Question on new stadium remains: Why so soon?
If you haven’t yet read Jeff Schultz’s column today about whether it would be “the worst thing in the world if the Falcons moved to the suburbs,” I recommend it. Spoiler alert: Schultz thinks it would not be the worst thing in the world if that were to happen.
Although I think downtown is ultimately far preferable to the suburbs for the Falcons’ home games, Schultz makes a number of good arguments. But this is the part to which I want to draw your attention (with emphasis added):
The [San Francisco] 49ers couldn’t get a downtown stadium deal done, so they’re moving to Santa Clara, 30 to 45 minutes away. … By the way, Candlestick Park is 53 years old.
The [New York] Giants left the old Meadowlands stadium, which was 34 years old. The [Miami] Dolphins left the Orange Bowl, which was built in 1939. The [Dallas] Cowboys and [New England] Patriots left stadiums that were opened in 1971. The [Washington] Redskins left RFK Stadium, built in 1961.
The Georgia Dome opened in 1992.
For me, much of what’s disquieting about the drive to ditch the Dome is the timing. In 2017, by which time the Falcons insist they’ll be in a new stadium, the Dome will be a mere 25 years old.
The stadium the 49ers are leaving is twice as old (53) as the Georgia Dome will be in 2017. The same goes for the Dolphins’ old stadium (48) when their new stadium opened in 1987.
The stadium the Giants and New York Jets replaced was about as old (34) as most Georgians probably believed the Dome would be when it was replaced. Ditto for the old stadiums of the Cowboys (38), Patriots (29) and Redskins (36).
I think it’s fair to assume most Atlanta residents recognize that the Dome will have to be replaced at some point in time. I think it’s also fair to assume most of us wonder why that point in time is coming so soon after the Dome was built.
Of course, the Dome will need money for repairs if it stays open. As the AJC has reported, professional estimates of those costs run from $115 million by 2020 (when the Dome would hit 28 years of age) to $401 million by approximately 2035 (when it would be 43 years old).
So, it seems questionable to most people outside the Falcons organization that the Dome has to be replaced so soon. If we having this discussion five to 10 years from now, it would be going a lot differently.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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545 comments Add your comment
RC--apoi
February 15th, 2013
7:26 pm
Well, the truth is the Falcons financial support is on the north side and not many people want to risk their life to get to the Georgia Dome. Besides, the bigshots ain’t going to select a 71,000-seat stadium for the Super Bowl if it ain’t in the middle of a entertainment center like New Orleans. How many entertainment places are going to risk big bucks to open places where customers are as likely to get mugged as entertained?
The sooner the Falcons can get out of that Dome, maybe the sooner more fans will come to watch their games. I don’t give a hang how old the Dome is.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
February 15th, 2013
7:28 pm
Two Russian nuclear-armed bombers circled the western Pacific island of Guam this week in the latest sign of Moscow’s growing strategic assertiveness toward the United States.
Now is not the time to make zero nuclear weapons free world love and peace flower child moron policy. hagel is a Russian dupe as is obozo. They have some karter like complex that should be examined under a microscope, not made an official US National Security action .
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
7:30 pm
I detect the distinct smell of feces coming from the top of this page…….
RC--apoi
February 15th, 2013
7:36 pm
I detect the distinct smell of feces coming from the top of this page…….
Howdy Bruno. Matti says she’s very happy without you.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
7:36 pm
Raise your hand if you are NOT for a new stadium. We need to know who to Drone.
