ATLANTA — Atlanta's business leaders met in the newly remodeled State Farm Arena on Thursday to tout a very bright economic future for the city.
Channel 2's Lori Wilson sat in on the 159th Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce meeting.
She said the meeting was more like a sporting event than a chamber meeting. The event included a DJ, flashing lights, big flat-screen TVs, fire shooting into the air and a lot of energy around the economic development the city is enjoying right now as well as excitement for what is to come.
In the near future, Atlanta will play host to the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, a possible soccer championship next week, redevelopment of the area known as The Gulch and more.
During Thursday’s meeting, Chamber President and CEO Hala Moddelmog honored Gov. Nathan Deal for the more than 700,000 new jobs created during his tenure and the $40,000 worth of new businesses that have moved to Georgia in the last eight years.
Leaders from various industries took part in a conversation about the city's future and making sure the prosperity the city is enjoying will be shared by all.
“It’s an opportunity to show off Atlanta in the best possible light,” said Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank.
RELATED STORIES:
“There is just so much energy, the sports, the economic mobility, the mayor, the governor. We just had everybody. It was great,” Moddelmog told Wilson.
An inclusive development was laid out as a priority for the future of the city.
Andrea Young, with the ACLU, told Wilson she wants to make sure that the prosperity the city is seeing reaches everyone.
"We want this prosperity for everyone regardless of race, regardless of their income, regardless of their religion, their sexual orientation. So, we want this new prosperity to be inclusive of all of our citizens," Young said.
The chamber also talked about hiring a new innovation expert to figure out how to move the city and all of its residents forward.
Wilson said the biggest excitement the chamber is looking forward to is Super Bowl LIII, which is 66 days away.
Cox Media Group
