How is Falcons’ stadium with no taxpayer liability a problem?
Arthur Blank wanted to keep Rich McKay around to be his front man for a new stadium deal. (Curtis Compton/AJC.)
A six-pack of observations about the Falcons’ push for a new stadium, which I have absolutely no problem with (I guess that counts as one):
♦ 1. Let’s reaffirm the obvious here: Yes, owner Arthur Blank wants a new stadium so that he can make more money. With too many club seats (thousands of which go unsold at games), too few luxury suites and limited ways for Blank to generate revenue at the Georgia Dome through signage, martini bars, etc., he is at a competitive disadvantage compared to other owners, many of whom run teams that represent the Falcons’ primary competition in the NFC: Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Arizona. (Minnesota also has been pushing for a new stadium. New Orleans has been receiving concessions and is in a special situation, given the city’s economy post-Katrina).
♦ 2. We obviously have more important needs in Atlanta than a new football stadium. The Georgia Dome is not falling apart. But if Blank wants to fund this project by himself, nobody should have a problem with that. If taxpayers are willing to pass an initiative for a special hotel-motel tax to help partially fund the project, nobody should have a problem with that, either. Yes, it would be wonderful if voters could be moved to vote for a hotel tax to help raise money for education and prevent 1,500 teachers from losing jobs. But realistically, that’s not going to happen.
♦ 3. I don’t like domed stadiums. I’ve been in just about every one, and the Georgia Dome actually is one of the better ones. But I’m old school in this way: football and baseball are outdoor sports. Rain, wind, ice, snow – don’t care. I would still rather see a football game outside. The elements should be part of a football game. The thermostat should not be.
♦ 4. Can domed stadiums make more money than outdoor stadiums? No question. Officials can host basketball tournaments, split the stadium in half for simultaneous conventions and stage rock concerts in a ridiculously over-sized venue without concern of bad weather keeping fans away. But I’m going old school again. Hate basketball and concerts in 70,000-seat venues. Is this supposed to be about attendance records or fan experience? And I’m certainly not worried that the SEC championship is going to wither if the game is moved to an outdoor venue.
♦ 5. The Falcons are right to push for a downtown stadium. Suburban venues stink. They don’t have a vibe. Ted Turner’s decision to build Philips Arena downtown helped revive downtown. The fact is, Turner could have made more money by putting the arena in the northern suburbs. (His advisers were pushing for it.) But he was committed to improving downtown. I’m not at all suggesting Blank is pushing for a downtown stadium for the same reason. But in town venues definitely are cooler.
♦ 6. If you want to know why Blank retained Rich McKay even after Thomas Dimitroff was hired to replace him as general manager two years ago, this is it. McKay has tremendous knowledge about the league. But his primary function is to get a new stadium deal. McKay’s presence and his being out front in this deal create a bit of a buffer for Blank on a hot button issue.
So, do you agree and disagree with my points? And if the Falcons could get a new stadium new without any taxpayer liability, how would you feel about it?
♦
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249 comments Add your comment
Larry M
May 24th, 2010
9:50 am
Problem: the Falcons want an open air stadium and don’t want to pay for a retractable roof. Atlanta needs the roof in order to keep the SECCG, Peach Bowl, NCAA tournaments, Super Bowls, etc.
Easy solution: have Blank pay for the cost of the stadium as if it had no roof. Have Atlanta pay for the roof.
dean
May 24th, 2010
9:51 am
My brother says watching a game at the dome is like watching a game in a shopping mall.
Sonny Clusters
May 24th, 2010
9:51 am
Wait just a minute . . . don’t be so hard on Jeff. Buffets at a stadium can be high risk and the food gets cold real quick. That’s why they use Sterno and it was Sterno that caught Atlanta Fulton County Stadium on fire. Jeff could be standing in line waiting to get to some beanie weenies and while he was in line the food could be getting cold and then he would have to take a paper plate full of cold beanie weenies over to his table and try to eat and enjoy it and still watch the game and type a story or blog with us. Writing for the AJC is not as cushy a job as some of us have it made up to be.
Sunny Purdue
May 24th, 2010
10:00 am
Sonny, you are correct sir. Jeff hates a cold weenie – that is why he sits in the press-box.
Delbert D.
