Falcons fans: Are you willing to let it snow, let it snow …? (UPDATE: Will Bears-Vikings be moved here?)
Fans' view of last week's Bears-Patriots game in Chicago. (Don't worry. Atlanta's not this bad.)
(UPDATED below with news that the Chicago Bears-Minnesota Vikings game is considering the Georgia Dome as a fallback site.)
Hello. It’s cold outside. Do you love football enough to sit in this for three or four hours?
This topic has been going around ever since Falcons owner Arthur Blank announced that he wants to build an open air stadium. Personally, I love open air stadiums. The sounds are better. The smells are better. It just feels more like football.
Besides, I get to sit inside a press box.
Loading ...No seriously, while I’ll give you that I grew up in the not-so-brutal winters of southern California, I did sit outside through many cold and rainy games. (The hot chocolate never stayed hot in the thermos, by the way.) But I’ll grant you that I never had to sit as a fan through an outdoor game in snow or ice, at least not since press boxes were enclosed.
(I twice covered NFL playoff games at the old RFK Stadium, which had an open press box. I learned it’s difficult to type with frozen fingers and icicles hanging from your nostrils. But I do remember Furman Bisher wearing a very cool houndstooth cap.)
OK, back to the point of this blog. Would you sit in this weather for a football game? I imagine many of you have done it for a Georgia or Georgia Tech game.
But have you been spoiled in the last 18 years by the Falcons playing in a dome stadium?
Got a poll up. I’m giving you three choices. But if you’ve got some time, why not share a cold weather sports story with us. Could be fun.
(FYI, I’ve added a retractable roof as one of the three choices. But because of the significant additional cost, I’m not sure Blank considers that an option.)
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UPDATE: With the Minnesota Vikings still unable to play in the Metrodome because of its collapsed roof, there’s a chance their Monday night game against Chicago will be moved to the Georgia Dome, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Vikings’ first choice is to play at the University of Minnesota’s stadium, where workers are trying to shovel snow out of the seats, aisles and field. From the story:
The Vikings badly want to play the game in Minneapolis because Monday is the culmination of a weekend celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the franchise. Other dome stadiums have been mentioned as possibilities, including stadiums in Detroit and Indianapolis. Although they don’t have final say, the Vikings logically would be opposed to both options and even St. Louis because they know the stadiums would be filled with huge pro-Bears crowds. One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said if the game isn’t played in Minnesota the likely destination is Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.
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200 comments Add your comment
JC
December 16th, 2010
10:39 am
I consider myself a football purist, and naturally am inclined to balk at any notion of replacing the GA Dome with another dome. Upon further thought, I believe that a retractable roof makes the most sense, but that a new dome also makes a lot of sense. The ability to protect the playing surface from the elements allows the venue to be used for a variety of purposes year-round, opening up many revenue streams and not limiting it to just football. One of the main reasons the SEC loves its championship game in ATL is because weather is never a concern. The NCAA men’s and women’s b-ball tourney can be played here, as well. Other events can be held at any time of year. If we build an open air stadium, then its likely that only football and soccer can be played on it (and we now know that we aren’t getting the ‘18 or ‘22 World Cup, so it’ll only be for exhibitions). We will likely lose, at least part of the time, the SEC championship game to Nashville or Jacksonville or NOLA. The best solution is therefore a compromise – a retractable roof that allows the field to be open to the elements during good whether and can be closed during inclement weather. Natural grass can even be grown during football season and replaced during the off season. I realize the cost is higher, but you also have to realize that it will generate more revenue over the long run.
John Ellison
December 16th, 2010
10:43 am
Mr. Blank should build any type of stadium that he wants as long as he pays for it.
stand strong Atlanta
December 16th, 2010
10:43 am
I will also say that building another Dome without a retractable roof is something I disagree with even more than having the taxpayers fund it.
Then again, if the Falcons pay for it, they can build whatever they want.
