New Atlanta Stadium

[MadmanLA]

The second stadium (folding wing dome) would be a cool stadium for the Jets if they do intend of flying out of the cookie cutter stadium in East Rutherford and land in Queens, Brooklyn, or Nassau County! Yes, NYC WILL get another Super Bowl, a Final Four, and possibly the 2024 Summer Olympics if this stadium is built!

You do realize that the new so-called cookie-cutter stadium in East Rutherford was jointly paid for by the Giants AND Jets, right?

It's been about a decade since the Westside Stadium failed...let it go already. Unless Woody Johnson all of a sudden wants to sell back his interest and spend another billion dollars to build his own stadium, the Jets will be in the Jersey swamps for more years to come.

[BLUELANDbeliever]

Those stadium concepts are nice and all, but what about the churches?

This makes me hate Kasim Reed even more.

I'm going to use all of my power as mayor to make sure that Friendship Baptist Church locates just a short distance from where we are today. And they will be a stronger church, a stronger organization that is much more capable because of the millions of dollars that we are going to pay for that church

Where was this guy 2 years ago? What happened to the guy who said "This is a private business matter that is out of my hands" ? You disgust me and I'm ashamed to call your fickle contradiction ass my Mayor.

[orangefaniniowa]

I would love to see them built the "Pantheon", that would not only be the coolest stadiums in the world, but it would all but blow other current stadiums away. The "Oculus", their name for retractable roof, would be incredible to watch.

Just do it!!

[Brave-Bird 08]

The video board that wraps around the oculus is called the 'video halo'

Marketing not just to the Atlanta football fanatics, but also video game nerds. Well played...well played.

I'm glad nobody else is arguing about the politics of this either. The debate was heated, ran front page of the paper for three years whenever something was said on it, and it's over and done with.

Fans are super excited. Since Arthur Blank has arrived this franchise has really come out of the woodwork and become one of the greatest in sports.

Ignorant fans from other areas may laugh at that--but seriously, after seeing disconnected, group ownership of the Hawks, Braves and Thrashers, the investment, interest and community involvement Arthur Blank has put forth has made people in Atlanta fall in love with the Falcons. People are Falcons crazy now. You see just as many Falcons decals on cars as Georgia decals, which was not even close 10 years ago.

This stadium is going to really boost the brand. I'm so excited.

[guest23]

The video board that wraps around the oculus is called the 'video halo'

Marketing not just to the Atlanta football fanatics, but also video game nerds. Well played...well played.

I'm glad nobody else is arguing about the politics of this either. The debate was heated, ran front page of the paper for three years whenever something was said on it, and it's over and done with.

Fans are super excited. Since Arthur Blank has arrived this franchise has really come out of the woodwork and become one of the greatest in sports.

Ignorant fans from other areas may laugh at that--but seriously, after seeing disconnected, group ownership of the Hawks, Braves and Thrashers, the investment, interest and community involvement Arthur Blank has put forth has made people in Atlanta fall in love with the Falcons. People are Falcons crazy now. You see just as many Falcons decals on cars as Georgia decals, which was not even close 10 years ago.

This stadium is going to really boost the brand. I'm so excited.

I'd like to hear the rationale behind boosting the brand. In addition are the taxpayer liable for cost overruns and hotel tax revenue shortfalls? It just seems kind of crazy that the city is going to ditch a relatively new stadium but then again the nfl has mastered the art of corporate welfare.

On a side note the bonds for giants stadium are still being repaid despite it being demolished a few years ago.

[coogrfan]

Hell, Houston still owes something like $30 million in bond debt for renovations done to the Dome back in the late 80's.

[MellowTheMyth]

I really don't understand where they believe they're going to get $1 Billion+ to build either stadium. Greed is ugly.

[BlueSky]

I really don't understand where they believe they're going to get $1 Billion+ to build either stadium. Greed is ugly.

City = $200 million that could be spent on other far more imperative expenses

Falcons = Everything else, including cost overruns etc.

BraveBird has a valid point about Arthur Blank. I moved to metro Atlanta in 2001 (before Blank took over). I'm a lifelong Saints fan and couldn't believe it when I went to see them play the Falcons in the Georgia Dome that season. The Falcons were booed during introductions in their own stadium! There were so many Saints fans there that when the Falcons' offense lined up on 3rd and 1 the crowd was chanting "De-fense!" It was bizarre.

Blank took over and asked the players what changes they'd like to see. "To have the Georgia Dome full of our fans" was one answer. He lowered the price on upper deck tickets to $200...for a season ticket! Seriously, $20 a game if you bought a season ticket. It went up pretty soon after but that was still impressive.