May 24th, 2010
10:11 am
A retractable roof really increases the price over an open stadium. Just build the stadium where people will actually want to travel on game days. The current location in downtown Atlanta ain’t it. Keep the Dome for those bowl games and championship games. Forget the Super Bowl; it’s never coming back to the Dome anyway, and why do we need it?
Flowery Branch is the place.
Old School
May 24th, 2010
10:14 am
Like the majority of opinions here, mine is: build the stadium with a retractable roof. To do so otherwise is totally brainless. JEFF, you asked earlier what things would we lose if we only had an open-air stadium? You gotta be kidding! As so many others said:
*the Final Four (men and womens every 4-5 years, not to mention the regional title games)
*SEC football and basketball championship games / ACC Basketball Tournament
*Chick-fil-A Bowl and Chick-fil-a Kickoff– sure people will still come, but how many when there is a torrential thunder/ligthening storm or cold, drenchin rain? As others have said, look at the attendance records of those December games when it was 35-degrees and rain, even if the Falcons were decent
*ultra-major concerts
*duh, the Holy Grail Super Bowl– hell, if it is hard enough to get one WITH a dome, what do you think the chances are w/o (and don’t tell me about NYC–they are getting one in their new open-air stadium because it is just that: new. And they may get another one later on. Hey, I know NYC, and Atlanta (a city I love) ain’t no NYC.
I usually agree with Jeff’s columns, but this one is way off base. Exactly how many “Old School Fans” are out there to fill up and open-air stadium on a freezing cold, rainy day? Even when the team is doing well. Once you’ve been in a dome for 18 years (damn, thats “so old” for a stadium) you will never go back.
Incidentally, I read Ken Bernhardt’s piece, he of the Ga. State College of Business and Chairman of the Atlanta Tourism Concil, and all he talks about the Falcons and how good an open-air stadium would be for them. Shouldn’t a chairman of an organization like his be a little for interested in ALL sporrs and activities that bring tourism dollars into Atlanta? But then again, if you have ever seen his mug shot in the Atlanta Busines Chronicle you might understand.
Anyway, Atlanta, if it wants to stay in the running as an annual site for MAJOR sporting and entertainment events, it absolutely has to have an arena with a least a retractable roof. To do otherwise is pure idocy! Atlanta is much more than the Falcons that play 10– count’en TEN– games here over a 365-day calendar. The MAJORITY of people who use the major arena is this town and those who come to this town for events want a facility where they can watch their entertainment in relative comfort. We have enjoyed as fans and reveled in the exposure that these major events bring to our city and state for nearly 20 years now. The genie is way out of the bottle on this and it ain’t going back in in regard to what we have become accustomed to.
As for the financing: let Arhtur build and pay for his open air stadium and let the hotel/rental car tax pay for the retractable roof. Art and you fans who love to sit “in the elements” to watch your football get what you want, and the TOTAL value that comes to our city and state that is generated by an enclosed arena continues.
And don’t tell me that if the Falcons are playing a big game in mid-December and the forecast calls for 30-degrees, rain, and 30 mph wind gusts that Art would not be the first in line to flip the switch to close the roof.
And by the way Jeff—and I usually agree with your columns–you are way off base here. And you really need to recuse yourself from this discussion. Someone who comes to the games to sit in a partially enclosed pressbox (with heaters, air conditioning, a bathroom steps away, a monitor hanging over your head, and a feed table in the next room—not to mention a private parking area a hop-skip-jump from your seat) can easily talk about enjoying football “in the elements as it was meant to be played.” Sorry, Jeff, but you are definitely on the outside looking in from your literal perspctive.
And all of the above comes from someone who has always used the following moniker on this site: OLD SCHOOL
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May 24th, 2010
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ptjackets
May 24th, 2010
10:30 am
No Tax payer money period! its time to stop all this crap. If Mr. Blank wants a new statidum let me build it and pay for it and get all the profit for it and if there is not a profit then he will sufer the loss like every other business man in the USA!
Walker, Texas Ranger
May 24th, 2010
10:35 am
I remeber going to Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, in 1991, the day after Kirby Puckett hit the homerun. The Falcons were playing the Oilers. It was about 90, felt like 110 in the stadium. Cold don’t bother me but sitting in that sweat box, never again. Nothing better than sitting next to some lard ass, sweating all over you. The other thing Jeff, you think this bunch of fair weather fans would ever go to a game when it is raining or cold or both. It will never happen. Retractible roof in the burbs with the candle stick.
