As usual for Final Fours in football stadiums, the NCAA's temporary seating system will be installed on top of much of the permanent lower-level seating bowl to improve sight-lines and extend the seating almost to the court. Although the exact capacity hasn't been determined, the NCAA expects it to top 80,000.
"It looks like we can break the (Final Four attendance) record here," White said.
The record is 79,444 for the semifinals of the 2014 Final Four at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium.
Another issue in preparing Mercedes-Benz Stadium for basketball is covering the wall of windows behind the east end zone.
At Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium, site of last season's Final Four, extensive curtains were installed to maintain uniform lighting for the games and team practices. In Atlanta, organizers say they have found a less expensive solution: Pleased with the look of the Super Bowl LIII graphics that covered the stadium's wall of windows earlier this year, they plan to do something similar with a thicker material for the Final Four. That will serve the dual purpose of branding the exterior of the building for the event and blocking out light, Adkins said.
The 2020 Final Four dates are April 4 (semifinals) and April 6 (championship game).
