The company handling the fixtures sale for the Georgia Dome will open the building Monday and Tuesday for qualified bidders who want to inspect items before the sealed-bid auction. Schneider Industries will only allow those who are interested and able to bid into the building by appointment next week. Bidders are expected to be businesses and other institutions.
Josh Bussmann, who has handling arrangements for Schneider, said there has been solid interest in bidding. And he wants as many bidders as possible. Fans and sight-seers should stay away. “There are people coming,” he said. “You have to make an appointment, you can’t just show up.”
And this isn’t the auction where fans can get one last look at the Dome while trying to pick up a piece of memorabilia. That sale will come later, but Bussmann had no date. “We will see what happens,” he said when asked if he expected to sell everything. “Everything in there is available.”
The two video boards are among the items for sale. The boards were installed in 2008 and are almost 2,400 square feet each. Smaller scoreboards and other displays also are for sale. Then there is the more mundane. Things like generators, suite furniture and restaurant equipment also is for sale. Bulk seats for other stadiums are on the list. Bidders are encouraged to bid on combinations of items. “We will look for bids for the highest and best value,” Bussmann said. There will be no reserve bid on any item.
Schneider will accept bids until 4 p.m., June 9, and winners will be determined by June 14. Items will be removed from the Georgia Dome over the next few months.
This auction originally was scheduled for earlier in the spring, but it was delayed when it appeared there was a slight chance the Georgia Dome would be needed for some Falcons preseason games. Now, Mercedes-Benz Stadium is back on schedule for completion before the preseason home opener.
Bussmann refused comment on if the delay impacted the sale. “We were obviously delayed,” he said. “I can’t comment on why.”
