The Atlanta Falcons new stadium is awesome

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by kevman

I care because I hope one day we can stop this nonsense. The biggest problem right now is that owners from all leagues continually blackmail governments for money. "If you don't build me a stadium I'm moving my team somewhere that will". It's time we stop accepting this.

Yeah I have a feeling that day will never come. Big business rules I'm afraid that that's not going to change anytime soon so I'm not going to waste my short time on this earth being bitter and in the mean time I'm just going to admire the nice new stadium.

[Northendzone]

the stadium sure looks to be very cool.

i'd be itnerested to know how much a contingency fund they include in their original cost estimates as it seems like these large consturction projects never come in on budget.

seems like an atorcious waste of money given the Georgia Dome is not that old.

how are all of these municipalties ever going to day down all of their debt?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

the stadium sure looks to be very cool.

i'd be itnerested to know how much a contingency fund they include in their original cost estimates as it seems like these large consturction projects never come in on budget.

seems like an atorcious waste of money given the Georgia Dome is not that old.

how are all of these municipalties ever going to day down all of their debt?

Go Bankrupt. Just like Detroit.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Some cool features inside, but not a fan of the look of it from the outside.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

the stadium sure looks to be very cool.

i'd be itnerested to know how much a contingency fund they include in their original cost estimates as it seems like these large consturction projects never come in on budget.

seems like an atorcious waste of money given the Georgia Dome is not that old.

how are all of these municipalties ever going to day down all of their debt?

No you don't understand. You obviously didn't read the economic report funded by ownership who refused to pay for their own stadium. This will bring hundreds of millions into the economy of Atlanta. Money that would have had no chance to be spent on anything else ever. This stadium will basically print money and give it to people to use as disposable income.

[troutman]

Why do you need a Dome at all in Atlanta?

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by troutman

Why do you need a Dome at all in Atlanta?

Heat/humidity

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Maybe the craziest thing is the Georgia Dome won't even make it to 30 years before it's being replaced. So it's not like they're replacing a 50 year old dump. This is a stadium that currently hosts the SEC Title Game, Final Fours, and other big events, and it needs to be replaced. And PSLs expected to be $45-50,000 per seat on the new stadium.

Not much different than the Saddledome, which is now 32 years old.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Not much different than the Saddledome, which is now 32 years old.

The Georgia Dome is 9 years newer than the Saddledome and will be replaced at least 3 years sooner. When the Flames' new building opens, the Saddledome will be at least 1.5 times as old as the Georgia Dome will be when it's replaced.


What's even crazier is that the Braves are building a new stadium to replace Turner Field, which isn't even 20 years old (built as the main stadium for the 1996 Olympics and converted to house the Braves for 1997).

[Northendzone]

building a new baseball stadium makes a little more sense given it is used ~80 times per year.

are they going to level the georgia dome.

i have to admit i did not read the owners financial documents - hoepfully their cash flow projections were not calculated by the same guy that estimated the construction costs fo the new stadium - if so, the cash flow projections are likely overstated and the enw stadium will not bring in as much money (as crazy as that sounds)

[SuperMatt18]

Wonder how much hosting a superbowl boosts the local economy...has to think it is quite a bit.

Found it:

http://mashable.com/2013/01/30/super...-city-economy/

So say the stadium lasts 30 years and they host 6 super bowls in that time...maybe not a terrible investment after all once you consider what is generated from the regular 8 home games per year, any concerts, and anything else they can host in there.

With the money the NFL generates though it is probably still something that the league funds itself, but if you can get a couple Super Bowls it is probably a better investment then a new baseball or hockey stadium even though you will get more nights a year from that.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Wonder how much hosting a superbowl boosts the local economy...has to think it is quite a bit.

Found it:

http://mashable.com/2013/01/30/super...-city-economy/

So say the stadium lasts 30 years and they host 6 super bowls in that time...maybe not a terrible investment after all once you consider what is generated from the regular 8 home games per year, any concerts, and anything else they can host in there.

With the money the NFL generates though it is probably still something that the league funds itself, but if you can get a couple Super Bowls it is probably a better investment then a new baseball or hockey stadium even though you will get more nights a year from that.

I don't think any team will get every 5th Superbowl. And the economic impact may not be anywhere near what is touted.

Robert Baade, a sports economist with Lake Forest College in Illinois, puts Super Bowl benefits for host cities at between $30 million and $90 million, not the big numbers touted by the NFL and host city groups.
Why the big difference?
“There is a substantial substitution affect,” said Baade.
That is when a major economic event such as the Super Bowl crowds out one group of consumers with another. Baade said while the Super Bowl brings in football fans to a host market other tourist and consumer spending does not happen because they are crowded out by the game or want to avoid security hassles or higher air fares and hotel room rates.
Baade said the big economic numbers cited by host cities don’t take that into account.
“You have to count both,” he said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/b....html?page=all

[Azure]

How many superbowls do you have to host to offset $2 billion worth of waste? 20? By the time they get around to hosting the 5th one they are busy building another new stadium.

At the end of the day, people care more about their football than they do the homeless people on main street. That is why projects like these get the green light while low income housing or 'welfare' projects are deemed as a waste of money despite a LOT of evidence suggesting otherwise.

[Joborule]

You make it sound like the city of Atlanta is investing $0 into their low income housing and similar projects.

[ricosuave]

Originally Posted by kevman

Always are.

http://mic.com/articles/66077/how-mu...eck-this-chart
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...payers/309448/

That Atlantic article really floored me.

Thanks for posting it.

Now I am siding with Nenshi and his stance about public money for the new dome.

[underGRADFlame]

I don't like it, simply because in the video the Falcon's are beating the Bucs 17-3!

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by troutman

Why do you need a Dome at all in Atlanta?

Good question. The season doesn't start until September. Sure they might have one or two hot, humid games that month, but for the most part the brutal heat is over by then. I'm guessing fall in Atlanta (after Sept.) would be comparable to typical/cool summer days here?

Whatever the reason, it'll be a very cool stadium.

[station]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

I don't like it, simply because in the video the Falcon's are beating the Bucs 17-3!

You're right. In reality they are beating the Bucs 56-14!

(Sorry, only bright spot on a dismal falcons season haha).

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Joborule

You make it sound like the city of Atlanta is investing $0 into their low income housing and similar projects.

I have no problem with the city or state provides incentive for someone with PRIVATE money to pour $2 billion into a new stadium.

Like streamlining the approval process, tax breaks if they use in state suppliers, etc, etc. But not paying the damn thing with taxpayer money. Just stupid. Rich owners getting the tax payers to foot their pet projects. Crony capitalism at its best.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

Good question. The season doesn't start until September. Sure they might have one or two hot, humid games that month, but for the most part the brutal heat is over by then. I'm guessing fall in Atlanta (after Sept.) would be comparable to typical/cool summer days here?

Whatever the reason, it'll be a very cool stadium.

It's probably more about the non-football events the building will host, like the Final Four and Wrestlemania, plus conventions and trade shows.

The Georgia Dome has hosted three Final Fours and 5 NCAA Regionals, one Wrestlemania, and two Super Bowls. While the Super Bowl and even Wrestlemania have been held in outdoor venues, the NCAA is unlikely to ever hold their basketball championships in an open-air stadium.

The revenue generated by those basketball championship games is probably enough to offset whatever the additional cost is to build the retractable roof.