ATLANTA — Centennial Olympic Park will no longer host large music festivals because of all the wear and tear they cause to the park, administrators announced this week.

Since 2015, thousands of people have descended on the park for events like Shaky Knees, Sweetwater 420 Fest and One Musicfest.

“Around the time of the pandemic, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, which has overseen the park since it was built for the 1996 Olympics, had a change of heart,” Jennifer LeMaster, Chief Administrative Officer for the GWCC, said.

LeMaster said it costs between $2 and $3 million a year to operate the 22-acre park. Costs include public safety, landscaping, maintenance and staffing.

After each big event, the park had to re-seed the grass, and “big portions of the park had to be closed off until the grass recuperated.”

“It became a question of access,” LeMaster said.