Tech Rules
December 16th, 2010
10:45 am
Jeff, you should have included the option to not build a new stadium (seeing as how the current one is only 14 years old.) and simply refurbish the current one.
Joe Bob Thibodaux
December 16th, 2010
10:46 am
Jeff, I live in the deep south and I believe in natural turf.
Going to a game when it rains like bloody hell in a mud hold can be part
of the game and it impacts both teams. If I lived near Green Bay or elsewhere in thr frozen Nauth, I probably would be more or a basketball or hockey fan, but I don’t think a dome adds much to the game, it just makes the fans comfortable and perhaps lazy. Unfortunately the cost of dome stadiums adds to the cost of seeing the events too.
As I age I am becoming lazy and desirious of comfort, so I would just say, don’t let your covered enclosure to to waste. There is something a little cheesy about arena ball to me. Keep it outdoors on natural turf if possible, and cut out the TV timeouts–they ain’t part of the game.
JBT
papadawg
December 16th, 2010
10:47 am
everybody should go and buy alot more from Home Depot so Mr. Blank can build his own stadium
Bill
December 16th, 2010
10:50 am
They’re putting a retractable roof on the BC Place domed stadium in Vancouver, BC (where the CFL BC Lions play). It looks like a similar building to the Georgia Dome. Why isn’t that an option?
logic
December 16th, 2010
10:53 am
Dear Falcons and the NFL,
Pay for a new stadium or any more renovations to the Georgia Dome yourself. The Georgia Dome is having no trouble attracting other big time events at this time.
Thanks,
Falcons fans and citizens of Atlanta
stand strong Atlanta
December 16th, 2010
10:56 am
If we’re talking about putting a retractable roof on the Georgia Dome, I could possibly get on board with splitting the cost between the Falcons/NFL and the taxpayers, as it will make the stadium almost like new and greatly extend its life.
Rob
December 16th, 2010
10:57 am
As long as no taxpayer funding is involved, the Falcons can do what they want. Given the current state budget (today’s paper has an article about probable state layoffs), there should be no taxpayer funding for any stadium project. Also, the Falcons should be held to their current lease, which I think runs through 2020. The dome works fine and could be refurbished.
JD
December 16th, 2010
11:00 am
Ok, Ga Tech and Ga seasons end before the really cold bad weather hits. The old Peach Bowl was a miserable place to be almost every year because of freezing rain, etc. If the Super Bowl in 2000 had been played outdoors in Atlanta, it would have been miserable instead of one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever.
Go Franco
December 16th, 2010
11:03 am
When the Steelers built Heinz Field there was no hue & cry to build a dome. But, there, of course, we are talking about real football fans — as opposed to the fickle, ignorant posers in Flop–lanta.
Tech Fan Since 1950
December 16th, 2010
11:05 am
As “Stand Strong Atlanta” states, “if the Falcons pay for it, they can build whatever they want.” HOWEVER, using tax dollars to build an outdoor stadium for Atlanta is just plain whacky. The Georgia Dome is still a great facility. I don’t consider myself ancient, but during my lifetime I have seen Atlanta build three stadiums, including the Georgia Dome, and tear one down. I also saw the multipurpose OMNI (the modern facility of its day, and that was just the 1970’s) built from scratch and then leveled for the Phillips Arena. Atlanta has remained great because it has been progressive, but an outdoor stadium for the cold months of December and January at the expense of taxpayers is again just plain whacky and a waste of public funds.
Northern Songs LTD
December 16th, 2010
11:06 am
Schaeffer/Sullivan Stadium (Foxboro). Aluminum benches. ’nuff said.
Chris
December 16th, 2010
11:08 am
Watching a game outdoors at GT or UGA in November is a lot different than it would be in December or January during a playoff run. I really like wathing games in Domes. It takes the elements and randomness out of it and allows for the best team to win the game. If you really want an outdoor stadium then go outside, at night and stand there for 4 straight hours. Then come back and tell us if you still would support the idea.
