A group of Kirkwood residents say the roar of music and DJs coming from a professional football league at the Pratt-Pullman District is disrupting their quality of life. The noise, however, is just one of many concerns they say they have about the redevelopment of the former industrial complex.
The Kirkwood Neighbors Organization requested last month in a letter to Mayor Andre Dickens and the City Council that the city grant more resident input and oversight into what kind of uses are permitted at what was formerly known as Pullman Yard. The 27-acre historic landmark district on Rogers Street, just south of DeKalb Avenue, is owned by Atomic Entertainment which promises to transform the site into an arts hub. Pratt-Pullman District is known for its immersive Van Gogh and Picasso art exhibits, for example. The Atlanta Opera is closing out its season at Pratt-Pullman beginning June 2.
The Kirkwood Neighbors Organization appeal follows months of complaints from area residents to city officials and to the property owner about the blaring music and loud announcers from Fan Controlled Football, or FCF, games. The games began in April and are played weekly inside a massive 85,000-square-foot temporary, hangar-like structure standing adjacent to Building 1, the “cathedral” building known for holding the immersive art exhibits.
The FCF regular season wrapped up over Memorial Day Weekend, but the semi-finals are set for June 4 with the championship game to be played on June 11. Several people living close to Pratt-Pullman District said they often have to shout to be heard in their homes and their windows and floors vibrate because of the noise emanating from the football arena.
“I don’t think anyone thought we would be exposed to a boombox every weekend for so long,” said Susanne Blam, who lives on Locust Street, less than a mile from Pratt-Pullman District.
Atlanta Intown obtained a February letter from Tom Cappello, president and executive producer of Atlanta-based Crazy Legs Production, to Doug Young, assistant director for the city’s Office of Design, Historic Preservation Studio. Crazy Legs Production was issued a license by Atomic Entertainment to produce FCF at Pratt-Pullman District.
The letter states because Crazy Legs Productions is a film and TV production company and because it received approval from Atomic Entertainment to build a temporary “tent structure” on private property, it was not required to obtain a city building permit.
“[T]he structure is a temporary production set that will only be used for production and production support. This is our ‘Thunderdome’ style set to house our live game show,” Cappello said.
FCF is a professional indoor football league where fans call key plays and participate in drafts. The league’s first season in 2021 was held at the Infinite Energy Arena in Gwinnett County. The league moved to Pratt-Pullman District this year and games are produced and filmed by Atlanta-based Crazy Legs Production. The games are broadcast on streaming platforms Twitch, NBCLX, DAZN, FuboTV and Peacock. A third season is in the works and Kirkwood residents said they worry FCF will again be played in their neighborhood.
A football league was not approved as part of any master plan for redevelopment of the site reviewed by neighborhood groups, according to Blam and several other area residents. But because the league is broadcast via several streaming platforms, the city has told residents it is considered a film production — a use that is permitted as part of the property’s redevelopment plan.
A representative from Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari’s office told members of the Kirkwood Neighbors Organization at its regular meeting in May that the massive FCF tent is legally permitted as a film studio. But the representative added that because FCF is also a live sporting league, the city legal department determined it is exempted from the noise ordinance that requires loud noise to cease at 11 p.m.
Several residents say Bakhtiari’s involvement has helped lower the FCF noise. But they add that they worry the indoor football league sets a precedent for other uses not approved for the Pratt-Pullman District to be built on the property.
Request for comment from Atomic Entertainment, Crazy Legs Productions and Fan Controlled Football were not returned. Requests for comment from Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari were also not returned.
“I think for all of us, one of the biggest frustrations is that there’s just not a lot of answers and people are not being very forthcoming,” Blam said. “Our fear is that what happens if this is not temporary? Is this going to be our life?”