Stadium deal could have Falcons back outside by 2017
Falcons owner Arthur Blank, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/DLedbetter@ajc.com)
The Falcons cleared a major hurdle today in their quest for a new outdoor stadium.
The Georgia World Congress Center Authority and the team have entered into one of those “memorandum of understanding” about the project.
Here is the stadium that Falcons provided to the AJC about the matter.
“The Georgia World Congress Center Authority commissioned and has received the results of the study performed by Populous regarding the potential for a new stadium on the Authority’s campus.
“The Authority has shared the report with us as part of our joint exploration of development options. The report addresses a number of topics that will be considered by the Authority and the Falcons as planning discussions move forward.
“We appreciate the Authority’s diligence in working through this process in a thorough and thoughtful manner. We continue to have open dialogue with the Authority on a range of topics and options, with the shared goal of working toward an agreement that is in the best interests of the community, our fans and all other stakeholders involved. At this point, no decisions have been made; therefore, we will have no further public comment at this time.”
Here is the news story on the stadium.
Check out the master plan, here.
Bundle up y’all, the Falcons could be back outside by the 2017 season.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
372 comments Add your comment
Native
February 23rd, 2011
10:51 am
I’ve been to a Falcons game every year since they’ve been in Atlanta – the hottest I have ever been was at a Falcons/New Orleans game and the coldest I have ever been was at a Falcons/New Orleans game – the outside idea ignores that the weather here is too diverse to allow support of an outdoor facility – try a Peach Bowl game in the dead of winter while rain and freezing rain makes you skip the second half if you bothered to show up at all – you know us humans are pretty smart – we created AC and heating to deal with the elements not to mention the idea of a roof – after experiencing both options since the franchise’s birth, I vote for a roof – if you absolutely must have the outdoor experience, build a retractable roof, but the idea that your not a football fan because you’d rather avoid the elements is synonymous with saying that you’d rather live in Green Bay because the weather confirms that your an NFL football fan – if it’s outdoors, I’m out
WTF
February 23rd, 2011
10:54 am
Your government in action. All the conservatives b*tch about socialism, but I’m sure they support the new stadium for AB (heck, they are the only ones who can afford the tickets). Building stadiums at taxpayer expense for the benefit of millionare owners is a prime example of socialism – tax the poor to pay for it and let the rich get a new building, and I’m sure parking, concession and naming fees. Love the Falcons and pro football for Atlanta, but not when we have to pay for it through our taxes and then can’t afford a ticket to the game.
Falcon Fans = WIMPS
February 23rd, 2011
10:57 am
Native = another whiny mangina that likes the muffin dome.
It’s really too bad that Atlanta has so few real football fans, ones that know that is is a game meant to be played by tough men in ANY weather, on a grass field…not plastic grass.
Delbert D.
February 23rd, 2011
10:58 am
Will tens of thousands of Georgia and Georgia Tech fans threaten to give up their season tickets, demanding that the schools build domed stadiums?
Roger Goodell
February 23rd, 2011
11:00 am
Alright, I convinced Arthur Blank to do this. I was in Atlanta for the Ravens game this year and noted that it was a 65 degree sunny November day. I said, “Arthur it’s a shame we have to play this game inside.” He listened. He even thinks I’m going to give him a Super Bowl. Ha Ha, like that will ever happen! Guaranteed we will lose more season ticket holders than we gain. Pro football season extends way beyond Thanksgiving folks. If you are up for sitting through meaningless games in rainy 38 degree weather on January 2nd, I guess you are happy. Build a stadium with a retractable roof. Spend the extra $$$ and make everyone happy!
FalconDogs
February 23rd, 2011
11:04 am
This is a project that makes no sense for any GA taxpayer other than Arthur Blank but it is on a path to get done and it is a huge mismanagement of government resources. This is not a football issue but a taxpayer issue. In bad economic times, it is not prudent to spend like a drunken sailor (no offense intended to drunken sailors). Will Atlanta get the Super Bowl if we build, yes, absolutely since that is the carrot the NFL holds out to cities to overspend taxpayer dollars for its team owner’s benefit. But, as any good economist will tell you, who cares? The Super Bowl is not some great economic engine. Bottom line is that the current stadium is fine and not too old. If Arthur would like a new stadium, he is welcome, like anyone else, to spend his own funds and those willing to loan him money to build this building. He will control it and get all the revenues from it. This is capitalism. Having government tax revenues pay anything better be a great deal for the government and this just isn’t a good taxpayer deal. Building large beautiful building for the same purpose every 20 years or so is a huge waste of resources. These buildings are made to last much longer and should be allowed to last for them to make economic sense. Can someone in power please shut down the negotiations by shutting off any taps to government funds or borrowing power? Please.