Belcher
December 16th, 2010
11:09 am
Why does Atl need another stadium??????????
BeerDawg
December 16th, 2010
11:09 am
Not no, but H-E-L-L NO!!!!! There’s a reason why the SEC champ game is here in Atlanta….Georgia Dome. We southerners do not do well in the cold. I’m proud and willing to accept that. And those Northerners who have transplanted here also are the first to admit they do not miss the cold, otherwise, most of them wouldn’t have moved here in the first place
Northern Songs LTD
December 16th, 2010
11:10 am
Schaefer/Sullivan Stadium (Foxboro). Aluminum benches. ’nuff said.
senior falcon
December 16th, 2010
11:13 am
Aurthur Blank is too smart to have built a “dome team” and a steadily increasing fan base to negate both by building an open-air stadium. ‘Nuff said!
Tigerpaw
December 16th, 2010
11:16 am
All of the SEC comments endorsing an outdoor stadium need to look at a calendar.
All of the folks who think that we care about Chicago or Green Bay laughing at us should ‘grow a pair’ and realize that peer pressure doesn’t work for adults.
I don’t shovel show, I only drive in snow when absolutely necessary, largely due to realizing that I’ll be driving around a lot of people who won’t be familiar with the conditions (half of them look panicky when it’s raining down here already – like the bobble heads who put on their emergency flashers while driving in heavy rain, without realizing the combination of several people in the same area with flashers creates a NEW HAZARD!!!!) and I’m NOT paying to renew my season tickets to games in wet, soggy and cold conditions.
($20 worth of food that’s cold before I get back to my seat – now that’s appealing)
Other option?
December 16th, 2010
11:16 am
Would it be possible to convert the Georgia Dome to a retractable roof? I know this would take a long time to do, but the Falcons could play a season at GT’s stadium, similar to what the Bears had to do when they renovated Soldier Field. And this would have to be cheaper and more practical than building a new stadium, where the Falcons would have to purchase additional land and build from scratch. On the other hand, the infrastructure of the Georgia Dome is in place – they would just have to put a new retractable roof on it. And this would allow the newly renovated Georgia RetraDome to continue to host the Falcons, the SEC championship game, Final Fours, etc. But I’m no engineer… Thoughts?
Love the elements!
December 16th, 2010
11:17 am
Sat in Tuscaloosa in sleet and feeezing rain in the Iron Bowl in 2000. Amazingly enough, it got much WARMER once Auburn kicked a third field goal to take the insurmountable 9-0 lead and clinch the SEC West.
Love the elements!
December 16th, 2010
11:17 am
fReezing rain is what I meant to say. My bad.
SWAT Native
December 16th, 2010
11:18 am
If the Vikings-Bears game is played in the GA Dome, I wonder if the tickets would be free like they were in Detroit?
kevin
December 16th, 2010
11:21 am
An outdoor stadium is the only way to go. I find it hilarious that in Atlanta, known for it’s seasonal and all around good weather, people are whining about sitting in a cold stadium–dress warmer pansies…or, you could always move to FL and pull for one of the lame teams down there.
Atlanta Bear
December 16th, 2010
11:21 am
Please let the Bears-Vikings game be played here Monday night as that would be the best present Santa could bring for Christmas!!
Delbert D.
December 16th, 2010
11:24 am
Outdoors-men prefer the great outdoors. I can’t see Les Stroud camping under a retractable roof stadium for a TV show.
Michael
December 16th, 2010
11:24 am
Still wondering how the dome became antiquated.
5150 P.O.A.D.
December 16th, 2010
11:27 am
If you want an outdoor stadium so be it. Make it seat about 40k. Locate it next to the Falcons Training camp. The Falcons can build and pay for it on their own. I will save money and time by watching it at HOME. The Big Flat screen is already paid for. The Beer is cheaper. I can get more and better food during the comercials or DVR it. I don’t have to pay to park or ride the train. Not having to sit with drunk a..holes in bad weather is pricless………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. If you people want a new outdoor stadium, then I would tell Blank to make all you people sign a contract to buy season tickets for the next 10 years. If you can/will make that commitment then Blank will know how big to make the building.
observer
December 16th, 2010
11:27 am
People who believe that the elements are a necessary part of football also think premature ejaculation is a necessary part of sex.
