Kasim Reed: New Falcons stadium would fetch Super Bowl
Updated at 12:55 p.m.: See new material below.
Original: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed says he doesn’t view removal of funds for a College Football Hall of Fame from a proposed state budget as any barometer of state Capitol enthusiasm for a new, publicly financed stadium for the Atlanta Falcons.
“I don’t take any message from it at all,” Reed said. “I know that the governor is committed to the stadium effort, that the Falcons are committed to it, and my message is real clear. We’re going to honor our commitment to be completely supportive to building a stadium. And that’s where I am.”
The mayor spoke about the a new Falcons stadium at the tail end of an interview about voter approval for a renewal of an essential sewer sales tax.
Reed says there’s still much negotiation to be done – and that he’s not likely to be deeply involved in those talks:
”The other parties can go on and work on their part of the equation. I’m only speaking for me, and what I have responsibility for, and that is the city’s contribution through our hotel/motel sales tax. [We] are going to completely support [owner] Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons.
“Now, are there moving pieces? I’m not playing a significant role in those conversations. The governor and the Falcons are in conversations – and the Georgia World Congress Center.
Among the reasons Reed cited for pursuing a new stadium, and why he is emphasizing his support:
”I believe we will be awarded a Super Bowl, and I think we have the best owner in America….
“No city that has engaged in a game of chicken with an NFL team has emerged from it well. If you look at San Francisco, for goodness’ sake, the San Franscisco 49ers stadium is now going to be in Santa Clara. Santa Claire is not Gwinnett. I rode it. It’s an hour and 15 minutes away from the city of San Francisco. “
A 75-minute trip? That is Gwinnett at rush-hour. But you take his point.
By the way, a spokesman for Nathan Deal says the governor isn’t directly involved in talks with Blank, but has been kept apprised of the situation through the GWCC authority.
Updated at 12:55 p.m.: My AJC colleague Jeff Schultz, on the sports side of this equation, says that when he equates a new stadium with a Super Bowl berth, Kasim Reed isn’t making a promise that can’t be kept:
Cities with new stadiums in NFL almost always get Super Bowls. It’s dangled as perk/carrot for local governments to approve taxes to build shining towers with martini bars that NFL likes. So this isn’t unusual. Among cities that have been awarded Super Bowls because of new stadiums: Houston; Detroit; Phoenix (Glendale), Dallas (Arlington), Indianapolis.
Super Bowl week is more of a vacation/party week for owners/sponsors/celebs than a sports event, so they want nice weather (Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans). Owners swore off Atlanta after ice storm last time it was here. (They lucked out with weather in Indy this year.) The Atlanta Sports Council used to regularly bid for Super Bowls but they knew it was a lost cause so they don’t even try anymore. But a new stadium would change that.
On a related note, I covered a Super Bowl in Minnesota once. The Metrodome was about 10-years old at the time I think. The game was awarded mostly as a reward to Vikings’ long time owners. But it was miserable. Nobody ever went outside. Everybody walked everywhere in those downtown pedestrian tubes. It was like living in a Habitrail.
***
The Marietta Daily Journal has this on the husband of state Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan, D-Austell, who is deeply involved in the state Capitol fight for charter schools:
Cobb school board vice chair David Morgan said Wednesday that he didn’t know board members were kept out of the loop about the partnership and grant application with STEM Inventors Academy.
The school board spent about 30 minutes of Wednesday’s six-hour work session talking about the district’s partnerships and Race to the Top grant applications with STEM Inventors Academy and Teach For America. Most of that time specifically was spent on the charter school, why it was not formally presented to board members earlier and Morgan’s association was with the school.
***
The Savannah Morning news is reporting that Gov. Nathan Deal probably won’t give a proposed Hutchinson Island convention hotel the tax break it says it needs to succeed:
Deal signed legislation calling for such help, but has worried out loud it might give some businesses a leg up over others.
Tourism officials and others have long sought to promote a large hotel that would attract bigger gatherings to Savannah.
But the idea of using tax dollars for such a venture in competition with existing hotels has sparked sharp dispute.
…The law lets $1 million-plus new tourism attractions and expansions of existing ones that draw at least 25 percent of their visitors from other states to get sales tax refunds.
***
In Washington, the defense industry has begun letting Congress know that December will be too late to address the across-the-board cuts mandated by last year’s failure to reach an agreement on debt reduction.
From DoD Buzz, a defense industry website:
“Industry really can’t wait until the lame duck session [to make preparations for the $500 billion dollar defense spending cut], and that is certainly true, it’s true in my company and it’s true in all the companies [in the defense sector,” said Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens, referring to the post-November election session of the current Congress.
At an Aerospace Industries Association-sponsored lunch on the Hill, Stevens warned: “The very prospect of sequestration is already having a chilling effect on the industry. We’re not gonna hire, we’re not gonna make speculative investments, we’re not gonna invest in incremental training because the uncertainty associated with $53 billion of reductions in the first fiscal quarter of next year is a huge disruption to our business.”
***
A New York Times piece on the muted response in Afghanistan over the massacre of more than a dozen civilians by a U.S. soldier starts thusly:
The mullah was astounded and a little angered to be asked why the accidental burning of Korans last month could provoke violence nationwide, while an intentional mass murder that included nine children last Sunday did not.
“How can you compare the dishonoring of the Holy Koran with the martyrdom of innocent civilians?” said an incredulous Mullah Khaliq Dad, a member of the council of religious leaders who investigated the Koran burnings. “The whole goal of our life is religion.”
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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241 comments Add your comment
LMAO
March 15th, 2012
9:52 am
No to public funding of stadium. SB be damned
td
March 15th, 2012
9:52 am
Mayor Reed is right again. A new stadium is much more important to the metro area then adding more rail lines or a new trolley.
Centrist
March 15th, 2012
9:57 am
The lame duck session of Congress will quickly extend current spending and ignore the sequestration requirement after the debt deal broke down. That was the intent all along, and the media never reported it – they simply went along with the charade.
Frankie
March 15th, 2012
10:00 am
Sewer line upgrades….
Marta is a joke, they have had plenty of opportunity to increase their presence and each metro county has rejected Marta coming further into their county or entering at all in the first place.
Based on previous conversations, the stadium will be open air….tighter seats, no dome or optional roof covering, this stadium is going to suck….
Model stadium after those that have retractable roofs….
Rozeman13
March 15th, 2012
10:00 am
MR. BLANK IS IN THE PROCESS OF STRIPPING OUR FOOTBALL DOWN TO NOTHING,NOW WANTS A NEW STADIUM. LOOKS LIKE HE HAS BECOME ANEW RANKIN SMITH. NO NEW STADIUM
Greg
March 15th, 2012
10:06 am
The NFL’s most recent memory of an Atlanta Superbowl included an ice storm. Do you really think they want to hold a Superbowl at the beginning of February in an open air stadium in Atlanta?!
I don’t think so.
blah
March 15th, 2012
10:06 am
Atlanta doesn’t have a decent pro football franchise that has ever actually won anything.
They don’t need a new stadium.
Fletcher
March 15th, 2012
10:08 am
Will bringing a new stadium attract the MLS to the city? Yes. Bring the city a 3rd Super Bowl? No. The SB isn’t in Atlanta due to the Dome – if its so terrible, why does the SEC have it’s Championship game there, and the NCAA use it as a super regional and Final Four city almost annually?
ugggggghhhh
March 15th, 2012
10:13 am
It’s tough being a Falcons fan
John
March 15th, 2012
10:14 am
But at least there is public transit to get folks from San Francisco to Santa Clara.. Not here in Atlanta, home of the perpetual traffic jam. In reality, the only person that benefits from the new stadium is the team owner – Let Arthur Blank pay for it himself and then I might support it – but do not burden the taxpayers with more corporate welfare!!
Flounder
March 15th, 2012
10:14 am
Just create a movie set somewhere with a regulation-sized football field and thousands of cameras … that way the Falcons can play and everyone can watch from home. Marta is dying a slow and painful death.
Atlanta Mom
March 15th, 2012
10:16 am
I’m sure gwinnett county will jump at the chance to underwrite a football stadium. The Gwinnett Braves stadium is such a money maker.
K-Ster
March 15th, 2012
10:18 am
Please build the stadium and demolish some of the ghetto, abandoned crap west of the current dome. I live in the Washington Park area, the numerous abandoned places around here are trash! Boone, Lowry, Hollowell, etc.) TEAR DOWN THE GHETTO. It’s not like the current residents are any interested in their neighborhood. They don’t take care of it!
Angel Macaroni
March 15th, 2012
10:19 am
The Falcons don’t NEED a new stadium. Billionaire Blank WANTS one. He has a bad case of keeping up with the Jones. Arthur should be more concerned about the ‘half’ he is going to lose to his divorcing wife.
Lee
March 15th, 2012
10:20 am
i’m sorry, just what exactly is wrong with the Georgia Dome? the SEC, the Chick fil a Bowl and the NCAA don’t seem to have a problem with it. as far as a Super Bowl goes, wouldn’t you rather play in a dome in Feb than take a chance of a weather affected game?
PMC
March 15th, 2012
10:21 am
Man I really like Kasim Reed, I really think he’s done a solid job so far, but publically financing stadiums and just giving the profits to billionaire owners for virtually nothing should be a thing of the past. Charging Hotel Motel fees to pay for it doesn’t make it any better it just hurts tourism.
Yes the super bowl would be nice and bring in a lot of money (for ONE WEEK)
I’d rather find a way to fix the city infrastructure than give the Falcons a new stadium when the one that is there while not great, isn’t a bad facility.
PMC
March 15th, 2012
10:23 am
We do have an outstanding owner, no doubt. It would be nice to have an outdoor stadium sometimes… true, but as much as I love the Falcons, I still think it’s wrong to use public funds for private entities.
If it’s viable, let them build it and prove it and reap the benefit.
atlpaddy
March 15th, 2012
10:29 am
I can’t wait for a shiny new, Atlanta Falcon’s stadium that is not located near a MARTA stop. Just hope I don’t break my ankles on the city’s crumbling sidewalks, snap my car axel on its pot hole-infested roads, or get run-over on my bike while trying to get there!!
