The developer of the $1.5-billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium announced late last month that the operable portion of the 14.5-acre roof will be in the closed position for the opening events, beginning on Aug. 26. “We expect to play select Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United events in the open position later this fall,” says Alison Blue, a spokeswoman for AMB Group LLC. No technical reason was given for the delayed operation of the kinetic portion of the roof. The stadium itself was supposed to have opened earlier this summer (ENR 7/24-31 p. 28).