Mike (Original Formula)
May 24th, 2010
10:36 am
The argument here is not about old school or new school. The argument is about major sporting events. The city of Atlanta turned out in droves to cheer on a man who a few years back flipped off the entire city of Atlanta… literally. Atlanta is not full of thousands of NFL savy fans. Atlanta is not a pro football town. Tony said it well on another blog. This is a college football town and State. College football should always be played outdoors. Pro football is better served in a dome unless you’re in a great pro football city like Pittsburgh, Green Bay, or dare I say Baltimore. Leave those stadiums as is, but the Falcons playing in a dome really doesn’t matter. The Georgia Dome can bring in lots of different events by just being what it is. So, the argument here is not about who’s old school or new school. The NFL is a money making league and the venues they play in are there to perform the same job. UGA makes money off of Sanford Stadium (outdoor stadium) every fall because they can’t sell enough tickets to games even in a bad year, in cold weather, in a recession. This is because of a gigantic following of alumni and die hard good ole boys (like me) who never went to school there, but have lived UGA football since birth. The falcons don’t have that luxury or following for one simple reason, this State is a college football State. I just can’t see a packed stadium in December, outdoors, if the Birds are fighting to finish up the year at .500.
Build Now
May 24th, 2010
10:44 am
Atlanta needs to pay for the new stadium, whatever the cost. Just raise taxes—it’s no big deal. If not, Blank and McKay will begin shopping the team around to other cities (LA, Orlando, San Antonio…) who will pay whatever it takes for a team and brand new, state of the art stadium. Atlanta has plenty of cash if they raise sales taxes for a few years, which will generate a billion that it will take to built the type of stadium that Blank and McKay want. Atlanta better hurry, before Blank gets mad.
Eric
May 24th, 2010
10:44 am
Love the Falcons and love the dome downtown. I will not sit in a cold rain to watch a football game when I can watch it in HD on my big screen in my living room. Tax payer funding…hell no!
PMC
May 24th, 2010
10:46 am
Suburban venues don’t typically have a vibe… but look at the planning of this city Jeff. Stadiums need to be in vibrant “fun” areas of the city to have an overall fun experience for the gameday fans… and there needs to be ample parking for fans that like to tailgate for football anyway.
The Georgia Dome area has become better in the past few years now that there are a few bars to go to and choose from pregame but it’s still not great. It’s not the shining city icon of a stadium that it should be and honestly despite being a very nice venue… it’s way to big for the Falcons. 70K seats would be a gracious plenty.
There just aren’t enough fun vibrant areas in the city with ample space for a stadium… then we’ve underfunded Marta so we don’t really have a great civic transportation system like in other major cities… so everyone drives….usually thier own car…. so then 85K people are driving vehicles in and out of tight combined spaces with sort of terrible downtown street routing. It’s just a mess…. so do you want vibe or do you want a nice gameday experience?
There are lots of reasons most major cities have lost thier stadiums to the burbs. There is just lack of ample space downtown to support major venues and while it looks cool I guess… it’s simply a headache to try and get thousands of people in and out without major traffic rerouting and an excellent civic transportation system.
LLOYD CHRISTMAS
May 24th, 2010
10:47 am
I’m an Atlanta fan. I like going to games with my company’s free tickets. If I get there before kickoff, that means that I have not done a good enough job chugging beer and liquor at our “tailgate”. When I do get to the game, I like to walk in and out of our row because I feel the need to drink 8 more beers and for sure get some of those yummy Nacho plates with the creamy cheese and get it all over my fingers. Hot dogs are good too, and I’ll eat four or five of those as I’m getting ready for my forth quarter beer run. Then, I like the helmet game and all of the loud noise that comes after every play. The nosie level is so intense that I usually leave 5 minutes into the forth quarter. And another thing, I’ll never watch football without air conditioning.
HugoStiglitz
May 24th, 2010
10:51 am
Im not sure that Atlanta will ever be a pro football city until we get an outdoor stadium. I know alot of long time season ticket holders, including myself, who have asked for this for years. The Dome is ok but we can do alot better.
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May 24th, 2010
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Paddy O
May 24th, 2010
10:58 am
Under this funding scenario, fine go ahead and build. But, how badly does that damage the fiscal sustainability of the Ole Georgia Dome?
Paddy O
May 24th, 2010
11:00 am
Eric – the only public funding would come from hotel/motel, which is a form of sales tax. the vast majority of locals would NOT be funding it. again, though – how would a new outdoor stadium affect the operation of the dome? still able to fund its debt load?