Average Joe
March 15th, 2012
10:29 am
Roger Goodell told Arthur Blank this two years ago. Our inadequate rapid transit system isn’t exactl a strong selling point either. I’m not sure who’s more behind the curve here…the Mayor or the AJC.
Chris
March 15th, 2012
10:29 am
I agree wih you 100% Lee. I also Think That if The Falcons build a New Stadium he Should Do Like Jerry Jones the Owner of the Dallas Cowboys and Pay for it himself. I could see a Retractable roof on the Ga Dome. I know That Authur Blank can Pay for that. I could see a Retractable Roof on a New Stadium also.
atlpaddy
March 15th, 2012
10:31 am
I forgot to add getting mugged or shot by a member of Atlanta’s teeming underclass.
Taxpayer
March 15th, 2012
10:31 am
NO to a new stadium. Let the Falcons walk if needed. Blank can get the financing through his Big Money buds…get your hands out of the pockets of others.
Taxpayer
March 15th, 2012
10:33 am
P.S., the average fan doesn’t get to go to the Super Bowl anyway, so I could care less where they have it. I’ll watch on TV.
JTW
March 15th, 2012
10:37 am
Retractable roof, yes, completely open, NO! With an open air stadium when it’s 97 degrees in August, no one will be in the stands. When it’s 20 degrees in December, no one will be in the stands. A covered stadium is human-kind’s way of moving past the days of the gladiators. The only lions to be slain are those in blue and silver uniforms.
Mid Town Joe
March 15th, 2012
10:40 am
The Falcons will get to the Super Bowl the same way I will, as spectators.
DS
March 15th, 2012
10:43 am
Mayor Reed demonstrates that he is a total fool. Study AFTER study has clearly demonstrated that stadiums build SOLELY for the purposes of attracting the SuperBowel Movement become white elephants around the taxpayers’ necks. Atlanta does not need a new open, air white elephant, when the Dome is perfectly acceptable. Only in the ego driven work of the NFL would a perfectly acceptable 20-year old stadium be considered ancient.
Rankin Smith
March 15th, 2012
10:46 am
If the current free agency period is any indication of what is to come, than I’ll pass on a new stadium. Nothing to get excited about–just like back in the dad when my daddy owned the team!
Big Crimson 75
March 15th, 2012
10:56 am
Why don’t we land a Football Team first — then a new Stadium second?
Bubba Bean
March 15th, 2012
10:57 am
The NFL is a boon to cities who take advantage of it. got to have a saavy owner, though. Indy is a pretty good recent example. Irsay’s making a mint and downtown Indy businesses and many peripheral ones made a killin off the Super bowl. They have a beautiful DOWNTOWN retractable roof stadium now. Which after the 1994 ice storm super bowl, Atl would have to have in order to attract another super bowl. None of this would be on the table if the ASG owned the Falcons, though. They reek!
Big Crimson 75
March 15th, 2012
10:57 am
Rankin — Weren’t you the daddy & Taylor the son??
tardawg
March 15th, 2012
11:00 am
Can someone please tell me why the NFL doesn’t like the Dome it sits plenty, accessable, again greed by owners if the NFL and Blank want to build a stadium by all means do, we can’t afford another tax by the city county or state. let your senator and representatives know how you feel. send letters to Blank and NFL, the city ought to sue the NFL for not letting another Super Bowl come to Atlanta.
Bobby
March 15th, 2012
11:01 am
If the new proposed stadium is so economically viable, then let private investors build it and reap the benefits. No reason to waste public dollars on such a venture.
Terry
March 15th, 2012
11:02 am
We are broke, what part of that is hard to understand. The state is, Washington is, practically most of the country is. We don’t need any more public funding programs. They don’t work & not one ever has.
metal thrasher
March 15th, 2012
11:03 am
Really??? This is a waste of money… If they wanted to burn money away, they should have kept the thrashers here.
Chub Rock
March 15th, 2012
11:05 am
Arthur Blank win some games in the playoffs then come and talk about a new stadium. So what the Superbowl could be held here. If the home team can not put the pieces together to actually participate in it then, che cazzo stai dicendo? Revenue dollars?
Ellijay dawgcatcher
March 15th, 2012
11:08 am
if you are going to build a new stadium Mr. Blank, build it in the northern suburbs….where the current dome and Philips Arena should have been built…fans with disposable income ARE NOT going to ride MARTA…forget this utopian idea that intelligent, successful earners will embrace riding mass transit…they have to in northeastern cities, NOT HERE…
Rationale
March 15th, 2012
11:09 am
Greg is correct.
The idea of an open air stadium is beyond stupid, unless, it includes a retractable roof. With that being said, the weather still comes into play, with the NFL, regardless of how bad the weather was in Indianapolis and Detroit, but we never hear about the weather conditions there.
Fedup
March 15th, 2012
11:10 am
No, a new stadium should not be financed by taxpayers. In these tough times, being a “Super Bowl” city is just not that important. And professional football brings in more than enough money to pay for its own stadiums.
Ptjackets
March 15th, 2012
11:11 am
NO NO NO NO to a new stadium! Not a nickle of tax dollars should go to it. I live in Gwinnett and we already got screwed by the Braves with Cool Ray field. Don’t fall into that trap again! If Mr. Blank wants to build a new place let him use his money.
RK
March 15th, 2012
11:13 am
There’s nothing wrong with the Dome. Receiving one game won’t outweigh the cost.
If we need a new stadium, it should be for a new team — MLS. That would be worthwhile.
kaycee
March 15th, 2012
11:13 am
Along with others, I would like to know why the old GA Dome is not sufficient. Why do we need a new stadium? What is the argument for a new stadium………besides the fact that the NFL would like one?
Darth Hater
March 15th, 2012
11:19 am
Building a new stadium, at taxpayer expense, and hosting the game is the ONLY way the Falcons will ever get the Super Bowl, again.
Darth Hater
March 15th, 2012
11:20 am
Hasn’t Arthur Blank ripped off Georgia citizens enough already with the billion$ he made from selling us cheap, overpriced lumber and toxic, Chinese-made tools?
Darth Hater
March 15th, 2012
11:20 am
Arthur Blank IS a tool.
DM
March 15th, 2012
11:21 am
Why should the state finance a stadium? Make Mr Blank do it if he wants is so bad. Superbowl is one game. The GA dome is not a bad venue. Govt needs to focus on paying down debt not financing a football stadium in hopes of a Superbowl game
SBinF
March 15th, 2012
11:25 am
Build the stadium in the northern suburbs??
Heavens no. This city is already sprawling….it’s terrible. I’d love to see a move toward more dense development. Of course, that would require an improved public transit system. As much as everyone blasts MARTA, it is operating fairly well considering the way its operation has been hampered by the state. Did you know MARTA is one of the only (if not the only) public transit systems in large cities that doesn’t receive an appreciable amount of state funding for its operation? That’s right….they get by primarily on fares and the sales tax in Fulton and Dekalb.
And yet, Gwinnett and Cobb have buses that feed into MARTA, yet those counties do not have a penny sales tax to support the transit system….go figure.
sirwinston19
March 15th, 2012
11:26 am
North and South fulton counties along with Dekalb would be the first choice for a new stadium. But neither has any place to put it! Texas has land and their new Stadium is one that you can get lost in if you do not know where you are going…….now that is a true stadium with numerous parking for all sort’s of vehicles! Now who would be footing the bill; Mr. Blank I am sure with Bonds and perhaps other ways but to put up a new Stadium that would draw the “Super-Bowl here in Georgia…I am not sure this can be done because you would then have to ensure hotels, eating establishments and all of the extras goes along with it. Atlanta can’t do it because it has used almost all of the great place’s a new stadium could have gone. Forget lumping things together like all of the recents things Atlanta has. It creates a negative images for the city and people just don’t want to pay the high parking fees with food prices going along with it. So if you build a stadium….you might have to go north and look what is keenly profitable and available. Downtown Atlanta….would not serve the purpose.
Falconfan68
March 15th, 2012
11:27 am
No way you go back to open stadium..for years I froze to death at old stadium. It was great to get dome. Now you wish to return to those old days..give me a break, what a fool.
I agree Mr Blank, win a SB and then ask for new stadium but I will never go to another Falcon game out side in winter.
The location also sucks!
Darth Hater
March 15th, 2012
11:28 am
Mayor Reed really said the word “fetch?”
Being raised in the South, I thought that Mayor Reed would’ve been taught that is an “insensitive” word (dating back to its pre-1863 connotation) that can no longer be used unless one is talking to a dog.
Is Rev. Jackson going to hold a press conference on this matter?
tim
March 15th, 2012
11:28 am
Kasim is a bigger liar than felon Bill Campbell.
Will
March 15th, 2012
11:28 am
A NEW stadium just for a one night stand for a Super Bowl ? What a waste of money.
Darth Hater
March 15th, 2012
11:31 am
Being a billionaire, it is easy to see why Mr. Blank’s much younger wife married him.
Before she reached her threshold of tolerance of disgust, that poor girl probably had to EARN every cent she got.
Ellijay dawgcatcher
March 15th, 2012
11:32 am
Canton would be a great spot for a new stadium…no MARTA, no problems…
ramguy68
March 15th, 2012
11:41 am
If they Falcons want a new stadium they should prop up GW Bush as as the “owner” like the Texas Rangers did and have him politic for it….then again most people has wised up about GW……but then again this is Georgia and the South.
Penjamo99
March 15th, 2012
11:41 am
Waste of money! If the NFL and or Mr. Blank want a new stadium let them use THEIR money not tax money. Public workers are taking mandatory furlough days and property taxes are way down. I don’t care if the money comes from hospitality tax it’s still tax money and government waste!! Somebody needs to say NO to the NFL.
Tommy
March 15th, 2012
11:41 am
I would rather have a horse racing track with a casino. Racino!!!
