New Falcons Stadium Approved by City Council (Atlanta: sale, rent)

[ToucheGA]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Because it will (hopefully) be purtier and the NFL says we have to.

Those are rather compelling arguments, wouldn't you say?

I am not aware of any demands from the NFL. However, there was also speculation that a new stadium was needed to convince the Falcons to remain in Atlanta. I don't recall seeing any "hard evidence" to suggest that this was the case, but I can see why the City would vie for a new stadium, simply to negate the possibility of loosing (another) pro sports team. Being in a better position to bid on things such as the Super Bowl is "icing on the cake," when compared to a move that would prevent a pro football team from leaving town.

[JD401]

Originally Posted by cqholt

I would rather have the Final Four than a Super Bowl any day. The last 5 have been terrible.

Wow

You can't be serious.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by LynnHarris

I was hoping a local firm would get the contract.

Stadium design is a very specialized segment of the architecture field, and very few firms are capable of doing it well. There are no local firms with the required experience to pull off something like this. HKS, TVS, and Gensler all have local offices, but their sports groups aren't based here.

That said, there will likely be supporting players on the design team that are local. The geotechnical engineering firm will be local (the always are- need to know the characteristics of the local soils), and one of the top structural engineers in the country/world has an office here, and has designed the structure for the last few retractable roof stadiums. 360 may also use a local architect as the "working architect", to do all the detail drawings, assist with permitting and local code issues, and do other grunt work while they focus on the overall design concepts.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Well current Dome is hosting the Final Four, which creates more advertising income than the super bowl, Chick-fil-a Bowl, SEC football championship, SEC basketball championship, Chik-fil-a Kick-off Game, GA high school football championship, GSU football games, hosted 60,000 people for a christian event, Soccer games, and numerous other events for GWCC.

I would still to the annuals in this arguement. I see what you mean, but its better to mention just the annual events over the special events.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by BlackPeach2

I would still to the annuals in this arguement. I see what you mean, but its better to mention just the annual events over the special events.

We can add NCAA football playoffs to the annual events list. Chick-fil-A Bowl expected to land college football semifinal game | www.ajc.com

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

We can add NCAA football playoffs to the annual events list. Chick-fil-A Bowl expected to land college football semifinal game | www.ajc.com

Atlanta landed a semi-final game. It was announced last night on their Facebook page.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by Bobcat2012

Careful, dude. You have an opinion different than some of these internet tough guys and "Your a idiot."

LOL at internet Tough Guys lol...I know who you are talking about.

[cqholt]

Atlanta is getting a better deal than Minneapolis. Price Tag Aside, There's a Lot to Admire About the Designs for the New Vikings Stadium - Mark Byrnes - The Atlantic Cities
The new Vikings Stadium is using $500M in public funding.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

The new Vikings Stadium is using $500M in public funding.

How much in public funding are we using? There's the initial $200 million in construction bonds. Plus the (unspecified) hundreds of millions of dollars over 30 years that will go to offset the Falcons’ expenses. Plus land acquisition costs. And infrastructure costs. Demolition and remediation of the Dome site. Loss of revenues from the Dome.

That adds up to what?

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by arjay57

How much in public funding are we using? There's the initial $200 million in construction bonds. Plus the (unspecified) hundreds of millions of dollars over 30 years that will go to offset the Falcons’ expenses. Plus land acquisition costs. And infrastructure costs. Demolition and remediation of the Dome site. Loss of revenues from the Dome.

That adds up to what?

Capped at $200M. Falcons pay any overages, Falcons pay expenses to run the new stadium, Falcons pay the GWCC rent. The Dome's cost is 100% GWCC funded and maintained and due for hundreds of millions in renovations and maintenance over the next few years.

Easy decision. Save the state money. Add appeal and attract more events. Drop the dome for this new stadium.