Genius
February 23rd, 2011
11:10 am
What we need to do here is cut the corporate tax rate so that we can take the savings from decreased taxes and give it to Arthur Blank to build a stadium. It’s brilliant!
baby
February 23rd, 2011
11:26 am
Nothing will improve in Atlanta because the leadership is recycled from election to election. Residents can’t park downtown for being booted. I’m sure those companies are seeing dollar signs all over this idea.
Crime is out of control, and the city is making million dollar payouts because of police incompetence. Atlanta is a hellhole and always will be.
johninatlanta
February 23rd, 2011
11:36 am
Positive news not just for the Falcons is the possibility of MLS coming to Atlanta. That league is on the rise, and soccer is too. The city can support 16 home games outdoors better than it can 41 hockey games indoors. MLS is on the way up, NHL is moving back into niche/regional appeal. You’ll see way more soccer gear being worn around town than hockey too.
falcons fan
February 23rd, 2011
11:36 am
I think they are wrong about the open stadium but what do the fans know they will be in there heated and dry press box I been a season ticket holder for years but it will come to the end in 2017.
Packer Fan
February 23rd, 2011
11:37 am
Sorry, but I don’t think the Falcons have enough loyal fans that will sit in 30 degree temps or rain to watch them. That stadium would be half empty in late Nov, Dec and opposing team would help fill it up during the playoffs.
Jin
February 23rd, 2011
11:40 am
Hilarious Video on Sunday Alcohol Drinking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TOM_UuQzc0
jeff
February 23rd, 2011
11:42 am
I guess I can also help raise the TV ratings, I won’t go to the new outside stadium unless it is a picture perfect day.
What a big mistake and waste of money
JSS
February 23rd, 2011
11:48 am
JohninAtlanta, I love the MLS, but that stadium as designed is a black hole for anything anything other a World Cup game or a international friendly… And those can be played in the GA Dome. They are not going to play a Cup final here! Atlanta needs a 40,000 seat multi use for futbol and other athletics… There is nothing of any consequence between Cincinnati and Orlando to meet that need. I can not for the life understand why they did not look at the Herndon Stadium corridor to Northside to make a new stadium site… It is Marta adjacent!!!
askip32
February 23rd, 2011
11:50 am
I am a welder so please build a new stadium!
benito
February 23rd, 2011
11:50 am
I want people to know there are fans out there that want an open air stadium. It’s funny, but I want to watch NFL in the elements, blazing heat or ice, and yet for the SEC Championship and Bowl Games I prefer the idea of a dome.
While MLS is intriguing, i like that the new stadium would be good enough for FIFA so the US could host the World Cup.
Freedom Lover
February 23rd, 2011
11:50 am
Hide your wallets and put on your chastity belts because the government is coming to steal your money AGAIN.
There are specific people who will benefit from the stadium. Let THEM pay for it. And don’t give me any crap about “everyone benefits” when the city gets its cut. Again, certain people benefit and most of them PAY NOTHING. Those of us who don’t benefit at all from city services constantly pay and pay and pay.
This should not be a discussion about dome, no dome, how hot atlanta is, etc. It should be about who is going to pay, and how fast the Falcons can get their damn bags packed when they realize that the citizens are tired of subsidizing their huge profits.
Blankedup
February 23rd, 2011
11:52 am
Blank never had a seat in the old stadium in the hot sun,sleet or rain.No taxpayers money,let the losers go!
Nutty Waters
February 23rd, 2011
11:54 am
700 Million Dollars. 8 games a year. Hmmmm. How dumb is this?
D. Orlando Ledbetter
February 23rd, 2011
11:56 am
Nutty Waters — 10 games a year.
Pay me
February 23rd, 2011
11:58 am
BOY OH BOY!!!! ARE THERE SOME DUMMIES ON HERE!!! You say people are not REAL football fans if they don’t want to sit in rain, cold, heat, etc. There are some people that can’t take the heat and it’s not just people that are in bad health. I was at a Jacksonville vs the Falcons game with a buddy and it was HOT! He couldn’t take it about midway thru the 2nd qtr and stood in the tunnel along with plenty of people from Jacksonville. There were people putting ice on their heads that stayed out there which included me because I wanted to sit it out since I hadn’t been in an outdoor stadium since Fulton County. My buddy is a former high school and college football player. His high school buddy that lives in Jacksonville that was at the game was a football player and he left the game!!! Throw on top of all this, the money, taxes, HOPE, ticket prices going up!!! Whose the real dummy? You so called REAL football fans and government!!!
benito
February 23rd, 2011
11:59 am
@ Falcon Fans = WIMPS
I would like to say that the Packers played all of their playoff games on the road. Not that they wouldn’t have sold out anyways. The Packers and Steelers have the mosted seasons with sellouts in the NFL. Your point just doesn’t fit here. The Packers were a hot team that won inside and outside.