The Reverend Baby Doctor Bedpan
March 15th, 2012
11:42 am
Who cares about the weather? I care about money. The city has use of a relatively new stadium…..It has electricity and plumbing and everything. It’s like buying a car because the current one needs washing. As far as the Superbowl? Who cares? It’s that same idiotic small town thinking that your city somehow becomes more relevant if there are big events there. An overwhelming majority of the planet does not care about the location of the Superbowl. It’s like bragging that Atlanta has the busiest airport……Why does that matter?
No new stadium….Especially one that is so far from public transport.
I have to wonder how much Blank has given to Reed’s campaign……
Auntie Christ
March 15th, 2012
11:43 am
Reed has ambitions far beyond being Mayor of Atlanta, and is formulating a campaign finance plan modeled on Gingrich and Santorum’s, i.e. procure a billionaire sugar daddy to foot the bills and ride their check book to higher office. Author Blank will be Reed’s sugar daddy.
Mr Galloway’s comments regarding the stadium and the blurb re: “a proposed Hutchinson Island convention hotel (and) the tax break it says it needs to succeed:” demonstrate why the country and every municipality is going broke. The ‘good capitalists’ running the country are capitalists only when it comes to reaping the profits, the risks and costs are imposed on the public, while profits go into private coffers. Somehow republicans have convinced the American people that this scheme is in their ‘best interest.’ Ha!
ozzfest
March 15th, 2012
11:47 am
“I will trade you $960 million, paid for by the taxpayers who elected me…in exchange for $32 million in revenue to mostly private, and non-local companies over 5 days.”
Only in THE ATL
Shine
March 15th, 2012
11:48 am
Let Arthur Blank buy his own stadium. He needs to stop being a deadbeat.
The sales tax refund corporate welfare scheme needs axing. In a time when the legislature is foaming at the mouth to raise sales taxes here and there and wants us to vote ourselves more with T-SPLOST deceptions, the right path is to sales tax real property transfers. Buy a 4 million dollar buidling or farm or house, or plantation pay the consumption tax of about $280,000 or roughly the 7% I have to pay when I buy a car, toilet paper, or whatever.
The Truth
March 15th, 2012
11:54 am
No more corporate welfare! What’s good for the goose is good for the gander…
Welderman
March 15th, 2012
11:58 am
You mean to tell me you want to build a stadium when you already have one, but you let a NHL hockey team walk without even trying to save them? I’m sorry, but i really don’t care if you ever get a new stadium for the Falcons. When us Thrashers fans asked for a little help you just turned your back on us and i’m turning my back on this too.
Hillbilly D
March 15th, 2012
12:01 pm
No public money for a private business. We already went through this when Tom Murphy got the Dome for his buddy Rankin Smith. I’m sure Arthur has buddies, too. Socialize the costs and capitalism for the profits.
If Arthur wants a stadium, he can build whatever he wants, wherever he wants, as long as he pays for it and not the taxpayers.
MarkP
March 15th, 2012
12:03 pm
Let Gwinnett have the stadium. Or South Carolina for that matter. A hospital has a better economic impact for a city than a pro sports stadium, especially football, and especially where full time jobs are concerned.
Johninatl
March 15th, 2012
12:04 pm
Yes to retractable roof, yes to MLS. No to public financing. Super Bowl, ehhh. . .
MARTA desperately needs an overhaul. Beltline –> whatever happened to that? Could help improve public transport into something worthwhile, which is what most Super Bowl-hosting cities have.
rip
March 15th, 2012
12:05 pm
Can we use some of that new stadium money to get a few free agents for could get us to a Super Bowl. oh I forgot we used all of it on Matty ice
SomaAtl95
March 15th, 2012
12:05 pm
Welderman – AMEN! Us Thrashers fans really can’t feel bad for Mr Reed or Mr Blank. They had the power to save the team and did nothing, zero, zilch… They had no money or resources to help the Thrashers but Hey! Lets get rid of the dome because it MAY bring a superbowl. The dome can and should go another decade, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium made it for about 30 years, correct?
True Falcon Fan
March 15th, 2012
12:10 pm
11:48 You have a JOB or you don’t, you are either known as a “Skilled worker” or your not. Let me see here Obama wants to create JOBS, my guess is you probably voted for Obama. That being said you voted for “CHANGE” right? Well Obama hasn’t changed nothing more than increase our debt! But you still remain without a JOB…..A new stadium if starting construction today, would take 28 months to completion. However you don’t want a new stadium. You probably do NOT you want a JOB!
So if i were in Atl, then i would vote for new stadium as long as it’s located someplace close to “Buckhead”!
TruthBe
March 15th, 2012
12:12 pm
Why should we the taxpayers pay for a new stadium for a billionaire owner. We don’t get any of the profits from this great expense. Let Arther Blank pay for his own stadium. As for mayor Reed it seems he’s still high on the tax fix he got from the water sales tax increase. Can’t keep a good corrupt tax and spend democrat like Reed alone with your tax money or your daughter. The Falcoons couldn’t win a superbowl ever. I wish they could but we have more chances winning the lottery than the Falcoons winning a superbowl. And by the way the Georgia Dome was suppost to bring us a superbowl remember that lie. Wake up morons.
Wake Up Georgia!
March 15th, 2012
12:14 pm
I am as much for progress as anyone and have supported Atlanta efforts since a child, but the city does not need a new stadium funded by the public. If Arthur Blank wants to pay for one himself, go to it.
watchful eye
March 15th, 2012
12:15 pm
1. The reason why a new stadium is wanted is for the luxury suites. Believe it or not most of the money made is not from the fans but from the businesses that buy or rent out the suites. By the standards of the NFL the GA Dome was not built as a great football stadium. The Olympics took first thought with Football being the after that. Stadiums are now more that just going and watch games its about the experience while there.
2. The reason why you cant put a Retractable roof on the Dome is because it was not built for that and to do the things necessary for that to happen is a cost of anywhere from 25-35% of what a new stadium would cost. And still would not solve major problems that the dome has
3. A Super Bowl generates money for the city and region that it comes to…….residents of the average Super Bowl host city gain between $30 million and $90 million in extra restaurant checks, merchandise sales, new construction, and other revenue streams.
4. Most have asked whats the difference between the Super Bowl and the SEC, the Chick fil a Bowl and the NCAA… The last super bowl was the most watch TV show in the world with an average 111-million people who watched Fox’s Super Bowl broadcast Sunday making it the most-watched event in TV history. Secondly between 100,000- 250,000 visit the host city for the week span that the super bowl covers.
So people Im not saying we need a new stadium or if built that it need to leave downtown but I just answering some question that a few have asked.
BobDawg
March 15th, 2012
12:16 pm
AB is going to get his Stadium no matter what you all are screaming and gnashing your teeth about. Reed is smart and knows he can’t win here and all he can do is direct it downtown… Me personally, I would put it at the Old GM plant site in Doraville and build a retractible roof. Great roads in and out of there with Marta close by, DUH! Imagine the SEC Chmship and the ACC Chmship playing on the same day in the same town hours apart… That would be cool!
bigman80
March 15th, 2012
12:19 pm
its sad i think a new stadium would be good for a superbowl even though the falcons wont be in a superbowl soon smgdh wat is up with the falcons can we get a free agent please without any medical issues damn im just saying
0bama=Feces
March 15th, 2012
12:19 pm
Speaking of the intermingling of sports and politics, I do not give a flying [Expletive Deleted by AJC Censors] about 0bamaJiveTalker’s “March Madness” picks.
Ergo, [Expletive Deleted by AJC Censors] You and Your Unending Lovefest for that Snake-Oil Hustler, ESPN!
0bama=Feces
March 15th, 2012
12:19 pm
Same to you and your new stadium, Blank!
Tommy Maddox
March 15th, 2012
12:20 pm
I was just kidding when I mentioned last night on Ledbetter’s blog that a new stadium would make the Falcons winners. I didn’t mean for someone to take it seriously…
Double Zero Eight
March 15th, 2012
12:21 pm
They don’t have to build a new stadium in New Orleans
to get a Super Bowl,The Georgia Dome is better than the
Super Dome.
yuzeyurbrane
March 15th, 2012
12:26 pm
You know it’s a scam when both Reed and Deal claim they are not actively engaged in new stadium negotiations. What they really mean is that they know they are being bad by rewarding super-donor Blank while, in Reed’s case not properly attending to basic local needs which could be met with tourist tax funds and, in Deal’s case by cutting education by billions. We know which piper they dance to. Nothing gets into the legislature w/o Deal’s OK—so why did he propose legislation to spend $5 million purchasing more land for new stadium? Please guys, don’t pxxx on my foot and tell me it’s raining. As far argument on merits, there has never been a publicly funded stadium project where claimed benefits were not grossly exaggerated and costs grossly underestimated. Let Blank build the stadium he wants where he wants it with his own billionaire cash if it is such a profitable idea. Good old free enterprise. I am sick and tired of corporate welfare paid for by us middle class schleps.
TruthBe
March 15th, 2012
12:27 pm
Auntie, The democrats are far worst and far better capitalized at corruption then the republicans can ever be. Especially with public taxpayers funds, bonds, and grants. The DEMOCRATS have all of these community organizations, liberal groups, racist groups like NAACP, Urban League, SPLC, ACLU, LaRaza, Thug Unions, Federal Corrupt Judges, Lawyers Unions, Teachers Unions, Acorn, the Obamas and the Clintons, George Soros, Warren Buffet, and the rest of Wallstreet, OWSers, the media, Colleges,and people like you Auntie Christ.
Double Zero Eight
March 15th, 2012
12:33 pm
Ask the citizens of Gwinnett County how Cool Ray Field
is working out for them, compared to the promises made
by the politicians.
richard head
March 15th, 2012
12:34 pm
arthur blank is worth 1.5 billion and he is the one who will make all the money off this deal,him and a bunch of millionaire ballplayers,can’t see where the average citizen would benefit at all, arthur if you want the stadium build it yourself with your money,not mine
weasel
March 15th, 2012
12:38 pm
did’nt jerry jones pay for his new stadium in dallas with his own money?
