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ATLANTA - Mercedes-Benz Stadium (71,041) - 2026 FIFA World Cup™

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/6/...cons-stadium-design-pictures-retractable-roof


http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/6/...cons-stadium-design-pictures-retractable-roof


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Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons have been pushing for a new open air stadium for a few years now. They currently play in the 19 year old Georgia Dome, which is owned by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. Here is an article from the AJC the other day

http://www.ajc.com/business/falcons-push-for-open-848736.html

The Authority agreed to enter into a “memorandum of understanding” with the Falcons on plans for a potential $700 million open-air stadium downtown.

Both parties emphasized the memorandum does not constitute a done deal, but rather allows them to begin negotiations over details of the project, including financing.

But the Falcons have made it clear that they want a new open-air stadium, rejecting alternatives such as expanding the Georgia Dome, adding a retractable roof to the facility or building a new dome with a retractable roof.

A new stadium could open as soon as 2017, officials said, and would be built on a site just over a half-mile north of the Georgia Dome.
Here is a link to the proposed plan with site details. They are pushing to put the facility north of the GWCC campus

http://www.ajc.com/multimedia/archive/00844/Read_the_Master_Pla_844511a.pdf

If the financing is right, I'm all for this!:banana:
 
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#184 ·
"At some point you've got to start planning for the future. Do you build it when the roof caves in?" asked state Rep. Rashad Taylor, D

Uhhh.... What?....

Quit talking about the Georgia Dome like its a dilapidated POS. It's 20 years old and has been freshly renovated. It scares me how eager some politicians are to throw money at wealthy folks (perhaps there's a little in it for them?)
 
#190 ·
The Georgia Dome is just fine.

If they want to make some more renovations, I can accept that. There is plenty of land around it to bump out the sides and create new atriums, displace maintenance areas to enlarge the locker rooms, etc.

How many locker rooms does it have again? At this pace, the chik-fil-a kickoff weekend will have 8 games in 8 days, that's a lot of equipment they'll need to store!
 
#192 ·
There are two main issues with the Georgia Dome that are driving this.

1) When they renovated the dome a few years ago they were unable to make the type of structural changes they wanted to in order to maximize the suite and club seating. That would have involved demoing hundreds of columns which in a reinforced concrete structure, requires adding huge steel transfer beams. Unless you have a good floor-to-floor height (which they don't) you don't have the head clearance for that. See the pic below. It litterally is cheaper to build a new stadium than to do these sort of renovations.

2) The Georgia Dome is operated by the Georgia World Congress Center and they take a huge slice out of the revenue pie. The Falcons have unsuccessfully tried to renogiate their lease for years to get a larger chunk with no success.



Don't get me wrong, I grew up going to games here and have been there since the renovation. It is a great stadium and I don't want to see it sit empty, but as a business decission, I get it. When the Falcons' lease expires in 2020 if they don't have a replacement stadium in town they will move to a city that will build them one and give them a sweatheart lease. The city doesn't want that so they are exploring their options.
 
#195 ·
1) When they renovated the dome a few years ago they were unable to make the type of structural changes they wanted to in order to maximize the suite and club seating. That would have involved demoing hundreds of columns which in a reinforced concrete structure, requires adding huge steel transfer beams. Unless you have a good floor-to-floor height (which they don't) you don't have the head clearance for that. See the pic below. It litterally is cheaper to build a new stadium than to do these sort of renovations.
Wha? Just build around the exterior, like we did with Kauffman and Arrowhead.
 
#206 ·
Eventually something will happen, just because Blank is an SOB with a lot of money. Whether that is another major upgrade to the Georgia Dome, or (less likely) something new, or even (least likely) him moving the team to someplace like City of Industry, something will happen.
 
#207 ·
As of right now a new stadium is most likely, probably to begin construction within about 3-5 years.

The Falcons want a new venue, period. Arthur Blank will make that happen regardless. If they can't work something out for a retractable dome within the City limits, then they'll go outside the City for just an open air venue. Really the only thing being debated right now is how much money the governments will kick in and balancing the terms for design between the team and the local convention authority (GWCC).

As someone privy to this discussion on a weekly basis I paint the odds as being 95% new vs 5% redo of the dome.
 
#208 · (Edited)
Non-binding terms approved for new Falcons stadium deal

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority board Monday morning unanimously approved terms that are intended to provide the framework for a deal on a new downtown stadium for the Atlanta Falcons.

The board, at a special called meeting, OK’d a 24-page non-binding term sheet that will be the basis for further negotiations toward a more definitive, binding agreement between the GWCCA and the Falcons.