Stand still….or you can keep walking toward your loved ones.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
7:38 pm
Bruno @ 7:22
Don’t really have a strong opinion on it, either way. It’s not bad but I wasn’t a fan of most of that period. I thought his Blind Faith and Derek and the Domino years were when he peaked. He had Stevie Winwood and Duane pushing him in those two bands. I’ve always felt he’s a bit over rated. A good player (technically decent but really good feel) but not what he’s been made out to be. (Of course, he’s better than me). He also had Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock and Carl Radle in the Dominoes and they kicked it up a notch, as well. This is where I think he did some of his best playing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaTkHCSGn1k
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
7:38 pm
I guess that I’m jumping around a bit, but felt an inspiration to play some Macy Grey:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxyxur73FpQ
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
7:40 pm
By the way, pay special attention to the interplay between Jim Gordon on the drums and Carl Radle on the bass, in my 7:38.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
7:43 pm
HD–Per Clapton, I don’t think he’s the best guitar player around, especially when you compare some of the songs he covered to the originals, e.g. “After Midnight” by JJ Cale. I’m guessing that his popularity is based on the fact that he has the total package: Good guitar player, good singer, and good looking. It seems these days, just being good looking is enough to make you a bundle, ala Britney Spears.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
7:47 pm
Indigo, what I was saying is that Germany’s problem extended long before 1929 and long before the US crash.
In fact, the US crash of 1929 was mostly confined to the US because of our isolationist policies we had going at that time.
Germany never had a market crash in 1929 but they were still in the ditch from WW1.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
7:52 pm
Bruno
Have you ever seen “Tom Dowd and the Language of Music”? He worked on the Manhattan Project and this is a list of the records he worked on (it’s a who’s who). Fascinating guy.
http://www.thelanguageofmusic.com/discography.htm
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
7:53 pm
Actually, if anyone is in the mood, a really good movie/documentary you can get from Netflix is “Paris:1919″ about the REALLY long meetings the US had with the winners of WW1 on how we were going to get Germany to pay reparations. That was the nail in the coffin on Germany that led to such a horrible economy and directly led to Hitler. The outcome devestated the proud people of Germany and ruined their economy for a decade or more.
This gives an idea of why the people of Germany were so easily swayed into the delirious frenzy they came to with Hitler and kinda explains their ability to commit those atrocities.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
7:54 pm
Clapton and Winwood from 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBbqpjrbjwY
I’ve often had a strange dream in which I’m on stage playing with some famous rock group, either on guitar or keyboards, but I don’t know how to play, so have to try to throw some random notes in and hope they fit. I guess it’s a variation of the old back in school dream where you can’t find the classroom and have to take a test you don’t know any of the answers to.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
7:55 pm
Howdy Bruno. Matti says she’s very happy without you.
How would you know??
josef
February 15th, 2013
8:02 pm
BRUNO
I’m caught in a time warp over to Big Daddy’s Liberal Plantation tonight. The Wa-do Warrior is on the verandah and in his cups… Some good tunes here, though.
And don’t let the Du-k-sha-nee get on your nerves. Matti was in last p.m. over there peeing on Valentine’s Day and doing her les miserables act… bless her heart!
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
8:03 pm
Bruno, I bet you aced it!
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
8:03 pm
Have you ever seen “Tom Dowd and the Language of Music”?
Holy Toledo, HD. That cat’s list makes just about anybody else’s look pretty weak in comparison.
From Wishbone Ash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb-6hEeijn4
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
8:04 pm
The Wa-do Warrior is on the verandah and in his cups…
If one must drink, don’t drink and blog.
I told Kyle once if they ever get this thing where we have to sign in, it needs to have a breathalyzer interlock.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
February 15th, 2013
8:07 pm
Any talk of the best guitar players without a mention of Jimmy Page is just empty and hollow -
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8nv30_led-zeppelin-in-my-time-of-dying-19_music#.UR7afmebFYU
You really have to just marvel at it.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
8:10 pm
Bruno
One of the interesting things in the documentary is that Tom said, after the war was over, he decided to go back to school and get his degree in nuclear physics. I forget which university he went to but it was one of the major schools in the country. Anyway, he said that things they were teaching him had been disproven during work on the Manhattan Project. He couldn’t say anything about it and show them where they were wrong because it was all classified information. So he quit school and went into music and the rest is history. Like I said, a fascinating guy. I don’t know a damn thing about nuclear physics but I know enough to know he knew his stuff, when it came to music.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
8:11 pm
Any talk of the best guitar players without a mention of Jimmy Page is just empty and hollow -
I agree with you, Aesop, though I’m not sure if those in the know share the same opinion.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
8:12 pm
An even better documentary yiou can get from Netflix is “The Unknown Soldier” where historians in Germany recently got together to compare notes and realized all those atrocities can’t be blamed just on the SS; the common Wehrmacht soldier HAD to be involved to.