Jimmy62
March 15th, 2012
12:39 pm
If the Falcons can’t afford to buy themselves a new stadium, then no stadium. Study after study has shown that taxpayers lose money from these deals, both in the short and long term. The idea that getting a Superbowl will somehow make up for it in extra revenue has also been disproven. Cities have to start taking a stand against this nonsense, and if Reed and Deal want to fold and take our money and give it to the Falcons, then we’ll just have to find different people to fill their offices.
There is nothing wrong with the Georgia Dome. If the NFL doesn’t like it, the NFL is welcome to pay for a new one. But Atlanta taxpayers should not spend another penny on thus junk.
TruthBe
March 15th, 2012
12:39 pm
Reed is dishonest and corrupt, he’s only thinking of his own carrer path which isn’t in Atlanta. According to people downtown at city hall Reed is working for a bigger job with Obama in his second term as the destructor-in charge. GOD help us all. Obama has to go and take your little brother Kasim with you.
DannyX
March 15th, 2012
12:40 pm
Why the class warfare people?
Just shut up. The rich are entitled to an air conditioned luxury suite. Our rich need to be pampered. The average fan should help out and just feel lucky to sweat and freeze in your cramped seats. Why the class war?
Mr Blank is facing hard times right now, the gazillion dollar tv contract the NFL just signed is not enough. How would you feel if right next door at Philips Arena there was a whole side of an arena dedicated to the rich? Half of Philips arena is made up of a tower of luxury suites. Is that any way to treat our rich football fans????? The PRODUCERS!!
We need to use our valuable tax resources where they are needed.
Get a job!!!!
Jimmy62
March 15th, 2012
12:41 pm
Watchful Eye: The $60 million a city’s businesses might earn from a Superbowl is far less than the hundreds of millions they are likely to lose building a new stadium.
Emmanuel Hall
March 15th, 2012
12:43 pm
I am as insane about sport’s as most American men and many womne, but I will fight to the end if there is any attempt to finance a new football stadium on the backs of the taxpayers of Atlanta. I might re-consider, if such a tax is imposed state-wide or rigionally. We will not be fooled by the lure of a Super Bowl. If the Falcon’s want an open air stadium, they can take the top off the one they have.
William Smith
March 15th, 2012
12:45 pm
Only in America. A billionaire gets average working people to pay for a stadium not needed, and will then raise ticket prices to pay for it. The final insult is most people can’t afford to buy tickets to the games, and by no means can afford a Super Bowl Ticket. Where are the owners who actually care about the fans. On I forgot they are in the sky box with Mitt Romney.
Double Zero Eight
March 15th, 2012
12:45 pm
@Falconfan68
I concur. We nearly froze to death
at the old stadium. If it was raining or cold,
there were 15,000 to 20,00 no shows.
There is nothing wrong with the Georgoa Dome.
The Truth
March 15th, 2012
12:47 pm
The ‘job creators’ already received various tax breaks so they can create jobs which hasn’t happened. Now a corporatist like Arthur Blank wants to receive corporate welfare so he can ‘create jobs’ from Atlanta getting the Super Bowl? How stupid do the politicians and corporatists think we are? HELL NO to public financing of a stadium so the profits can be privatized. Be warned Arthur Blank and the rest of you corporatists! We have learned your tricks and lies.
TruthBe
March 15th, 2012
12:52 pm
The Obama’s and the Clinton’s are part of the corporatists just like Blank.
ATl Sports
March 15th, 2012
12:52 pm
NO NEW DOME – NO SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jon Swift
March 15th, 2012
12:53 pm
Georgians should heed the recent lesson from the taxpayers in Seattle, Washington. The NBA put a gun to their heads but the citizenry stood fast and said ‘no new arena,’ particularly because the existing arena was completely remodeled and overhauled less than 10 years before the NBA’s shakedown attempt.
Now last month a private investor has come forward to build a new arena in Seattle with a minimal contribution from the taxpayer’s pocket. Take heed Georgia!!! The days of sports leagues blackmailing the public are coming to an end. At least in smart cities.
The Truth
March 15th, 2012
12:54 pm
We can include the Bushes, Santorums, Gingriches and Romneys into the corporatist crowd as well.
Grasshopper
March 15th, 2012
12:55 pm
A new stadium?
I’m still waiting for Home Depot to deliver my new storm door.
Atlanta Media Guy
March 15th, 2012
12:55 pm
By the way, I had many friends in the media industry who spent more than a week in Indy for the Super Bowl. The weather was lousy for one day and the rest were rather nice, sunny, temps in the 50’s. One look at that street festival that led to their Dome would tell you all kinds of people came out for the NFL activities that surround a Super Bowl.
Atlanta has a problem and no one with the NFL will mention it. Our current dome and the property they are seeking to build the new stadium is in the lousiest part of town. There are no areas west of Northside Dr. that are safe for an outdoor street festival or let alone any night time events. Our sports facilities were built in the wrong place. Why do you think that our Olympic folks were hoping to build Olympic Stadium at the Atlantic Station site. Just think if the Braves were playing on that property today?
FalconFreak
March 15th, 2012
12:56 pm
Taxpayers need to have their heads examined if they let the mayor and cohorts pull this off. These deals are net LOSERS for TAXPAYERS!
te29wr
March 15th, 2012
12:57 pm
New Orleans, Rose Bowl, Miami, and others do not have to build a new stadium for a Super Bowl let them freeze their butts of in NYC next year. We do not need a new stadium unless Mr Blank wants to build one and pay for it himself.
Mark
March 15th, 2012
12:58 pm
@ DS
March 15th, 2012
10:43 am
Mayor Reed demonstrates that he is a total fool. Study AFTER study has clearly demonstrated that stadiums build SOLELY for the purposes of attracting the SuperBowel Movement become white elephants around the taxpayers’ necks. Atlanta does not need a new open, air white elephant, when the Dome is perfectly acceptable. Only in the ego driven work of the NFL would a perfectly acceptable 20-year old stadium be considered ancient.
I completely agree with you! What I don’t find wise is why does the city need a new stadium when there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the dome? Just who’s going to fund this project? Taxpayers of course.
FalconFreak
March 15th, 2012
12:59 pm
Say NO to this idea unless taxpayers don’t mind footing the bill. Yeah, it would be nice, but we really can’t afford it. One superbowl every 15 years is not going to bring enough revenue to Atlanta to pay for it. You will.
Native Atlantan
March 15th, 2012
12:59 pm
@watchful eye — the Dome was not built with the Olympics in mind, it was built specifically for the Falcons and other events suited for its size. I agree with most of the posts here — we don’t need a new stadium and certainly not one funded by the public. As far as the Super Bowl goes, who cares….we have such a black eye from the last one I’m not sure people would want to come back. Think about it — what the heck is there to do in Atlanta during the winter? I love my city but I’m a realist…..there isn’t much to hand our hats on when we talk about downtown.
yellowdog.
March 15th, 2012
1:00 pm
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY A GAG ORDER ON VICTOR HILL HEADLINE IS STILL UP ONLINE FOR THE PAST TENDAYS/TO TWO WEEKS; AND WHO CARES ABOUT VICTR HILL; he is a creep and no public servant.
next, lets get the water situation done before we start talking about the falcons; no one has yet to explain why the dome is not enuf; are we selling out season seats? are they winning? enuf already.
Hindu Elvis Pimp
March 15th, 2012
1:00 pm
The notion that a Superbowl is a must for our economy is garbage if we have to spend half a billion. It would make sense if the Superbowl was here every year, but it won’t happen.
It’s easy to see that those who favor it are the ones who will gain the most and the ones who believe the spurious rhetoric. Those who are opposed are the ones who do not want to see public money spent to only serve a few as well as those who see the current facility is more than suitable. If the Dome we 35 years old, then yeah, time for e new stadium. There is plenty of life left.
As someone pointed out, the Superdome is old….Older than the Georgia Dome. They still get Superbowls. There still may be hope…..The city needs to concentrate on other reasons to get people interested in visiting Atlanta…..And if not…..So what?
Randall
March 15th, 2012
1:08 pm
No new stadium… Blank needs to pay for it himself! This is outrageous! Reed and Deal need to hear from the taxpayer and SOON. When will our society value education, infastructure and quality-of-life for the average citizen over corporate greed? A new taxpayer funded stadium in this economy is foolish. If Blank wants to take the Falcons to another city, then let’s have a parade to wish them well (whatever city gets them won’t see a superbowl championship anyway). Almost every city that has been duped into building new stadiums with taxpayer money has gotten screwed with no vaseline. Oakland, CA sticks out in my mind.
On a different note… I really wish there was a way to tax MARTA riders who don’t live in Fulton or Dekalb. Gwinnett and Cobb were foolish to not opt into MARTA when it was being built. Let those fools ride those gas guzzling, slow and inefficent buses until they beg to extend MARTA rails into their counties.HOT lanes? What a rip-off! Georgia is such a backwards state full of idiots whose opinions and views are often colored by racism and a sense of white entitlement.
Admiral Obvious
March 15th, 2012
1:08 pm
To build anything less than a retractable roof like Indy’s is utterly STUPID. I cannot imagine sitting outdoors watching the Falcons play football in late December with typical cruddy Atlanta weather. Indy did get lucky this year with the weather and thank god for global warming but don’t count on that every year.
Jeff
March 15th, 2012
1:11 pm
Whats the big deal about hosting a Super Bowl especially if you ain’t in it. Seriously, just a big hassle for us locals.
real john
March 15th, 2012
1:12 pm
+1 to most of the comments made. Love sports, but no need for a new dome.
Blank needs to spend more time figuring out how to put a worthwhile product on the field that doesn’t embarass itself once playoff time arrives. Who knows, maybe if the Falcons could actually win a Super Bowl, maybe the Falcons would make enough to build their own stadium.
real john
March 15th, 2012
1:13 pm
Oops..meant “no need for new stadium.”
NO NEW STADIUM NEEDED!!