Charming Harmon
December 16th, 2010
11:27 am
I love out door football but if Arthur does not want to pay for a retractable roof then I prefer a dome stadium to an outdoor stadium. If the Falcons were in town this weekend could you image watching their game in an open air stadium? No thanks, did that years ago in the old stadium.
As far as the Bears – Vikings game being played in the Georgia Dome…tell them “Welcome to the ICE HOUSE”!
letter from a concerned taxpayer (and Falcons fan)
December 16th, 2010
11:28 am
Dear Mr. Blank and Mr. Goodell,
The Georgia Dome is only 18 years old and was just recently renovated. It’s a great facility that has little problem attracting high profile events. When it gets to be 30 or so, that might be a more appropriate time to start talking about building a new retractable-roof stadium (or renovating the Georgia Dome with a retractable-roof) funded by taxpayer money (or partially funded). Until then, please stop bringing this up. If you would like a new stadium now or would like to renovate the Georgia Dome now (again), I suggest paying for it with your own dollars.
Thanks,
Falcons fan and Atlanta resident since 1985
Kennesaw Falcon Fan
December 16th, 2010
11:30 am
I won’t be renewing my ticket if it is outdoors. My living room is way to comfy. I have become wimpy as I age. No thanks to an outdoor venue here. The weather just gets to cold and rainy late in the season. No way I am paying to sit in the rain.
Bill
December 16th, 2010
11:40 am
BC Place: http://www.bcplacestadium.com/
Sportsfan82
December 16th, 2010
11:43 am
IMO, it would irresponsible for the city of Atlanat and the Falcons ownership to build an open air stadium. I remember sitting at the old Fulton County Stadium and seeing it half full. The Georgia Dome brought new life to the city. When the Falcons are having a down year, it’s much easier to sit in the conforts of the Georgia Dome and endure the pains than too be wet and cold outside.
If Atlanta lose the Georgia Dome, kiss the SEC Championship good bye along with reduce attendance to the Chick-fil-A bowl and kick off classic; not to mention other large events such as the NCAA Final Four and major concerts.
Building the Georgia Dome was the smartest thing done for the city….DO NOT GO BACKWARDS..
Dontavius Supremo
December 16th, 2010
11:43 am
I wouldn’t mind the domed stadium so much iof they’d turn the da** music down! Can’t even have a conversation; it’s worse than NASCAR!
Stewie
December 16th, 2010
11:45 am
I’ve always thought it ridiculous that Atlanta has a domed stadium, though I will admit that I don’t care much for sitting in the stands watching a game when it’s 38 degrees and rainy (which is more likely here than getting snow). Went to a Steelers game in Pittsburgh a couple of years again when it snowed and loved it. Would not have felt quite the same in a cold rain.
And, like several other posters, I’d be interested in the revenue forecasts for future non-NFL events for an open stadium vs. a domed/retractable roof stadium. My guess is that later type offers greater potential.
Kennesaw Falcon Fan Too
December 16th, 2010
11:46 am
I sat for years in the South end of Atl. Stadium and froze my butt off in the late season. Moved to the North end for the last three or four years in the Stadium and suffered 2nd degree sun burn in the early season. Moved with the team to the dome and was glad to do it. Until, that is, we had to watch commercials on the big screen at every TV break! That sucks.
Bibb Dawg
December 16th, 2010
11:46 am
Too many short memories out there. Sitting in Atlanta-Fulton County in the blazing hot of early season and the rain and cold of late season was miserable.
falcon1
December 16th, 2010
11:48 am
Do you folks want to sit in the pouring rain, walk to your car and get the seats saturated? Wow I would love to do this. Give me a break, open air stadiums are great for college knuckleheads but not for the money we pay for a pro seat.
dean
December 16th, 2010
11:59 am
Gumby: Did you see me over at Aisle 139 that horrible coldazz day on 1/4/81?