German people went ballistic. They were saying “Our grandfathers didn’t do that stuff!. No way!” But the historians held their ground and rounded up actual Wehrmacht soldiers who confessed.
A riveting documentary.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
8:18 pm
Aesop and Bruno, did you guys see “It Might Get Loud” with Jimmy Page? Awesome. I could a done withiout that whole “The Edge” bullhockey but the Jack White segment was really cool. The Edge is just a bunch of machines and pedals – what a fraud.
My favorite bass player is the Entwhistle from The Who and that documentary that came out two years ago called “Amazing Journey” showed exactly why he is still many many years ahead of anyone else. No one else can do that, or is willing to try to play like that.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
8:21 pm
I don’t know a damn thing about nuclear physics but I know enough to know he knew his stuff, when it came to music.
You really ought to read up on Richard Feynmann one of these days, HD.
Here’s one of the most comprehensive Physics books out there for the layman, but not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Reality-Complete-Universe/dp/0679776311/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360977630&sr=8-1&keywords=the+road+to+reality
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
February 15th, 2013
8:26 pm
Jimmy Page #3 Greatest Guitarist according to Rolling Stone
You should know by now I don’t spend a lot of time listening to “experts,” Bruno.
Don’t get me wrong, Hendrix was good, but he has no where near the volume of masterful work that Page does. Although it didn’t help that he died so young.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tlSx0jkuLM
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
8:29 pm
You guys mentioned #1 and #3, but was Stevie Ray Vaughn #2?
If you can catch his concert in Germany that is always on “concert.tv” on Charter on Demand, it is amazing.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
8:31 pm
My favorite bass player is the Entwhistle from The Who and that documentary that came out two years ago called “Amazing Journey” showed exactly why he is still many many years ahead of anyone else. No one else can do that, or is willing to try to play like that.
I think we did a theme night over on Bookman’s a while back featuring great bass players. A lot of the avante garde music critics like to bow down to Jaco Pastorius, but I’ll take Entwistle, Chris Squire or even Tony Levin over Pastorius any day.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
8:37 pm
I don’t put much stock in those “lists”. First of all, there is no “best” in my opinion. There are quite a few guys who are very good and to a certain extent it’s a matter of taste. My particular bitch with the Rolling Stone list is pretty simple; it’s supposed to be the 100 greatest but the list is absent country pickers, bluegrass pickers, jazz pickers, classical pickers, blues players, etc. It’s strictly a list of rock players.
As for Jimmy Page, he’s a good player but I just don’t care for the way Zepplin lifted stuff and didn’t give proper credit.
Some of my favorite guitar players are probably people most of y’all never heard of but that’s ok. Everybody likes what they like, so listen to what you enjoy.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
8:39 pm
Kind of a simple bass line, but John Wetton plays pretty powerfully on this King Crimson number:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPdnjkM0bEo
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
8:39 pm
One of my favorite bass players is McCartney. Doesn’t have the technical chops (although he’s better than he gets credit for) of some guys but nobody can beat his sense of melody, as far as I’m concerned.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
8:43 pm
But the historians held their ground and rounded up actual Wehrmacht soldiers who confessed.
No doubt but I’ve known a couple of WWII vets who told me they never took prisoners unless there was an officer around. It goes on, on all sides.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
8:47 pm
Some of my favorite guitar players are probably people most of y’all never heard of
names?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
8:50 pm
Listen to the original versions of “My Generation”; the whole thing; the WHOLE song is bass with only minimal guitar. Listen to those riffs. BASS riffs!!!!!!!
All the recent versions Pete Townsend has redone to make his guitar playing the centerpiece.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
8:51 pm
Finn, I may be a little biased, but no one comes close to Jerry Garcia when it comes to making it up on the fly. His command of music was so great, that he could meld two songs into one, playing transitions that other guitar players can only dream about. I’ll see if I can dig up any gems.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
8:53 pm
names?