March 15th, 2012
1:16 pm
THE FALCONS DO NOT NEED A NEW STADIUM. If its OPEN AIR, ATL fans are FICKLE. ANY sort of hint of rain, sleet, coldness, hotness.. FANS WILL STAY AWAY. The DOME IS FINE. The Mayor didn’t do JACK @#)$*#)$* To keep the Thrashers here but he wants a new stadium. They need to get off their high horse and forget about the idea. THE DOME IS FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angel Macaroni
March 15th, 2012
1:18 pm
An open-air stadium won’t work in Atlanta because the “fans” are candy-ass yuppies. Too Roswell-Dunwoody-Buckhead prissy to sit in the cold.
real john
March 15th, 2012
1:18 pm
I blame Roger Goddell for most of this madness. He is the one who is pushing the idea that if your city builds a new stadium, you get a Super Bowl. I’m a huge football fan, but the NFL is crazy.
I don’t see Georgia, TN, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, South Carolina having trouble putting 90-100k in their college stadiums. Most of those are 60, 70+ years old and nicer than some of the NFL’s newer stadiums and have much more character.
Andy
March 15th, 2012
1:20 pm
The City of ATL needs a new Dome/Dump like it needs more welfare mommas.
If Kasim wants this so bad for a single SB event, he needs to raise local property taxes and fund this stadium with City of ATL taxes.
david c
March 15th, 2012
1:22 pm
Building a new stadium with public funds is just the American way. Further entitling the entitled. F**k Arthur Blank.
Gman
March 15th, 2012
1:22 pm
Why not combine priorities: We could build a large prison and have the Falcons play there. At least the place would be full and nobody would leave early. Of course, the city would then open themselves to charges of cruel and unusual punishment.
Redstateneck
March 15th, 2012
1:23 pm
Suwanee Falcons has a nice ring to it.
jim pa
March 15th, 2012
1:24 pm
the idea that sports teams represent cities is preposterous,these are for profit businesses only,they enrich arthur blank only and the highly paid ballpalers and that’s it, and most sports fans are dumb enough to buy into the notion that these are “our teams” and that whole notion is crazy
Andy
March 15th, 2012
1:25 pm
Gman- That was my opinion on what to do with the old Braves stadium….turn it into a prison.
God knows the City of ATL could never have enough jail/prison space.
Andy
March 15th, 2012
1:26 pm
Maybe Bernie Marcus should have built Arthur a stadium instead of that stupid looking little joke of an aquarium that doesn’t even compare to the Chattanooga Aquarium?
Redstateneck
March 15th, 2012
1:27 pm
Maybe Marietta Mean Machine
Lunacy rules supreme
March 15th, 2012
1:28 pm
Is anyone else fed up with our politicians raising taxes and spending our money on grandiose extravagances like new stadiums? Screw Arthur Blank, if he wants a new stadium, let him pay for it.
Andy
March 15th, 2012
1:28 pm
Marietta is ghetto enough for a Falcon’s stadium.
Andy
March 15th, 2012
1:30 pm
Just think what kind of schools could be built in the City of ATL with 100’s of millions of dollars?
One would think a black mayor would want to elevate the eduction of black children because they obviously aren’t know to excel in school.
Andy
March 15th, 2012
1:31 pm
education that is….
Kococo Brothar
March 15th, 2012
1:33 pm
We need to get our priorities together and fund the stadium, forget the police, fire and infrastructure of Atlanta!!!!! The GA Dome is old, completed in 1992 its outdated and falling apart. Reed is a puppet and bigot like the rest of the city council.
Gman
March 15th, 2012
1:34 pm
Andy, The only issue with turning the old Ful-Co stadium into a prison is that the real estate was just too valuable. Building a stadium in the middle of a confluence of expressways, well, the atmosphere is just magic. Who among us doesn’t spend hours before and after a Braves game enjoying the ambiance of the neighborhood?
td
March 15th, 2012
1:34 pm
This whole blog just proves that you libs are never happy. You raise h3ll everyday about the government not spending enough money and then you come on here today and say we should not spend money. At least Mayor Reed is smart enough to know that a new stadium will bring in more money to Atlanta businesses, will create jobs and the money is not just going down a rat hole with no benefit to the public.
Mark
March 15th, 2012
1:37 pm
td does every comment you make have to began with “you libs?” I mean really are you that clueless to think that every one commenting is a democratic supporter? Grow up!
td
March 15th, 2012
1:43 pm
Mark
March 15th, 2012
1:37 pm
I know that 90% of the people that post on this blog are Liberal/progressive/socialist and yes 90% vote for Democrats. If read the posts on this blog 2 years ago then you would have thought Barnes was going to be the next governor of this state in a landslide. If you read Jim’s article yesterday then you would think Obama was going to win Georgia in a landslide.
Now tell me again how I am misreading the political leanings of the posters on this blog?
Redstateneck
March 15th, 2012
1:43 pm
How about “T-splost T-birds” Lilburn Turkey Buzzards?
yuzeyurbrane
March 15th, 2012
1:44 pm
td, I hope you realize you are the only 1 supporting welfare for Blank. A true indicator of where your privileged views lie? Yeah, 1%!! And you are wrong on your facts, too, in this instance. Finally, ever heard of priorities? Like education, etc.? Not a problem for you? Guess you can afford private schools for your kids.
LakeDwg
March 15th, 2012
1:45 pm
I don’t want to pay for Blank’s new stadium. Let him pay for it. Why does everyone bitch about welfare and then gladly give away millons to millionaires?
Gman
March 15th, 2012
1:46 pm
The Super Bowl for a new stadium is laughable. Atlanta business get approximately $100 for every million extorted from taxpayers. If that is the only legitimate reason to build a new albatross, then there is no real reason to build one. Why not take a more honest approach and ask taxpayers to fund downtown hotels and restaurants for a week? just think how well that would be received.
Atlanta is a great place to live, but I wouldn’t want to visit. A great point made earlier mentioned the ancient Superdome as attracting plenty of Superbowls. The superbowl crowd loves going there; not so much with Atlanta. How many Superbowls has the ancient Rose Bowl hosted?
Sid
March 15th, 2012
1:51 pm
Yep, that Georgia Dome is about to just fall down………..hell, probably hurt somebody. Time to break ground.
We have to build a new stadium to get another Super Bowl?? Screw the NFL.
ROB
March 15th, 2012
1:52 pm
If a new stadium is built in Gwinnett, as opposed to Atlanta, I’ll never go to another Falcons game as long as I live.
Snatchandgrab
March 15th, 2012
1:53 pm
That’s Bull! Atlanta can’t get a Super Bowl because the city no longer has the Buckead Club district. There’s no central place for the tourists to party. New Orleans stays in the regular rotation for Super Bowls and they have the oldest stadium in the league. Now they may reward the city with a Super Bowl if the city builds a new stadium, but we don’t need a new stadium especially if it’s funded by the taxpayers.
joe in tucker
March 15th, 2012
1:54 pm
No new stadium at the taxpayers expense!! If Arthur wants one, let him raise private money and build it himself!!! The little taxpayer dollars available need to go to real improvements in the city and it’s infrastructure!!
Question Man
March 15th, 2012
1:54 pm
Is the economic argument that getting a Super Bowl justifies spending $800 million in tax dollars? Why not just pay off Arthur Blank with $100 million and skip the new stadium? Won’t the politicians then then have $700 million to play with?
Neil
March 15th, 2012
1:55 pm
So a perfectly good dome that is barely 20 years old is now inadequate and insufficient to host a Superbowl, which it did just 11 years ago. Are we now in the habit of asking the taxpayers to build throw away stadiums that have a 20 year shelf life before they are unacceptable? If the Falcons or the NFL want to spend their own money to build a new stadium, then I have no problem with it, but there shouldn’t be a single penny of taxpayer money spent on this boondoggle. They’ll just have to suffer with a state of the art 20 year old dome.
Diehard
March 15th, 2012
1:55 pm
So one Super Bowl makes it ok to put the taxpayers on the hook for a 30 year bad deal? I’m sorry, Mr. Mayor. You’re a great Mayor but on this one, you’re wrong.
td
March 15th, 2012
1:56 pm
yuzeyurbrane
March 15th, 2012
1:44 pm
How can you call it welfare? Is it not true that the Falcons would be paying rent on the stadium and that rent money should go to pay off the bonds that built it? Welfare is giving something to someone without an expectation of that person of paying back the money. Building a stadium is not building a road or a bridge, there are rents that come in, fees paid for concerts and other events and money being spent in the community at restaurants and hotels. Visitors going to other places like the Aquarium, world of coke and the MLK center when they are in town for the SEC Championship game or intown with a visitor’s team.
Halftrack
March 15th, 2012
1:56 pm
We don’t need a new stadium, especially if it is put near downtown. If one is built it needs to be outside the Metro ring so that it has plenty of parking spaces and easy access. Marta can do a spur rail to it. There is too much congestion downtown now. Final note: Taxes would increase.
TBone
March 15th, 2012
2:01 pm
How did Nathan Deal get elected governor? He was soon to be indicted congressman that split before it got too hot. If a new stadium is built NO public monies should be used. Have Gov Deal pay for it.
Neil
March 15th, 2012
2:01 pm
@TD…those same economic benefits accrue with the existing Dome. You don’t need a new stadium.
Drew
March 15th, 2012
2:03 pm
The Super Bowl is a bad carrot hung out there by the NFL to keep building bigger sports palaces fore them. Every new stadium gets ONE SB and then it’s back to Miami, NO or Tampa. They’re even demanding Miami put a roof over the field so precious spectators don’t get wet. It’s a scam, and I’m done with it. Billionaires can build their own @#$% palaces.
tell it like it is
March 15th, 2012
2:05 pm
A new stadium–Who is going to play there? the Falcons bwahahahahahahahahahaha.
Sid
March 15th, 2012
2:07 pm
Let’s see, the taxpayers foot the bill for the new stadium, then the big game comes here and the city reaps the benefits of all the tax revenue collected. The city makes money, the owner makes money, and the citizens get to pay for it all. Is this a great country or what?