I am a fan of the open air stadium, just felt like mentioning that point. I think the Falcons loss to the Packers had more to do with composure than being soft from being a dome team.
warhawk
February 23rd, 2011
12:00 pm
Great another reason not to go to the games……..please do not do it
benito
February 23rd, 2011
12:01 pm
How many people go to UGA games outside in the heat? You are all a bunch of babies. Now the taxpayers money…. that’s something to discuss. But stop whining. We live in the South because we prefer 8 months of heat to 8 months of cold. Drink water, use sunblock, and SHUT UP! Conversely, drink whiskey, dress warm and SHUT UP!
Conrad Wells Jr
February 23rd, 2011
12:07 pm
Lets win a Super Bowl first, before we start talking about a new stadium…
Pay me
February 23rd, 2011
12:09 pm
I didn’t mean to get on a RANT! But I was trying to get a point across. I could take it either way, outdoor or indoor stadium! Which one makes sense? I think this is a no-brainer for anyone with common sense!!! An indoor stadium with a retractable roof is the way to go!!!
James
February 23rd, 2011
12:15 pm
Season ticket holder for 6 years. Open air stadium, I will not renew. I don’t need anyone to question my loyalty to the team or dedication and enthusiasm for football because I don’t want to sit outside and experience “how football is supposed to be played.” For all those who believe that the only way to watch football – and really get the most out of it – should make sure to move their TV’s outside during away games. Give me a break. Poll the existing TICKET BUYERS and let’s then find out where the majority is at.
JSS
February 23rd, 2011
12:28 pm
And for the last time time about FIFA, this stadium will be at the end of its use by the time another North America World Cup comes along… Paris or London will 2026, then it is back to Asia or Australia for 2030… You think that stadium is still going to be a relevant selling point then?
benito
February 23rd, 2011
12:34 pm
FIFA – Yes. FIFA has some rule about the game being played in a stadium in open elements. So it would have to be open or a retractable roof. I read several times that they wanted to come back to the US, but they wanted some games to be played in Atlanta and the Georgia Dome wasn’t sufficient.
It won’t be shiny and new for the next World Cup to come to the Americas but it will meet the specifications required by FIFA.
benito
February 23rd, 2011
12:35 pm
@ James
Where are your seats? I might be interested in taking them off of your hands. Open Air stadium or Dome.
ctfalconsfan
February 23rd, 2011
12:42 pm
THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!!!
An open air stadium has been needed since Sept 1992 when this the GA Dump opened..
- if ATL wants to move down to a 65k seat stadium and Tech has a 55 or 58k stadium maybe ATL and GT can work together on a new outside stadium downtown as Grant Field is a dump..
ctfalconsfan
February 23rd, 2011
12:44 pm
James I’m a season tix holder of 21 years and yes I want an outside stadium..
I love going to away games and sitting outside and watching my falcons play..
James
February 23rd, 2011
12:52 pm
Falcon’s fans are fair-weather at best. They better keep the dome as a back up for indoor events and severe weather days. They should have sprung for the retractable roof.
JSS
February 23rd, 2011
1:18 pm
Latino, the Indoor rule no longer exists. The USA cup in 90 and the Korea/Japan Cup were played using indoor domed cup venues… You have to natural grass and “they” prefer outdoor sites. No dome will be used for a Cup Final
JSS
February 23rd, 2011
1:20 pm
My apologies “Benito.”
Falconatic
February 23rd, 2011
1:23 pm
I’ve been a season ticket holder for 11 years. If an outdoor stadium is built w/o a retractable roof, please dont renew me and the other seven tickets my family buys every year. It seems like Mr. Blank is catering to a certain clientele so let them pony up the money and sit out in the rain.
