Kaufman-Ross.
Former Green Bay Packer Ahman Green is a four time Pro Bowler, but he's also an avid gamer. When it comes to Halo he's just another fan that looks up to professionals like Proximitty and LethuL for help with his improving his skills.