The plan is to build a retractable-roof stadium, with a potential cost of around $1 billion, on the GWCCA campus in time for the 2017 NFL season.

Key business terms approved by the board include:

The GWCCA, a state agency, would own the stadium.

The Falcons would operate the stadium under a 30-year license agreement, with options to renew for an additional 15 years.

A portion of the construction cost would be funded by revenue from the hotel-motel tax in the city of Atlanta and Fulton County; that portion has been estimated at around $300 million. The rest, including any cost overruns, would be the Falcons’ responsibility, although that could be offset by the sale of personal seat licenses.

The Falcons would pay annual rent of $2.5 million, increasing 2 percent per year, to the GWCCA.

The Falcons would be responsible for all of the stadium’s operating expenses and would retain all revenue.

The Georgia Dome would be demolished, and many events held there would move to the new stadium.

The new stadium would be built on the GWCCA campus, with the final selection from two sites – one just south of the Dome and the other a half-mile north of the Dome – deferred until the negotiation of a more definitive memorandum of understanding early next year.

Next step: issuing a request for qualifications (RFQ) to begin the process of hiring a lead architectural firm to design the stadium.
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcon...-terms-approved-for-new-falcons-stadium-deal/
 
#210 ·
Blank optimistic about new stadium, seeks architects

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank plans to hire the world’s top architects to build a new $1 billion stadium for the Falcons.

On Monday, Blank shared with Atlanta Business Chronicle his optimism for the project, which earlier in the day passed its first hurdle with the approval of the business terms for the new stadium. While it’s a non-binding agreement, it sets the framework for a deal to come together.

A request for qualifications to pick an architect was sent out Monday afternoon, said Falcons President and CEO Rich McKay. It will take about 60 days to select an architect, he said.

“We will spend a lot of time in the design phase talking to the best architects in the world,” Blank said. “We will be working closely with the state.”
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2012/12/10/blank-optimistic-about-new-stadium.html
 
#213 ·
I think it's surprising because the building is only 20 years old and has become an iconic part of the Atlanta skyline. It's hard to come up with examples of buildings that have been "retired" (ie, demolished and completely replaced with another building) that quickly. Sure it'll be ~24-25 years old when the Georgia Dome goes and that's a long time...but not really on the scale of stadiums and arenas.

I'm curious - why is it that the GWCC can't essentially turn over ownership of the Dome to the Falcons, replace the fabric roof with a modern retractable one and make the necessary interior modifications to ensure the building is state-of-the-art?
 
#215 ·
The dome is unimpressive architecturally because it was built at a time where stadiums weren't designed as show pieces. That really didn't start until the mid-2000's with the Cardinal's Stadium (although I personally think Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati is pretty slick and it was built in the late 1990's). Still only a handful of NFL stadiums were designed with a distinctive architecture to them, so the fact the Georgia Dome has a standard look does not bother the majority of people who frequent the stadium. The dome is not nearly as antiquated as Fulton County Stadium was when the Falcons left it.

I have seen a dozen or so games at the dome and was there for the Peach Bowl a few years ago, so I have seen it firsthand since the renovation. Compared to the other NFL and college stadiums I have been to, the renovated dome is still a very good venue. The issue isn't Georgia Dome pride, it's that it is still in the top third of NFL stadiums and it is going to be replaced because it has a low ceiling when it comes to luxury seating and the revenue that comes from that.

Now don't get me wrong, I think it will be awesome to have a world class stadium in Atlanta, but in an era when budgets are tight and everyone is having to do without, it seems ridiculous to have tax money go towards replacing a perfectly good stadium that will seat 6,000 LESS fans.

More luxury seating + less overall seating = less accesable product for the average fan. Ask a Jet fan on their thoughts of replacing a functional stadium with reasonable ticket prices with an architecutral wonder that they can't afford the parking for.
 
#217 ·
A new Atlanta Falcons stadium should seat 80,000 people “for marquee events such as Super Bowls” but should “feel right-sized” for smaller events, such as Major League Soccer games. It should have fewer suites, more club seats and about 200,000 more square feet of space than the Georgia Dome.

Those are among preliminary specifications outlined in a document issued this week to solicit applications from architects interested in designing the proposed retractable-roof stadium.

The downtown stadium should be “a distinctly iconic landmark for the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia,” according to the request for qualifications (RFQ) issued by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and the Falcons.

The goal is to hire an architectural firm within about 90 days, said Richard Sawyer, working for the GWCCA as the project’s procurement director. The stadium would be built on the Congress Center campus. The architect will be jointly chosen by the GWCCA and the Falcons.
http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/architects-get-glimpse-of-stadium-plan/nTTTM/
 
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