| Sports |
Games of the XXVI Olympiad |
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| Atlanta has a rich sports history, including the first intercollegiate
football game in the South, Auburn vs. Georgia in 1892. Currently
it hosts college football's annual Peach Bowl and the Peachtree
Road Race, the world’s largest 10K race. Atlanta was the host
city for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics. Centennial Olympic
Park was built for 1996 Summer Olympics, in a downtown area
of dilapidated buildings. It is now operated by the Georgia
World Congress Center Authority. |
The Atlanta Braves play at Turner Field, part of the former Centennial
Olympic Stadium |
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| The city is also host to four different major league sports.
The Atlanta Braves baseball team has been the Major League Baseball
franchise of Atlanta since 1966; the franchise was previously
known as the Boston Braves (1912-1952), and the Milwaukee Braves
(1953-1965). The team was founded in 1871 in Boston, Massachusetts
as a National Association club, making it the oldest continuously
operating sports franchise in North American sports. The Braves
won the World Series in 1995 and have had an unprecedented run
of thirteen divisional championships since 1991. Before the
Braves moved to Atlanta, the Atlanta Crackers were Atlanta's
professional baseball team from 1901 until their last season
in 1965. They won 17 league championships in the minor leagues.
The Atlanta Black Crackers were Atlanta's Negro League team
from around 1921 until 1949. |
| The Atlanta Falcons American football team plays
at the Georgia Dome. They have been Atlanta's National Football
League franchise since 1966. They have won the division title
three times, and a conference championship once, only to go
on to lose to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII. |
| The Atlanta Hawks basketball team has been the National Basketball
Association franchise of Atlanta since 1969; the team was previously
known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946-1951), Milwaukee Hawks
(1951-55), St. Louis Hawks (1955-68). Their only NBA championship
was in 1958, when they were the St. Louis Hawks. |
| In 1999 the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team became Atlanta's
National Hockey League franchise. They replaced the Atlanta
Flames which had departed for Calgary in 1980, becoming the
Calgary Flames. The Thrashers have yet to make it to the playoffs.
Both the Thrashers and the Hawks play in Philips Arena. |
| The final event of the PGA Tour season, THE TOUR Championship,
is played annually at East Lake Golf Club. This golf course
is used because of its connection to the great amateur golfer
Bobby Jones, an Atlanta native. |
| From 2001 to 2003 Atlanta hosted the Atlanta Beat soccer team
of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. They appeared
in two of the three Founders Cup championships held, losing
to the Bay Area CyberRays in 2001, and the Washington Freedom
team in 2003. |
| Other nearby sports facilities include Atlanta
Motor Speedway, a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) NASCAR race track in Hampton,
Georgia. |
| Atlanta is home to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl which is played
at the Georgia Dome and matches a SEC team against an ACC opponent. |