Jimmy B
May 24th, 2010
11:00 am
The neighborhoods around the GA Dome are not safe for Falcons fans when returning to their cars after a game. Let’s face it, I am a white dude that just isn’t comfotable walking to my car with my kids in those neighborhoods. I am not a racist, just concerned for my family’s safety. I would prefer a stadium in a safer area which to me means away from downtown. I would also like a retractable roof. September games can be very hot and december games can have inclement weather. Why not get the best of the weather and close the roof on bad weather days. One man’s opinion.
wesleywhatwhat
May 24th, 2010
11:08 am
i have no problem with blank building a new stadium for his product. get a loan and start drawing up plans. don’t forget to save some money for property taxes.
but start asking for a single dollar of public money and the conversation is a non starter.
trust – the falcons need atlanta a lot more than altanta needs the falcons.
New Stadium Now!
May 24th, 2010
11:10 am
Football was meant to be played outdoors, in the elements—rain, heat, ice, … No big deal. Atl city officials need to get going on a huge, 80,000 seat outdoor stadium with all the bells and whistles and tons of corporate suites. A 1% sales tax will easily pay for the stadium, or just raise property taxes.
ATL
May 24th, 2010
11:15 am
Jeff,
I completely agree with you!
1966 Classic
May 24th, 2010
11:19 am
You could rebuild Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Stadium real cheap.
Dawg Days
May 24th, 2010
11:31 am
Wonderful, he wants to fund it himself. How about funding the educations of untold students and saving the livelihoods of thousands of teachers?
travelqueen
May 24th, 2010
11:34 am
Enter your comments here
Gosh
May 24th, 2010
11:44 am
Gosh we have some pussified fans! I wonder if the same fans yelling “Build a retractable roof” are going to be the first in line to pay for those $5,000 – $14,000 PSL’s that come with it? Atlanta fans are fickle as they come and I’m sure Mr. Blank as well as Mr. McKay knows this. PSL’s is the last thing Falcon fans need.
Monkalicious
May 24th, 2010
11:59 am
As a season ticket holder I can tell you will always love and support my Falcons. However, if my only live viewing option is to do it in 95 degree weather with a threat of rain I will offer my love and support from my couch in front of the big screen.
Blood soaked worm
May 24th, 2010
12:01 pm
I still don’t get the continued rhetoric stating that football MUST be played outdoors. Football has been played indoors since the 70s….Wait, when did the Astrodome open? Playing the game indoors has NO ill effect on the game. People still go, teams still play and the NFL still flourishes.
This has nothing to do with not wanting to brave the elements. This has everything to do with fiscal responsibility. This like buying a new car while you are still making payments on your current car because the new car is…..Well, newer. As a season ticket holder, I don’t want to pay PSLs, or higher ticket prices just to have a brand new stadium. It’s football wherever they play it…..I just want to be able to afford it.
At 9 years old, cried my eyes out when Dallas beat ATL in the 1980 Playoffs
May 24th, 2010
12:04 pm
150% in favor of an outdoor stadium. I still miss the old Fulton County Stadium.
Hatfield Geoff
May 24th, 2010
12:06 pm
Jeff,
Retractable dome is the way to go. Sunny, Crisp, Fall Sundays are pletiful in Atlanta and great for football, but December and January are usually cold and wet not good for fans or playoff games.
Screg
May 24th, 2010
12:08 pm
Open Air Stadium! Lets Go!
Smiling Jack
May 24th, 2010
12:14 pm
Build a new open air stadium on the old Ford plant property. Let Mr. Blank and the fans pay for it not tax payers in general. Not all tax payers are fans. Conversely, not all fans are tax payers, Si.
I do believe there is a huge probelm with people wanting the government to pay for everything or to bail them out. Our nation has already traveled to far down the road to complete socialism.
PMC
May 24th, 2010
12:23 pm
How quickly we forget how awful it is watching football played on a baseball field….
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[...] Earlier today, I gave you a six-pack of thoughts on the Falcons’ pursuit of a new stadium. [...]
Love the stadium in Dallas but......
May 24th, 2010
12:30 pm
My friend (a concert lighting engineer) recently did a show at the new Cowboys stadium. He says everything there is state-of-the-art. He claims it was worth however much it cost.