WOW
March 15th, 2012
2:09 pm
No stadium money until we get some free agents…
Drew
March 15th, 2012
2:09 pm
BTW, one of the sited reasons we ‘needed’ the Dome was because the Omni was too small for modern political conventions… and exactly HOW MANY political conventions has it hosted?
(Pssst…. zero.)
Diggity
March 15th, 2012
2:20 pm
Who cares about a new stadium when the team is doing nothing in free agency but resigning its lower tier players, letting the better ones go and signing no one from the free agent market…except a couple of players off the street
Bill
March 15th, 2012
2:21 pm
If we are own the stadium, we should also own the team. I don’t mean local government, I mean local citizens like Green Bay.
td
March 15th, 2012
2:24 pm
Neil
March 15th, 2012
2:01 pm
@TD…those same economic benefits accrue with the existing Dome. You don’t need a new stadium.
Other cities are already trying to take away the SEC Championship game from Atlanta by saying, among other things, that the stadium is old and does not have enough luxury boxes. People are trying to get National Championship game brought to Atlanta but that is not going to happen until we have a new stadium, same with another final 4.
Old Dawg
March 15th, 2012
2:25 pm
We’re laying off police officers, firemen, EMS Units and teachers, but an NFL owner wants the state to pick up the tab for a new stadium for he can host a Super Bowl. So provides the support for a major event when it comes to town?
It certainly won’t be laid-off police, firemen, EMS units and other first responders.
A Fan
March 15th, 2012
2:34 pm
Let’s see now. Detroit, St. Louis, New York. they’re all in the SB mix right? Good luck with that.
Now for an open air place in ATL. Blank, McKay, (who else) knows what November – Feb is like here, right? The Super Bowl in ATL had an ice storm. And we’re going to get another by building an open air stadium? Somebody help me with this. This is was past anything sensable. Retractable roof is the only way to go. And I am fond of the Dome we have now. The only thing wrong with it is it just doesn’t generate enough revenue for the falcons. Isn’t that why they wanted out of Fulco Stadium? I guess most of you don’t remember that time. Along with those rainy, cold, empty stadium Sunday Afternoons. It wasn’t pretty….
BLAH!!! BLAH!!! BLAH!!!!!!!
March 15th, 2012
2:34 pm
A lot of you sound like some idiotic, hypotcritical rednecks… Oh, watching a game outside is too cold? Yet, you pay top dollar to watch the dogs during the same time of the year ( Freakin Green Bay Fans don’t have a Dome)… Oh, marta is too unstable, the area is too unstable, everything is too unstable!!! Could you imagine if a facility was built in the Northern suburbs? There is a reason why it is not people, it’s too much traffic on a typical day, let along a day when a big event such as a football game is going on!! Nascar only happens once or twice a year so it is manageable for the city of Hampton, the city of Athens doesn’t have anything else going on, so events such as bulldog football are manageable for Athens, Ga…. Football in the metro area would be a nightmare in “conservative” traffic filled, northern fulton or gwinnett.
A Fan
March 15th, 2012
2:36 pm
Oh, another reminder of our open air Stadiums. Football blacked out locally every home game. Yea, open air…. Sheez. How about that for fan experience…
A Fan
March 15th, 2012
2:39 pm
Freakin Green Bay ain’t going to get a Super Bowl either, Dummy….
cpsman_atlanta
March 15th, 2012
2:45 pm
So Mayor Reid won’t fight for the Thrashers, which cost a lot less to manage than the Falcons, and now he supports a new stadium for the Falcons when the Georgia Dome could be (a) remodeled with a retractable roof, (b) isn’t broken today, (c) would hold more seats than a new stadium?
Considering all the issues that should be addressed, with regards to water/sewer, transportation, etc., this is the last thing that Georgia voters should be concerned with. Looks like my boycott might just have to included everything associated with downtown Atlanta.
no new dome
March 15th, 2012
2:47 pm
The current dome isn’t really that old – it opened in the 90s I believe. Why should state tax payers pay to build a new one only for the privilege of buying even further over-priced tickets? Thats not getting our moneys worth.
Mattie Patterson
March 15th, 2012
2:51 pm
If this is such a good thing for Atlanta, then let those who would benefit pay for it. As a rural Georgian who has never attended, nor plans to attend a sporting event in Hotlanta, I see no reason those of us who are living on a fixed income and get no benefit, taxes or other, from this enterprise should be saddled with the expense. The last one was supposed to be such a boon to the state, hah.
Let Arthur Blank pay for his own factory. Let the rest of us afford to eat well for a change.
Cujo Bendi
March 15th, 2012
2:54 pm
We DON’T need a new stadium.
Give me a break
March 15th, 2012
2:56 pm
The Falcons don’t need a new stadium. If it’s about just droping hundreds of millions of dollars to get a super bowl , then just do that. Tax payers should not be responsible for a dime. Let investers loose there A$$.
Hindu Elvis Pimp
March 15th, 2012
2:56 pm
Halftrack
March 15th, 2012
1:56 pm
We don’t need a new stadium, especially if it is put near downtown. If one is built it needs to be outside the Metro ring so that it has plenty of parking spaces and easy access. Marta can do a spur rail to it. There is too much congestion downtown now. Final note: Taxes would increase.
“”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”
Most retarded statement of the day,
How is it a facility downtown does not have plenty of access? With MARTA, interstates 20, 75 & 85 all intersecting in the downtown area, I don’t see where in the metro area there is more access? To then put MARTA on the hook(which is tax payers money and the basis for most of this dissent) to build a spur is absurd. They can barely function with what they have.
I hope you are not a registered voter.
ljd
March 15th, 2012
2:59 pm
maybe blank is going to partner up with the asg!
5150 UOAD
March 15th, 2012
2:59 pm
Kiss my grits. I went to Falcon games and Peach Bowls in the old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium and I will not go to games outside after the November Ga.Tech v UGa game after Thanksgiving. I been in the Nasty WEATHER and I have a Beautiful 72″ screen and cheap beer at home. Who really cares about the Super Bowl in your town if your team isn’t playing in it. Maybe we can get Ray Lewis to OFF somebody next time he is in town for a Super Bowl.
John Q
March 15th, 2012
3:02 pm
Since we have had a Dome Stadium for a number of years and relatively mild weather, you have forgotten how it feels to sit in freezing rain or searing heat. Arthur says his box seat is comfy. So why is there the push for a new stadium? More stadium revenue with more, and higher priced box seats. The current stadium is not bad. Goodell is just trying to appease Arthur Blank.
The last outside advice given to Atlanta was to improve infrastructure first. This has not been done. Traffic is still a mess. These problems should be taken care of first.
If Arthur wants to spend his own money, fine. But using state, county or city money is using
taxpayer money, and I think a lot of people are against that. Birmingham AL just went bankrupt.
A Domed stadium will allow many more shows to be staged, in inclement weather, that would have to be otherwise cancelled in an open air stadium. People are being pressured into this.
Kevin
March 15th, 2012
3:08 pm
Are you kidding me, who cares about the super bowl. This is SEC country! Why in the world do we need to spend $ to build a new stadium. Simply put its just not a necessity and the funding could & should go to something more domestic.
BLAH!!! BLAH!!! BLAH!!!!!!!
March 15th, 2012
3:10 pm
A Fan
March 15th, 2012
2:39 pm
Freakin Green Bay ain’t going to get a Super Bowl either, Dummy….
WOW!!! I’m a dummy? U are funny!!!! Do we know each other?
jimbob
March 15th, 2012
3:16 pm
A new stadium; yeah, that is a priority. SB, who cares. Fix the roads and sewers first. Those are quality of life issues. Football? just another game.
Don Abernethy
March 15th, 2012
3:19 pm
If you can find a way to absolutely prevent any taxpayers money used it might be a good idea. I live in Gwinnett and our commissioners did not consult us but passed it on their own to use our money and now it is in trouble. If it will not work without taxpayer money let the Falcons move to another state.
Marcel
March 15th, 2012
3:22 pm
Doraville GM site. Next to a MARTA station and central to the fans. Plenty of parking.
S.A.W.B (Registry #12606)
March 15th, 2012
3:30 pm
A stadium for Atlanta? For whom? The fat cats? Cost? Teachers being laid off, police laid off, economy in shambles, but Art wants a stadium so be it. Kasum Reed wants it, too. OK If he’s on board, let’s build it outside the city and see how much he (Kasum) will back it then. Won’t cost the taxpayers a dime, will it? Hmm, that’s what the Democrats in the Gwinnet County Commission promised when the G-Braves stadium was built. Government being trustworthy stewards of our money, however, leads me to believe that they can be believed and we should go ahead and spend the $$$. Good Lord! What idiocy!
trying2bafan
March 15th, 2012
3:33 pm
A new stadium would be nice, but how about winning a playoff game. Why are even talking about a new stadium when the owner is not committed to winning. Why are the falcons not making any moves in free agency. We have some good pieces but the picture in not complete. I don’t understand. Are the owners only statisfied with getting to the playoffs. I don’t know if anyone is paying attenion but Tampa is letting the league know, They want to win. What are we doing? NOTHING! I have lived in Atlanta all my life. Falcons you make it hard to support you.
No Hope
March 15th, 2012
3:34 pm
We have no hope!!! In these tough economic times, the last thing that hard-working, tax-paying, citizens of Atlanta and the State of Georgia need is to build a new stadium. Fund HOPE. Fix the rapid transit system. Fix the sewer system. Clean up the Chattahoochee. Let Arthur Blank, Kasim Reed, and Nathan Deal pay for the stadium if they want one. Don’t pawn it off on us!!!!
Real Talk nothing more
March 15th, 2012
3:38 pm
Who gives a FLYING FLUCK about a new stadium!!! We want NEW PLAYERS and a new administration!!!
stevcue
March 15th, 2012
3:43 pm
If we do get the superbowl from building a new stadium, We will only get it once then they will move onto another city. It’s not like we are going to get the superbowl year after year. After 10 years they will say we need “a new stadium” again so we can be competitive for another superbowl. Let Mr. Blank donate a new one to the city like his former Home Depot owner Bernie Marcus donated the acquirum!!!!
