Who owns ga dome

For twenty-six years the Falcons shared Atlanta — Fulton County Stadium with the Atlanta Braves , but the Braves organization kept most of the revenue from parking and concessions at Falcons games. While the dynamic design of the Georgia Dome was generally praised, the arena experienced one troubling situation in August , when heavy rains pooled in a section of the roof, rending its fabric.

The roof was repaired, and a structural adjustment was made to avoid future problems. Although the Georgia Dome was synonymous with the Atlanta Falcons, more basketball games than football games were played in the facility. Jordan scored 34 points to lead his team to an eighty-nine to seventy-four victory. The Georgia Dome had perhaps its busiest time ever as gave way to The Falcons concluded their season two days later with a forty-four to eleven loss to the Carolina Panthers before a crowd of 70, The new stadium opened its doors in August , and the Georgia Dome was demolished that November.

Starrs, Chris. Starrs, C. That was not the object. If we would have done that, we would have renovated the Georgia Dome. We really wanted to change the game and do it for a long, long time. You can move vertically throughout the building, we have really wide staircases, we have twice the elevators, twice the escalators compared to the Georgia Dome. As sports venues get torn down and rebuilt, moving on from a place that means so much to so many sometimes gets mixed reviews.

Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Like us on Facebook On Monday, Nov. Sporting Events In addition to hosting Falcons football games, the Georgia Dome hosted many different sporting events including the Olympic Games and two memorable Super Bowls and The Falcons played their final game at the Georgia Dome in January Other Functions According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the Georgia Dome has been used for wrestling events and various religious gatherings, including some that were led by Billy Graham, a famous Christian evangelist.

Do you have a favorite memory of the dome? Share it below and we may use it in our reporting. Hank Johnson calls for investigation into 'racist, bigoted conduct' of federal law clerk. Hindu temple in metro Atlanta ensnared in human trafficking lawsuit.

A North Carolina city begins to reckon with the massacre in its white supremacist past. Unlike money from television contracts, much of the revenue from a stadium does not have to be shared with other National Football League clubs.

That's why they want a new stadium," said Dennis Howard, professor of business at the University of Oregon and an expert on sports financing.

What's in it for the city of Atlanta? When the Falcons made it clear they preferred an outdoor stadium, the firm's directive was broadened to consider a retractable roof for the Dome and new stadiums, one with a retractable roof and the other open-air.

The effort got a boost when the state Legislature agreed in to extend the hotel and motel taxes used to pay off the bonds for the Dome to The bonds were to expire in Area residents pushed for the study because they want to avoid duplicating a Turner Field-type development in which a new stadium is surrounded by parking lots and not much else, the newspaper said. They argue that communities along Northside Drive, specifically Vine City and English Avenue, have already been cut off from downtown by a "super block" that houses the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center convention facility and acres of parking devoted to each.

That has some areas with fewer restaurants, hotels and retail outlets than other parts of the city. Building a stadium on what is now the Marshaling Field for convention vehicles would only worsen the situation if the effect on the area isn't considered, they said.

The newspaper said the Falcons have made it clear the team wants a new open-air facility. The suggestion of a new stadium has raised questions about the need for an updated facility, who will pay for it and how it will effect downtown. He did not know how much the study would cost. That option would be much more expensive, could make the Dome unneeded and would represent a change in stance for the Falcons, who have expressed a preference for an open-air stadium without the added cost of a retractable roof.

A Georgia legislator briefed on the negotiations between the GWCC Authority, which oversees the state-owned complex that includes the Georgia Dome, and the Falcons told the Journal-Constitution that a new stadium with a retractable roof and a natural grass playing surface is among the options being considered.

Another person familiar with the negotiations said a retractable roof could be pursued if it is determined that two stadiums - the Dome plus a new open-air facility - on GWCC property are not financially or logistically viable.

Asked for the Falcons' current position, team president Rich McKay said in an email: "A retractable roof stadium has always been one of the options, but our first preference has been to focus on an open-air stadium. But if a new retractable-roof stadium were built, it could accommodate those events by closing the roof and could signal the demise of the Dome.

When the Falcons and the GWCC Authority began exploring the stadium issue several years ago, three options were kicked around: a remade Georgia Dome, a new open-air stadium, and a new retractable-roof stadium.

The GWCC Authority commissioned a feasibility study in that looked at the option of renovating the Georgia Dome and giving it a retractable roof. Although the idea has not been ruled out, the Falcons have made clear their desire to move into a new, more lucrative stadium when Georgia Dome bonds are paid off later this decade. A feasibility study has not been done on a new retractable-roof stadium. The GWCC Authority agreed a year ago to enter negotiations with the Falcons toward a possible memorandum of understanding on a stadium, which the team has described as a public-private partnership.

Some funding would come from a continuation of the hotel-motel tax and some from the Falcons, but potential details have not been spelled out publicly. Representatives of the Falcons and the GWCC Authority have met at least monthly for the past year and continue to do so. Poe has said that a major challenge has been finding a deal that would work for a new stadium and keep the Dome a "sustainable and viable" entity.

The Falcons are committed to playing in the Dome, which opened in , until the bonds on the building are paid off. That is scheduled to be but likely will occur sooner, perhaps as early as The new plan comes with a higher price. Poe and Falcons president Rich McKay, who jointly revealed the new direction in negotiations, said substantial progress has been made toward a deal but that much work remains to be done. The Falcons want a new stadium because they feel the Dome, which opened in , does not offer the premium seating and other amenities that drive revenue in more recent NFL stadiums.

Among the many issues still to be resolved: the site. Poe and McKay said it's too early to know if the second site is a viable alternative. The turn in talks toward a retractable-roof stadium means the Falcons' original preference of an open-air facility, which would have been home to the NFL team while the Dome continued to house events that required an indoor facility, is off the table.

The Falcons' lease commitment to the Dome expires when the bonds that funded the building's construction are paid off later this decade.

Beyond the hotel-motel tax, neither Poe nor McKay would provide specifics on how the proposed stadium would be paid for. The study shot down that idea. The study said that if the Dome were expanded and rebuilt to provide the amenities sought, the new seating capacity would fall short of the minimum required for Falcons games and special events. The report noted that use of the Dome would be severely interrupted during such a project.

Populous called that "not a compelling difference," adding in the report: "Based on our experience in encountering unexpected conditions in existing stadium demolition and reconstruction, the cost differential We understand that ups the cost, and that principally will fall on our side of the ledger.

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