What’s the catch? Parking. $60 to park. Their website shows a tailgating pass is $82.
They can’t get stagehands to work events because there’s no “production staff” parking. The guys refuse to pay $60 to show up for a $150 load out or load in. Jerry Jones missed that one.
Reid Adair
May 24th, 2010
12:34 pm
If Arthur Blank and some private entity (Home Depot or whoever) want to pay for a new stadium, then by all means, go for it. I also like the concept of an outdoor stadium (not a dome with a retractable roof). I think while Rich McKay and Blank are talking about the cost, deep down both of them may realize that football in the South should be outdoors.
I wholeheartedly agree that the new stadium, whether it replaces the Georgia Dome or not, should be downtown. Jeff, you’re absolutely right about what Ted Turner’s commitment to downtown did with the addition of Philips Arena. A new football stadium would also help.
As far as the hotel/motel tax? That might pass to help fund a dome, but I tend to agree with you, Jeff. It would seem that there are more important issues that such a tax could benefit. The problem is getting folks to commit those funds to other sources such as education.
Dejay
May 24th, 2010
12:36 pm
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The same folks who are talking about football needing to be played outdoors in the elements will likely be the same ones sitting on their couches after the first cold front hits town in mid-November, while wondering why FOX is showing reruns of COPS and M.A.S.H. instead of the game. Folks who had to deal with that upper deck at the old AFCS when the birds were 4-9 know exactly what I’m talking about.
Jeff, you ought to know better than this; Atlanta is in the big event business and would lose a ton if they replaced the Dome with a building that can only facilitate 10-15 events a year. There is a reason why the SEC title game moved here; the weather in Birmingham was absolutely miserable in ‘92 and ‘93 and the weather here is wayyyyy too unpredictable to have it in an open-air. That game would be headed to New Orleans the second after the wrecking ball hits the Dome. And if the NFL isn’t in love with the Georgia Dome (or the city for that matter) to host another Super Bowl, what odds will we have with an open-air stadium (and nope, we don’t have the cache of NYC to pull off what they’re trying to do)? The NCAA is only going to send the Final Four to towns with domes or 60,000+ seat facilities with retractables on it; you think Philips would have a shot against Jerryworld or Lucas Oil? I wouldn’t think so, either. And don’t even get me started on the Peach/Chik Fil-A Bowl; do you remember how miserable that game used to be at the old stadium? You had to drag teams (and their fans) kicking and screaming to Atlanta because everyone knew it was going to be cold, wet, windy, and miserable.
So folks, if you want to see ‘real football’ being played, I highly suggest that you get on a Delta flight to East Rutherford, Green Bay, Landover, or Pittsburgh. It’s not going to happen here; a retractable roof facility makes too much sense.
JSS
May 24th, 2010
12:42 pm
@ Georgia97…
Troll
@ the rest of the realistic bloggers
Stop looking at Cowboys Stadium as the template. The Template is Reliant Stadium in Houston. In 2002 dollars, it cost $352 million. You’re not going to have silliness like the world’s longest HD video screen. By the way, the last 3 outdoor only stadiums (Soldier Field, QWest, Lincoln Financial) constructed were only $150-200 million dollars less than the newest of the non Cowboy Stadium domes (Lucus Oil Stadium $720 million). So I don’t get where Arthur Blank and McKay are trying to sell these great cost savings between a dome and open air facilities? When concrete and steel are exposed to the elements on a permanent basis, your cost go up, not down. You have account for weathering. By the way, Daniel Synder has been pushing for a new stadium in DC, not the suburbs since 2007. Atlanta is the only place still obsessed with trying to build a stadium in the hinterlands. There have only been four non urban area stadiums built since 1982 (SunLife Stadium, U of Phoenix Stadium, Cowboys Stadium and FedEx Field) which weren’t replacing those already standing in the same area. Amazing, you got to think about that..
Rufino Linares
May 24th, 2010
12:47 pm
Why can’t the club seats be converted to luxury boxes? Spend $20 to million and convert the club seats to luxury boxes.
A retractable-roof stadium is identical to having a dome. It’s not like having an outdoor stadium. If it rains, the roof will be closed. If it’s 90 degrees outside, the roof will closed. Even if it’s 72 degrees and sunny, there really isn’t that much roof to open, so it’s like you’re half indoors/half outdoors.