Larry@10:11: Yeah it was cold that day too in ‘78. Bartkowski to Wallace Francis and the Eagles kicker shanking a 30-something yarder that would have won it for them at the end. What cold!? We won! It was great. (My brother and I saved an Eagles fan life that day. It’s one thing to cheer for your team in enemy territory versus dogging the home team. He never dogged ATL that game. He didn’t deserve what was about to happen to him.)
Rain. I took my father-in-law to his first pro game against the Aints. Year range was early-mid 80’s. It was frog-strangling raining before, during, and after the game. We got beat by at least 30 as memory serves. My father-in-law, until the day he died, still never saw a “Professional” football game. We miss you poppa.
jackyldo
December 16th, 2010
12:02 pm
We had tickets for 30 years for the PATRIOTS in Boston and Foxboro — One season of the 8 home games the game with Seattle was played in driving rain and winds from a coastal hurricane and the finale against the 49ers was clear skies at +5* for kick off at 1 PM in late December.
Outdoors is where football is meant to be played and I’ll be more than happy to see Dome teams come to Foxboro in January when the Pat’s have the home field advantage.
For the Falcon’s playing outdoors in Atlanta the weather would be far more sunny and 40 than cold and icy… in December..
Norcross
December 16th, 2010
12:05 pm
As a long-time NY Giants season ticket holder (living in Atlanta and also rooting for the Falcons the way one roots for a three-legged dog to safely cross the street), I like the dome for all the obvious reasons. So what if real professional football teams staffed with real men play in the open, exposed to the elements, and without cheer-babes. Since the Falcons usually play like a real team’s practice squad– this year is the exception that proves the rule– give us somewhere comfortable to watch when they are 3-7 in December and have no realistic chance of making the playoffs.
Seriously, I like the current dome a lot, especially since the renovations. Improve the Gulch, improve the neighborhoods around the stadium, and keep winning games. A new stadium only lines Mr. Blank’s pockets, since it would increase the premium revenues that he doesn’t have to share with the league.
just restating what the logical minds are saying
December 16th, 2010
12:08 pm
Seems like the eventual way to go is a retractable-roof stadium. However, there’s no need to do it now unless the Falcons/NFL want to foot the bill. The Georgia Dome was just renovated, is still a great facility, and gets great events. Let’s talk about it in 10 years or so and get the ball rolling then.
zgoldatl
December 16th, 2010
12:13 pm
I prefer a retractable roof, but it has to stay downtown whatever they do. My grandmother is 93 years old. She grew up in Manitowac, Wisconsin, about an hour away from Green Bay, on Lake Michigan. Let me tell you that she has frost bite on both feet from the famous Snow Bowl against the Cowboys. She now has bone cancer in her legs, and the frostbite make is much harder according to her doctor. Its a great bar story, but I prefer a dome or a retractable roof.
just restating what the logical minds are saying
December 16th, 2010
12:15 pm
While we’re talking about logic, why won’t the Braves pay for a short connecting Marta rail line from Turner Field to the existing rail line? I don’t get it. It would increase their attendance for weekday games significantly.
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 16th, 2010
12:16 pm
What kind of stadium should the Falcons build?
d) One that they pay for with private funds.
BirdDog
December 16th, 2010
12:17 pm
I was at Fulton Co Stadium as a kid in the freezing rain and sleet when Billy “Whiteshoes” Johnson made the last second catch to beat the Niners. What a game! But now that I’m older, I have to say the dome is freaking plush!
gramafan
December 16th, 2010
12:22 pm
Enter your comments here
Will vs Shall
December 16th, 2010
12:36 pm
I don’t mind the cold as you can always get a good North Face jacket to handle that. But if it rains and is somewhat cold…forget it.