JSS
February 23rd, 2011
1:27 pm
Why in all sake would a homeowner (Tech – Bobby Dodd) want to become a renter? No revenue. you become a 2nd class tenant. Go ask Tennessee State how badly they want to get out of the Titans Stadium. TCU and SMU can tell you why they got of that dumb deal when Jerry came along. They will play the occasional game in the new stadium…
SC and UCLA have deals that make sense off campus…
Not needed, but if they want it ...
February 23rd, 2011
1:35 pm
Atlanta has a fully functional NFL stadium that also serves multiple duties successfully hosting other events.
However, if the Falcon’s want another, then they and the NFL can fund 100% of the construction themselves. Absolutely no burden to the taxpayers of GA … whether obvious and direct or in embedded taxes when we stay in hotels, or take taxis, or eat at restaurants, etc.
Billionaire owners and millionaire players bickering over how to divy up $9billion dollars in revenue and then the NFL trying to strong arm a city into building a new stadium for the possible 1 time privileged of hosting a Superbowl …
Don’t do me any favors.
Waffle House
February 23rd, 2011
1:38 pm
Let’s have it open air, the only way to go!!!
MSTC-1
February 23rd, 2011
1:39 pm
I agree that the Falcons should have a new stadium if they want one. But they should also have to pay for it (building and upkeep). The taxpayers SHOULD NOT be require to foot ANY of the bill!!!
outside air
February 23rd, 2011
1:41 pm
media and rich corproate fatcats—-sit inside comfy boxes, eating filet and drinking jack daniels. Regular chumps—sit outside in the rain and cold and drink $8 beer. I like this equation.
BEVO
February 23rd, 2011
1:49 pm
I don’t want to pay for it…it’s too hot. No it’s too cold…I might have to walk….i can’t see enough replays….wahhhhhhh.
Caged
February 23rd, 2011
2:03 pm
Stendek if you’re out there you may want to check in the Cage and pay your final respects to Sarah B.
doob
February 23rd, 2011
2:11 pm
I love the Falcons. I’ve beena fan as long as I can remember & have had season tix for quite a few years. I don’t mind the open air stadium idea. I like a retractable roof better but open air is fine. That being said…with our lazy, easily distracted fan base – you know…the ones that can’t make it to the game on time, the “fans” that cut & run at the first sign of adversity, quibble over roster changes, demand outrageous free agent signings and criticize the minutia of team & the organization before, on & after game day. Those folks? Yeah. They’re gonna but tickets to sit in the heat/rain/cold. Sure they are.
fan
February 23rd, 2011
2:14 pm
I will not renew my season tickets if it is outdoors. I love football but not enough to sit outside in the heat in Sept or cold in the winter.
benito
February 23rd, 2011
2:50 pm
JSS
I mean the World Cup is really something that may or may not happen. I would be nice to have a stadium with a retractable roof or open air to help convince them, but I’m not really interested in doing all of this to just to maybe host one pool of games at a World Cup.
Even as a fan of having an open air stadium, I have a hard time justifying spending tax dollars on it. I do think a stadium like Qwest Field in Seattle would be cool. open-air but 70% of the seats are covered.
Hamad Meander
February 23rd, 2011
3:06 pm
No no no no no. If Arthur Blank wants to own a stadium, the State of Georgia needs to sell him the Dome at market value. then he can configure the box seats and corporate areas anyway he wants to and rent it out for concerts, SEC games, etc. The Dome is a fine venue for football and it is well located for big events.
It would be STUPID for the City of Atlanta to have two NFL-class stadiums. Put a huge screen in the Dome and fix it up some, but don’t leave it for an outdoor stadium.
If Arthur wants a new stadium, it should come 100% from private funds. No hotel taxes, no public money, no rental car taxes, no bonds or leases or backroom deals. You want it, you build it.
Hamad Meander
February 23rd, 2011
3:20 pm
The argument should be whether or not football is supposed to be played indoors or outdoors. The issue is that the Falcons have a home that is more than adequate. If they currently had an decent outdoor stadium and they were proposing a Dome, the same lunacy would be in place. I see stadiums in Jacksonville, Nashville, and other cities still idle during the offseason. The Dome is used over 250+ days a year and it functions fine hosting all sorts of different events. So it can’t host soccer? Is soccer really a good reason to build a $700,000,000 stadium? Hell no!
Sorry I am really opinionated on this subject. Keep the Dome.
North FLA Falcon
February 23rd, 2011
3:26 pm
Changing the subject — wondering if the Falcons are going to move on Jeremy Shockey.
Sam
February 23rd, 2011
3:44 pm
I don’t know of any College or University that gets taxpayer money to build a football stadium – why should the NFL get a taxpayer subsidy ??