Going Right
March 15th, 2012
3:44 pm
OK Socialists, refute this: (This should get the Lefty spin machine whirring at 300mph!)
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/cbo-obamacare-cost-176-trillion-over-10-yrs/425831.
And while you’re at it, please post where any Republican group, be it tea party or otherwise, who has ever called any Liberal, Democratic, Socialist, or otherwise, a group of “Sons of Bitches?” (as your Union buddy’s leader did).
Jimnalph
March 15th, 2012
3:45 pm
Are all those people nuts?!
Who would want to come to Atl in late January/early Feb for a game outdoors?! There is a reason Boortz calls February “FebruUGLY”. This February was a definitely not the normal Feb. Late January thru February is usually cold and rainy. And do they remember the weather the one and only time Atl had the Super Bowl? We had an ice storm!! Do they not remember the weather for the poor Peach Bowl for so many years? Cold and rain and miserable. The Peach/Chick-fil-a Bowl did not really take off until we had the Dome. Do the Falcons need a domed stadium? Absolutely not. But it is nice to have for a Super Bowl. Do we care that much about having a Super Bowl? Absolutely not. Super Bowls should be played in some warmer climate, not here in FebruUGLY.
HPUCK
March 15th, 2012
3:53 pm
Not with my tax dollars. People do not let them push this down the throat of the tax payer. There many other things like education, street repair, etc. Let Blank pay for the stadium
frugal voter
March 15th, 2012
3:55 pm
You failed to mention that NYC (actually the NJ Meadowlands) is getting a reward Super Bowl for that new stadium. One Super Bowl will not pay off the cost of a stadium.
Who Cares?
March 15th, 2012
3:58 pm
If the Falcons want a new stadium, that’s fine. Let them pay for it. Not the taxpayers of Atlanta or Fulton County. If there is a budget surplus in the city of Atlanta or Fulton County, then allow the citizens vote on how to spend their surplus. Tax money is not the government’s money, as it was paid by the citizens and businesses. The government should be nothing more than a steward of those funds. No more government spending unless they can pay CASH for their items of interest. As far as the Falcons go, hope you have several sell out seasons where you make enough profit to save for and PAY for YOUR stadium.
CJ
March 15th, 2012
4:01 pm
With the current team, the Falcons rarely sell out. The last time I was in the Georgia Dome, it looked to be in pretty good shape to me. I know in reality the Falcons are talking about 5-8 years from now in getting into a new stadium versus the condition of the GA Dome at that time. Kasim Reed will not be the Atlanta Mayor at that time, but regardless, the city should be behind any stadium inside the city limits in defense of one being built out in Gwinnett County or somewhere else. I don’t live in the city of Atlanta and don’t have to pay property taxes there, but I know that Reed has a mess on his hands to fix a lot of things (i.e. sewer and water) while trying to ensure the top line generates more cash to pay for it all.
JB
March 15th, 2012
4:02 pm
All that public money going towards the CHANCE to MAYBE have a Super Bowl for ONE WEEK every 5-10 years or so? Gee, what a great public investment…good things ATL’s schools and transit are in tip-top shape though, otherwise we wouldn’t even be able to think about investing in a stadium, right? Ugh, sigh….
I like Reed, but he’s wrong on this one. Let Blank pay for it himself. Communities (and particularly nearby neighborhoods) are always on the losing end of stadium investments. The past 30 years have taught us that. Enough with the willful, shameless corporate welfare.
John
March 15th, 2012
4:08 pm
So we want to build a new stadium just to get 1 super bowl and let the world see what a crappy city we have again and the open air stadium is going to guarantee no ice storm. As soon as we build the new stadium it will be obsolete like a new car driving off the lot, so then we will have a new excuse to build another stadium a few years later to get another super bowl in our wonderful city. This season ticket holder will never sit in an open air stadium again in ATL when we have a perfectly good indoor stadium that was just updated and is good as any I have been in, except for the new Cowboys Stadium.
Rick
March 15th, 2012
4:11 pm
If Arthur wants a stadium for a Super Bowl, then how about fielding a team that can get to the Super Bowl. Then maybe we can talk.
alpha male
March 15th, 2012
4:12 pm
why do people keep wanting to tie MARTA to a stadium???? MARTA riders are society’s “takers”, not producers…who cares if MARTA goes to the stadium…
Fred
March 15th, 2012
4:14 pm
The Super Bowl will not come here with a new open-air stadium. Mother Nature is unpredictable and the SB Committee will want a roof to prevent any issues.
5150 UOAD
March 15th, 2012
4:19 pm
Alpha Male is the Moron of the day. Plenty of people prefer to park free pay $5 to ride MARTA over paying to park downtown. Many of the workers at the DOME use MARTA. If people want to they can fly in for the game get on MARTA go to the game then home and never be stuck in ATL traffic.
n
March 15th, 2012
4:20 pm
Are these people nuts? Georgia and Atlanta lead the nation in economic insecurity, foreclosures, high unemployment, low SAT scores, bad transportation, bad public schools, etc. etc. and they want a new stadium? I can think of 100 uses for that money that would advance Georgia in the eyes of the world; and a new stadium is not one of them.
I'm Just Saying...
March 15th, 2012
4:20 pm
If Mr. Men’s Warehouse strolling along the sidelines wants a new stadium let him buy it himself. The Falcons’ record would still be dismal wherever they called home.
I'm Just Saying...
March 15th, 2012
4:22 pm
Anything is possible in the South’s Bannana Republic!!
True Dat
March 15th, 2012
4:22 pm
I’d rather use public funds for some new players. Have you seen the transaction wire lately? Everyone is moving and getting better.
You know the saying, if you’re not moving up, you’re moving back.
Get it together Falcons.
Dimitroff, I’m watching you!
Don't get mad, get involved
March 15th, 2012
4:23 pm
Any public funding of the stadium is a terrible mistake. Local government cannot spare the funds and there are other priorities if there were funds. And the Super Bowl won’t fund the stadium either. Arthur Blank puts himself out there as some great philanthropist. Well, he’s getting all his money back by having the public pay for the stadium. Studies have shown that the public never benefits from funding stadiums. Find some other way to pay for it.
Garth
March 15th, 2012
4:24 pm
A new stadium for Atlanta would be like putting a diamond ring in a pig’s nose.
MG
March 15th, 2012
4:29 pm
The Falcons organization had an open-air stadium many years ago, then they vehemently persuaded the state and city that they needed a domed stadium instead of a newer open-air one because of the weather. Now here they are back again with another flip-flop request.
jc
March 15th, 2012
4:32 pm
playing in the Dome is awesome..the college bowl games are big events in it..why in the world would you want to go back to a domeless facility? Just go play at Turner Field, geez
5150 UOAD
March 15th, 2012
4:38 pm
Just for practice & to see how people that want an open air stadium really like it, then Play Falcon Games at Ga Tech from December until the end of the season. All you we need a new outdoor stadium people will be crying like lil girls. Our winters are not that bad but I wouldn’t pay good money to sit in the cold and rain when I could buy a better TV and stay home.
MILTON
March 15th, 2012
4:44 pm
To waste money/funds to build a new stadium in hopes of hosting a Super Bowl that comes around every 20-30-years to a city sounds crazy to me. The Ga. Dome is twenty-years old, and 1 super bowl under it’s belt. A rail system that most counties citizens/gov’t don’t want in their county,but will ride the rail
to downtown Atl.
FalconJim
March 15th, 2012
5:01 pm
Super Bowl? SUPER BOWL? How ’bout we try to win one first…
O4W
March 15th, 2012
5:05 pm
@MILTON The GA Dome has hosted two Super Bowls (1994 and 2000).
Ray Lewis
March 15th, 2012
5:17 pm
I can’t wait to come back to the A. You can get away with murder there.
huh..
March 15th, 2012
5:25 pm
They said the same thing when they built the Ga Dome. After 20 years of data, a journalist might could research to see if the mayor’s claim are real. Did the Dome pay for itself, or was it the citizen’s burden?
Paddy O
March 15th, 2012
5:28 pm
I don’t give a rats butt about having a super bowl – we did about a decade ago, and what happened? murder. If Blank or Atlanta wants to fund it, fine – but no state $$$.
Paddy O
March 15th, 2012
5:31 pm
If the state is to contribute, I want the voters to approve that move.
BULLDOZIER
March 15th, 2012
5:35 pm
no open air stadium……….
DannyX
March 15th, 2012
5:42 pm
“If Blank or Atlanta wants to fund it, fine – but no state $$$.”
It’s too late for that, the state just bought a $15 million piece of property for the new stadium. They will be kicking in more, you don’t get a say.
FedUp
March 15th, 2012
5:46 pm
If they put the stadium downtown again, with NO tailgating, poor traffic and poor parking and high crime again, forget the season tickets. Get the stadium OUT OF DOWN TOWN!
Chuck
March 15th, 2012
5:55 pm
Perhaps Kasim could’ve funneled that King Center Streetcar money into a new stadium… it’s about the same cost. And guess which one will get used more?
One boondoggle here, another boondoggle there…
purtty
March 15th, 2012
6:03 pm
Like Ray Lewis say, murder easy A in the Big A — Oh, let’s do have another Super Bowl. AK47’s, big ole Knaviagahs wit all the hos up in there, entourages, and blood and shattered glass all over Buckhead and Midtown, and where is it you want to build this thing?. Why not right next dooor to Georgia Tech…….y’all could run off a heck of alot mo’ white people that way. This is a pathetic idea, as a last gasp for a pathetic, dying cesspool of a city.
Horsetoothedjackass
March 15th, 2012
6:03 pm
When Mayor Reed and Gov. Deal are up for re-election, vote them out as hypocrites. Neither would intercede in helping keep the Thrashers here, saying that it was a “private business matter” yet are pushing for a new stadium for the Falcons, a privately owned entity.
