Atlanta is preparing to be the first city to host the college football championship for a second time, but it is just one of several major sporting events Atlanta will host over the next few years.

Channel 2′s Michael Doudna looked into how much money the city expects to see as games like this come through.

Thousands of people are heading to Atlanta for Monday’s College Football Playoff Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame. And those people will fill up hotel rooms, eat at restaurants, visit tourist attractions and more before the game.

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College Football Playoff Executive Director Rich Clark says while weighing where to have a game, they look for things like a state-of-the-art stadium, places to stay and things for people to do.

“You are looking at the whole picture. You want to look at the landscape of that city and what they offer to an event like this,” Clark said. “It’s all about connectivity, it’s all about being in the center of the attractions, in the center of downtown.”

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Joe Brocherer with the Georgia World Congress Center says this is not an accident. He says the city has worked to capitalize on the international spotlight from the 1996 Olympics to create a downtown to keep big events coming back.

“It’s a massive economic driver for us. Everything we look at is about economic impact and what it means,” he explained.

Economists project this weekend to bring in $75 million. Projections for the 2026 World Cup say the city could see more than half a billion dollars.

But part of this means continued development to make downtown Atlanta even more attractive for future businesses and conventions.

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