Doyle Dykes, Roy Buchanan, Leo Kottke (Although more folks have probably heard of him), Grady Martin (deceased), Jimmy Capps, Tony Rice, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown (also deceased), Steve Wariner. That’s not to say I don’t like well-known folks. Some of my favorite better known players would be Carlos Santana, Buddy Guy, Glen Campbell, Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, Duane Allman and Toy Caldwell (both deceased), Dicky Betts, Elvin Bishop, Steve Howe. I’m leaving out a ton of people there.
Honestly, I’d have a hard time picking 50, it’s often a matter of mood.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
8:53 pm
oops, messed up my slants
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
8:55 pm
Listen to the first song from the Who’s Quadrophenia album called “The Real ME” and be amazed at what the bass can actually do.
Oh, MY! Are you kidding me; is that mostly bass?
“Can you see the real me, can ya….CAN YA?”
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
8:55 pm
His command of music was so great, that he could meld two songs into one,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8WnZIyJYSU
Ronnie Prophet used to do this as well, ………………..and sang Silent Night, at the same time.
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
8:55 pm
Here’s a smoking version of “The Eleven” from ‘68. The name of the song comes from the fact that they play it in an 11/8 time signature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv970ocLaM
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
9:00 pm
Ronnie Prophet used to do this as well, ………………..and sang Silent Night, at the same time.
Not picking at your selection, HD, but Chet rehearsed that song many times. Jerry never played any song the same way twice, and made up his transitions on the fly. We Dead fans lived for blended songs like Scarlet Begonias/Fire On the Mountain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luAqu8VX5wo
See y’all in 26 minutes.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
9:03 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La-QiWzwgOM
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
February 15th, 2013
9:07 pm
Like the numnut from Oasis said, and I paraphrase, “It’s like having a band with a lead singer, a lead guitarist, a lead drummer, AND a lead bassist all in one band – it’s frikkin insane”
that’s The Who. But you gotta watch the documentary “Amazing Journey ” to actually see it. They show each player at his height, mute all other instruments, and show how that person is so amazing.
watch it!
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
9:08 pm
I forgot this guy. He’s friggin amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ruEkWMtdM8
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
9:19 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ecl93TsmaE
yuzeyurbrane
February 15th, 2013
9:25 pm
Greed and power, pure and simple. For Blank, it is greed. For Reed, it is a massive public works project that he hopes will get him reelected. Blank is bluffing; he is not going to burbs where he would get no govt. subsidies and where the hotel, restaurant, public transport infrastructure is insufficient to support his enterprise on its own. The Dome would continue to get the bulk of the busn. from conventions and others who might need an arena of that size. As for Reed, why doesn’t he just build a Pyramid with city funds? It would be a great tourist attraction and employ lots of voters. And maybe the state would pitch in? After all, it would benefit the state economy, too, and perhaps it could be under control of GWCC, as an adjunct facility to the Dome and use the motel/hotel tax?
moonbat betty
February 15th, 2013
9:26 pm
dang, I’m late.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gX1EP6mG-E
JDW
February 15th, 2013
9:29 pm
@cheesy…”They sent a man to the moon basically usually less than a modern PC built 10 years ago.”
You are on the right track but it was way less than an iPhone. A modern pc outclasses the cray super computer of the day.
Hillbilly D
February 15th, 2013
9:29 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBRluhR6v8U
Bruno
February 15th, 2013
9:33 pm
Alright, HD, going eclectic once again on us @ 9:08.
Big Wingfield welcome to moonbat betty. I’ve got JamVet on the way over as well. My plan is to get the few cool people on the Bookman Blog to start coming here on FNM. Quality over quantity any day.
JDW
February 15th, 2013
9:35 pm
@Bruno…”I was a season ticket holder for the Falcons in the late 80s/early 90s. After the first season in the dome, my buddy and I canceled. ”
My last season ticket year was the last year in Fulton County Stadium…I have never seen a game in the Dome and don’t intend to…other than an SEC Championship Game…maybe.