If Arthur Blank wants a new open air stadium for his team, he needs to kick in a decent amount of cash himself like the team did with renovations to the Georgia Dome several years back. The simplest solution is the solution that the Falcons don’t want, which is to renovate the Georgia Dome and replace the roof with a retractable one.
ctfatlanta
March 15th, 2012
6:16 pm
Let’s not forget this new stadium will be further away from MARTA, further away from existing development, and let’s not forget the fact that the GA Dome did not spur investment in the area surrounding the stadium.
Brian
March 15th, 2012
6:26 pm
Quit wasting our tax dollars. The Super Bowl is not coming here.
Spanky
March 15th, 2012
6:32 pm
(whispering) Build it, and they still won’t come…
junbug
March 15th, 2012
6:34 pm
Sure you dummy the tax payers will pick up the bill!!!
David Kae
March 15th, 2012
6:39 pm
I am so hopeful that good sense will prevail and we DO NOT give public money to a multi-million dollar developer and football owner just so they can have a prettier stadium. It’s absurd and infuriates me.
TruthBe
March 15th, 2012
6:39 pm
I hate the socialist party I mean democratic party but I agree with most comments today and let the billionaire Blank build his own stadium. That would be fine with me. And if Authur Blank wanted to move the Falcons to another home stadium someone else and away from downtown charlie brown that’s fine too. Screw the racist Obama’s boy Reed too.
Will someone please stop the insantiy?
March 15th, 2012
6:40 pm
The new stadium idea is like a bad penny that never goes away. Is someone being paid off to favor this boondoggle? It is way too expensive when you already have a nice stadium. Getting the Super Bowl for one year is nice but nothing in benefit when compared to the huge cost of a new stadium. this is not a prudent move and a slap in the face of all the residents who are not doing well financially in this City by spending big public dollars on this “want” when so many other “needs” exist. Let’s think, more needed financial support for the disabled, elderly, medical care, transportation, the list of needs goes on or spend $1 billion so we can have a nice location for some events during the year and maybe get a one time Super Bowl party in town. Get real, this is not contest if you have a prudent bone in your body. I like Arthur but on this one, he can spend his own money on it and charge for its use. He can make his own business decision, and leave the public out of it.
TruthBe
March 15th, 2012
6:53 pm
If you want the truth you can’t have it downtown with all the “black crime”. You would have to get rid of the thugs first and clean up the area next. But that won’t happen with the corrupt democrat black leadership at city hall. Take the money from the “I have a dream crowd” and re-invest it in the area and then let Blank invest his own money to build his own stadium in that area. This way the entire area is improved for all. Keep the thugs out. Just look at Atlantic Station. The crime from the black thugs has ruin that investment. FACT
Falconfan68
March 15th, 2012
6:55 pm
Hell No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No New Taxes
March 15th, 2012
7:02 pm
We do not need a stinking Super Bowl in Atlanta. Certainly do not need a new stadium or the costs to build it in this economy. Georgians who actually work and do not live off wellfare pay for stadium and the rich elite split up all the profits. No to New Stadium, Super Bowl, and taxes. Let Arthur Blank or some other millionaire bring a World Championship to Atlanta. Falcons never won the Bowl, until they do no New Stadium. The Georgia Dome is Great. Keep it.
Rock Gaines
March 15th, 2012
7:09 pm
A reason for the new stadium is because the Falcons do not make as much revenue in relation to other NFL franchises. The Falcons have to share revenues with the GWCC. In addition, the Georgia Dome doesn’t have enough sky boxes in relation to newer facilities. Of course, a Super Bowl is coveted by most NFL cities because of the financial windfall it brings.
I don’t have a problem with a new stadium as long as it’s downtown, it has a retractable roof, and the Falcons pay for the majority of the funding themselves. The Jets and Giants followed a similar financing model. By the way, many cities use the hotel/motel and car rental tax to help fund stadiums. I am not against that, I just think the Falcons should pay for at least 75% of the cost.
Allie F.
March 15th, 2012
7:13 pm
Forget all the stadiums, trolleys, et al. Can someone please, PLEASE, fix the pot holes in all the major streets of Atlanta? I have replaced one tire, my wheels are once again out of alignment. Enough. Where are the priorities????
Rock Gaines
March 15th, 2012
7:14 pm
By the way, for a transit agency that lives on a shoestring, MARTA does ok. I beleive some of you complainers don’t even use it. I find it amazing that the state can dictate to MARTA even though they contribute no funds to operate it.
Please
March 15th, 2012
7:27 pm
I live down by the Dome and I would LOVE to see the City pave the streets around here, clean up all the vacant lots, crack down on the owners of abandoned properties, and put more foot patrols on the street before they spend a penny of MY money building a new stadium for billionaire Blank.
Billy
March 15th, 2012
7:32 pm
How long will it take for the Falcons to tire of this stadium?
FedUp
March 15th, 2012
8:11 pm
The leadership is the city of Atlanta is a joke. Reid shouldn’t even be mayor. He was voted mayor by default.
tiger
March 15th, 2012
8:21 pm
since i wont ever get the chance or have the money to go to a super bowl why in the world would i be in favor of building a stadium for a stupid bowl i would never be able to go to..
Brent
March 15th, 2012
9:11 pm
Atlanta has hosted the Super Bowl twice since the Georgia Dome was opened…the “If we build it, they will come” argument has no merit. The Dome is barely 20 years old; it has some of the best sight lines in the league. It isn’t falling apart and is already used to host events other than pro football. Replacing it (especially during this poor economy) makes no sense whatsoever. Modifications or upgrades I could get behind, but the Falcons need a new stadium about as much as UGA needs another arrested athlete.
old man
March 15th, 2012
10:11 pm
I thought we built The Dome to get a Super Bowl. That seems to be the NFL’s plan: assure a constant supply of stadiums that last only 30 years or so because a team can’t get a super bowl unless they build a new stadium. The Dome seems very comfortable and popular with a lot of events.
What happened to the idea of putting a retractable roof over the existing stadium? It would be a monumental engineering project, but still only half the cost of a new stadium. At least it would reduce the amount of tax money poured down the NFL rat hole.
Alpha12
March 15th, 2012
10:16 pm
Arthur should build his new stadium in Alpharetta. Nobody wants to go to the ‘hood for games anymore
TruthBe
March 15th, 2012
10:31 pm
Obama should bring his boy Reed up to DC so we can get rid of him.
JBK
March 15th, 2012
11:01 pm
This stadium idea is beyond stupid. As a season ticket holder, I have NO interest in an outdoor stadium and will cancel my tickets. Mayor Reed is a fool to believe the NFL is going to place the superbowl here (outdoors) in February. Even if they did, WHO CARES? It is a one time event and will have NO long term effect on Atlanta. This is typical government and Reed should be given the boot out of office.
Atlanta mayor pushing for new stadium | Atlanta Local Me.me
March 15th, 2012
11:09 pm
[...] Mayor Kasim Reed sounds like he’s firmly behind the efforts by the Falcons to get a new outdoor stadium within the city [...]
Jason
March 15th, 2012
11:19 pm
Who cares if the Super Bowl comes here… the Falcons will never be in one unless they get off their (explitives) and stop signing players that just aren’t that good.
MrHughes
March 16th, 2012
12:06 am
The new stadium needs to be built on the site of the Georgia Dome with a retractable roof. I’ve been a season ticket holder over 10 years, have disposable income because I’ve bought 5 authentic jerseys along with a couple hundred tickets. I have actually supported this team and don’t just watch them on tv. Also, i love taking Marta to games and live in the city. I have no desire to sit in the shadow of a meth labs, trailer parks, traffic, a HOT lane, or wait until I get into town to get a decent meal. Gwinnett’s stadium has been an embarrassment. The cost overruns drove the price to about twice the budget and the draws less fans than anticipated. They would compromise attendance and fan experience by moving away from North. I can just see it now. “What are we doing after the game honey? Let’s go to Golden Coral and stuff ourselves until the buttons pop off our pants. Then, we can go buy some XXXL jeans at Walmart. Okie dokie”
Fats Okelly
March 16th, 2012
2:48 am
NOTHING wrong where we play right now…………….concentrate on winning playoff games Mr.Blank
larry peale
March 16th, 2012
3:27 am
The Dome is only 20 years old and works just fine. The city and state are broke. The schools are starving for money and public transportation is a joke. And our stupid mayor wants a new stadium so the town can get one Super Bowl weekend binge and the poor billionaire owner of the Falcons can make more money. Big whoop. If the Falcons want a new stadium so bad, they can pay for it, not us workin’ folk.
And just so you understand how big cities do it, the NY Giants have been playing in north New Jersey for 25 years. San Francisco keeps the 49rs and its team and city name in its metro area and lets Santa Clara put up a billion dollars. And how about those “New England” Patriots?
So, we’d get a Super Bowl. So what? | Kyle Wingfield
March 16th, 2012
5:06 am
[...] partial quote from a blog post by my colleague Jim Galloway about Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s push for a new stadium for the [...]
Hols
March 16th, 2012
8:34 am
We have a great stadium the dome. Whats wrong with it?
If they move the team to gwinnett or cobb I dare them to name them ATLANTA falcons.
We downtowners will protest!!!!!
fRED
March 16th, 2012
8:57 am
Hey Greg,
Dont forget Atlanta’s Superbowl also including the gunning down of two people in Buckhead.
Already overburdened taxpayers, failing city infrastructure, smaller capacity stadium, higher priced season tickets… all for one football game? Tell me again why ATL needs a new stadium…
BIGDAWGFAN
March 16th, 2012
9:48 am
WELL BILLS GOT MARIO $100 MIL
JONESBORO SLIM
March 16th, 2012
11:24 am
A new stadium just bring in a Super Bowl and satisfy NFL commissioner Goodell “NO NO NO “…Instead build a casino at old GM plant location (I-285/I-85) which will add revenue, bring in more conventions and tourist trade more importantly “JOBS”…now don’t tell me about the “GANGER” element…they’ve been here for years in state, county and city goverment besides the lottery is in trouble…so do something that will alleviate the burden we tax payers are carrying…