SEC Championship draws big crowds

Tens of thousands of college football fans rolled into Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game Saturday at the Georgia Dome. The conference title matchup pits No. 1-ranked Alabama against No. 14-ranked Missouri. The 4 p.m. game is sold out with an expected attendance of 74,000 fans."Obviously this is one of the biggest annual events we host here at the Georgia Dome. All of the parking we have with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority is sold out online already. So if you don't have one in your hand already, the best advice is to walk from the hotel district or take MARTA," said Georgia Dome spokesman Jason Kirksy before the game.

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau predicts the economic impact from the championship game will exceed $39 million. Channel 2's Tom Regan visited some of the souvenir merchandise vendors who set up tents near Centennial Olympic Park."I think we're going to do very good. We have received a lot of Missouri fans yesterday and today," said vendor Lynette Hutcherson Friday.One of those visitors said his group will take in other attractions besides the game. "We're going to do the VIP tour over at the CNN Center later today, and we're also going to be at the the World of Coca-Cola tour afterward," said Missouri fan Steve Gold.Atlanta police had additional officers on hand to control the crowds. The director of SEC ticket sales advised the public to be wary of counterfeit tickets.

"We've always had a good many counterfeits in the past years, so we just want to alert fans to be cautious," said SEC director of ticketing Jim Sullivan.Sullivan showed Regan the special embossed features on championship tickets that makes them difficult to duplicate."The white lettering on the ticket is raised. If you rub your finger over it, you can tell it's raised. And another way, of course, is the hologram in the foil. If you tilt the ticket, you're going to see SEC logos appear and disappear," said Sullivan.A ticket validation window was open at the Georgia Dome where fans can have tickets authenticated prior to the game.

Prepare for rain this weekend

Severe Weather Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Glenn Burns says a cold front will move in Saturday. Rain poured down throughout the morning, but had mostly moved out of the metro area by 1 p.m. Saturday. Click here to watch the full forecast. Track conditions in your area with the Severe Weather Team 2 app.

Avoid congestion, take MARTA

Channel 2 Action News crews will also be keeping an eye out on congestion near downtown Atlanta. Download the WSB-TV traffic app to avoid the hot spots.

Source: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/sec-championship-bring-traffic-parking-issues/njMdB/