Georgia Dome crews prepare field for final game

ATLANTA — Crews were hard at work inside the Georgia Dome Wednesday, preparing the field for Sunday’s NFC championship game between the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers. It’s the Falcons' final game in the Dome.

A fleet of tractors rolled across the field in a process called grooming.

"Once that field goal went through in Dallas, the realization hit. OK, let's turn the switch on and get on the road to host this weekend,” Georgia Dome spokesman Jason Kirksey said.

A few floors up, a few Falcons fans claimed their tickets.  Amy Sinclair picked up a pair paid for by her brother.

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"He's bringing his daughter. She is 17 and also a huge Falcons fan," she said.

"He loves his daughter more than the Falcons, right?" Channel 2's Berndt Petersen asked.

"It's a really close second,” Sinclair said.

Back on the sidelines, the crew used the tractors to compress tiny balls of rubber back into the artificial turf.

The rubber was kicked up during the Seattle game.

Kirksey said the work is the same for any given Sunday, but this just happens to be the last Sunday in this stadium for the Falcons.

"Whether it's the first time they came here, or when they saw the Falcons for the first time, or their favorite SEC football team play here, I think everyone has a memory about this building and that's what makes it so special,” Kirksey said.

On Thursday, the Georgia Dome crew will paint the end zones and logos on the field.  It’s an eight-hour job.

Cox Media Group