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Fillin' up @ Juniors
May 24th, 2010
12:52 pm
I got an idea…how about we not build a stadium and we try winning a super bowl first…The falcons are not moving, Blank is a Home Depot man…and frankly its a dam good football city…If they do move…go to UGA and Tech games and live it up…seriously not a big deal. Say no and move on, there is little they can really and honestly do about it…Leverage people leverage…
Rufino Linares
May 24th, 2010
12:52 pm
No city with a new, outdoor-only NFL stadium gets the Final Four or an SEC Championship game (or equivalent conference title game): Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Seattle, New England/Foxboro/Boston.
Only exception I can think of is that Jacksonville gets the ACC Championship game.
Hamad Meander
May 24th, 2010
12:53 pm
Arthur wants to make more money and has a right to do so in owning the Falcons. With the city-owned GA Dome, Arthur makes less than almost all other owners. Here’s the best scenario – the city SELLS the GA Dome to Arthur at market value (let’s say $250 million). Arthur rents the Dome out for NCAA football, basketball, and other events. Makes money. Renovates the Dome with more suites and less Club Seats, and does whatever he wants to the roof. It’s a win/win. The taxpayers get $250,000,000 that the politicians can take through corruption – which means less of our property tax dollars going to that purpose. Arthur gets his own stadium, and for less than $350 – $400 million. The new Cowboy stadium cost $1,100,000,000. The Falcons stay downtown and Arthur controls the Dome 100%.
Doraville is a horrible location for a stadium. Other than MARTA stopping there, there isn’t anything else redeaming about that spot. No hotels, no shopping, no restaurants. All things that all already downtown.
Bigg Daddy
May 24th, 2010
12:55 pm
Move to an open venue, cancel my club seats I had from the beginning. If you want an open venue, go North and enjoy all the crappy weather all you purest want!
Move to the Suburbs!
May 24th, 2010
12:57 pm
The downtown atlanta area is a joke–no room for tailgating, dangerous with a bunch of homeless everywhere, no where to park. Build an 85,000 seat stadium up I-85—plenty of cheap land, local property incentives, etc. Gwinnett County will pay whatever it takes to get the falcons. It will be much easier for fans to get to the games, park, tailgate, etc. Gwinnett can just bump up sales taxes and property taxes for a few years to pay for everything. $700 million for a stadium will be a good investment for the county. Get it done!!!
Koz
May 24th, 2010
1:01 pm
Henry County has lots of space for a new stadium. Arthur Blank, Come on down.
Hamad Meander
May 24th, 2010
1:03 pm
Hosting one Superbowl isn’t a good enough reason to build a new stadium. I love the Falcons and go to at least one game every year. I LIKE the GA Dome. I like not being rained on, not sweating my butt off, and not getting sunburnt everytime I go to a game. Being in a Dome is a LUXURY, not a drawback. I have been to over 100 major football games and I will tell you the Dome experience is good.
ChicagoATL Guy
May 24th, 2010
1:04 pm
After spending most of my life in Atlanta, I moved to Chicago 3years ago and I gotta say “Now this is a real sports town”. Win or lose…Chicagoans are absolutely nuts about their sports. The Bears were horrible last year and I couldn’t get a ticket less than $100 for nose bleed seats. The experience of going to a Cubs/Bulls/Bears/Blackhawks game is night and day when compared to any ATL sports. My advice to Atlanta….A. Get rid of Dome and build a real stadium with 50-60K seats not 70,000….Get builders and businesses to build around Turner Field so fans can do stuff before and after the games. It’s not always about winning its more so about the experience. But for me I’m already a changed man I will forever be a Cubs/Bears/Bulls/Blackhawks fan!! Still love the UGA Bulldogs though…..but that ain’t ATL now is it
Born2Buzz
May 24th, 2010
1:22 pm
Jeff, how do you figure that a hotel/motel tax is not a burden on the tax payer. It’s a tax no matter how you spin it, so what that Atlanta residents aren’t getting a tax bill in the mail. If Arthur wants to fund the project 100% then he can do whatever he wants.
And willdave, you must be on Obama’s team. Just go ahead and spend the extra money. The investment will be worth it in the long run. Well, that is if we haven’t gone bankrupt beforehand.
Lank
May 24th, 2010
1:25 pm
An outdoor stadium could help the falcons get to the playoffs again. Considering falcons kickers can’t hit a field goal indoors or outdoors, the weather effect on opposing teams kickers could help us win a few extra games each season.