But oddly enough, Atlanta still has the reputation for poor home crowds. A few years ago they beat the Steelers here in Atlanta and TE Alge Crumpler called it "our best road win in a while." Priceless.

They've built a successful team and now the fans will be forced to pay. The new stadium will have PSLs. I wouldn't pay a PSL if I still lived in New Orleans. The idea of having to pay for the right to buy a ticket is just absurd.

As for those "super excited fans," here's the opening to a January 2013 news articlein the local paper:

===

Amid stiff public resistance to partial public funding of a new Atlanta Falcons stadium, top state leaders say the team needs a better game plan if it expects to win crucial legislative support this winter.

"It's hard to get lawmakers to vote for something that's polling 70-to-30 no," Gov. Nathan Deal told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "They need to directly communicate with the public. Either way the public attitude has to be significantly changed from where it is now."

===

Yeah. SUPER excited!

Nonetheless, this boulder is rolling downhill now and nothing's going to stop it. Oh, well. In a few years the Falcons will have a nicer place to choke.

[walby2]

Utterly absurd to the extreme.

Imagine if someone owned a perfectly functional 20-year old pickle factory that happened to be not quite nice enough to host Pickle Expo once every 20 years or so. So he went to the state asking them to kick in $200 million (and you know it'll be way more once all is said and done) for a newer, shinier pickle factory. They'd tell him to screw off, right?

Yet when the Falcons ask, the state is prepared to say yes to a pointless, needless pickle factory to replace a perfectly functional one.

If the only way the Falcons can make it work is with $200 million of public contributions, then maybe the business model is broken.

If public officials in Georgia had a shred of common sense they'd give the Falcons a succinct two letter response. Maybe followed by another equally succinct two word response.

[illwauk]

Those stadium concepts are nice and all, but what about the churches?

This makes me hate Kasim Reed even more.

I'm going to use all of my power as mayor to make sure that Friendship Baptist Church locates just a short distance from where we are today. And they will be a stronger church, a stronger organization that is much more capable because of the millions of dollars that we are going to pay for that church

Where was this guy 2 years ago? What happened to the guy who said "This is a private business matter that is out of my hands" ? You disgust me and I'm ashamed to call your fickle contradiction ass my Mayor.

Public money for a church? For all the valid economic, social, and moral arguments against public money being used for sports venues; at least it doesn't constitute government sanctioning of a religious group.

[Evil G]

Pantheon- Eh....it looks fine, and unlike Marlins Stadium, there are fans.

Greenhouse- Too generic for my tastes. At least the Pantheon is unique.

[BLUELANDbeliever]

If public officials in Georgia had a shred of common sense they'd give the Falcons a succinct two letter response. Maybe followed by another equally succinct two word response.

Hahahhahahahahhahahahahaaa. If. If they did, my life would be so much better. Kasim Reed is an asshat who only cares about what he wants, and Governor Deal is about the same way. Where's Shirley Franklin when you need her?

[BlueSky]

If public officials in Georgia had a shred of common sense they'd give the Falcons a succinct two letter response. Maybe followed by another equally succinct two word response.

Hahahhahahahahhahahahahaaa. If. If they did, my life would be so much better. Kasim Reed is an asshat who only cares about what he wants, and Governor Deal is about the same way. Where's Shirley Franklin when you need her?

Do you miss Jackie Barrett too? I mean, while we're discussing incompetent Georgia officials and all. For those not familiar, Barrett was the sheriff of Fulton County (includes Atlanta). The funniest thing I ever heard about her was a local editorial questioning her fancy uniforms. They wanted to know why the Fulton County sheriff looked like a Hungarian admiral.

[HedleyLamarr]

Speaking of dumb uniforms, those City of Atlanta tourism police folks look like they're heading for the safari......

[BlueSky]

Well, well, well...the price tag for the new Falcons stadium has already jumped by $200 million.

Apparently the Falcons will absorb such overruns. They may be bankrupt by the time this thing is finished.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Is the Georgia Dome really that obsolete already? Thing was just built in 92...

[BlueSky]

Is the Georgia Dome really that obsolete already? Thing was just built in 92...

No, it's perfectly good but that's been discussed ad nauseam in the thread so no need to repeat the arguments pro and con.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

^ Sorry, just saw this on ESPN and came here to chime in.

[HedleyLamarr]

Looks like the new stadium for the Falcons will have a second tenant. Atlanta looks to be getting an expansion team in Major League Soccer.

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/pro-sports/mls-is-coming-to-atlanta/nfSzm/

[-kj]

Interesting that they'd wait until 2017 to start.