Atlanta Falcons to Use Drones to Clean Mercedes-Benz Stadium After Games

The Atlanta Falcons might be 0-3, but they are leading the sports world in something.

When the team welcomes back a limited number of fans beginning Oct. 11, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will become the first professional sports venue to use drones to clean, according to ESPN's Vaughn McClure.  

The drones will disinfect the seats, railings, and glass partitions, helping to reduce the time required to clean the 71,000-seat stadium by 95 percent. 

A Charlotte-based company, Lucid Drone Technologies, will provide Mercedes-Benz Stadium with two drones to clean the stadium, as well as a third that will be used for backup. The drones will spray medical-grade disinfectant that also will prevent bacteria and viruses from sticking to surfaces through electrostatic spraying nozzles. The cleaning solution complies with Environmental Protection Agency standards.

"The process of welcoming fans back involves actively listening and responding to their concerns, and we understand that proper cleaning and sanitization protocols are top of mind in the current environment," said Dietmar Exler, COO of AMB Sports and Entertainment, per ESPN. 

The Falcons aren't the only team with a modernized cleaning procedure this season. The Carolina Panthers are using a "germ-zapping robot," as termed by team president Tom Glick, to clean locker rooms and offices. The Xenex LightStrike Robot is 99.9 percent effective at killing the coronavirus, according to its website. When the 1-2 Panthers host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, 5,240 fans will be in attendance.