Posted on 07/02/2013 4:43:57 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
The biggest issue facing the Atlanta Falcons' eye-popping new football stadium: whether to build it just north of the current Georgia Dome, which would mean greater distance from hotels, the airport, transit, and the city's skyline, or just south, which would mean buying the land presently occupied by a pair of historic churches.
The team prefers the south site. Those churches also prefer the south site. Friendship Baptist, established in 1866 and the wellspring for both Morehouse and Spelman colleges, has rejected the city's offer of $13.5 million for the property, asking for nearly double that. Mayor Kasim Reed told 11 Alive he's upped the offer by $2 million. Meanwhile, the state is negotiating with Martin Luther King Drive's Mount Vernon Baptist.
While the houses of worship could stand to collect windfalls (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the combined land is worth just more than $2.2 million), they are of course not governed strictly by financials:
"I don't think [money] should even enter our decision-making. I really don't," said [Friendship] parishioner Juanita Jones Abernathy, whose late husband [Ralph David Abernathy] was a confidant of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "It's a landmark. I think it should remain. It's been there for generations, and it needs to be there for generations to come."
Considering Mt. Vernon Baptist's real estate is worth an amount similar to Friendship Baptist's, it could cost the city and state significantly more than $30 million to secure the land, which could raise the public cost of the stadium beyond the $200 million for which it's on the hook. A $30 million price tag would amount to 3.7 percent of the $800 million the team's committed to building the facility, and it wouldn't include the $50 million Arthur Blank's setting aside for undetermined neighborhood improvements as a part of the overhaul.
Can the Falcons show the city and state it's worth that much money to play a few blocks south? I don't know. I'm imagining the kind of church one could build with $20 million in one's pocket, but luckily, it's not my decision to make.
The Falcons stadium deal is, as far as stadium deals with public components go, a relatively good one for its city. That $200 million was earmarked for tourism anyway, and it's been argued that an even bigger public number would need to be spent in order to maintain the apparently far-more-aged-than-the-human-mind-can-fathom Georgia Dome. Land acquisition fees from the public's trusts will never be popular, though at least they'd be going to longtime local institutions and not some corporation, right?
The parties have until Aug. 1 to reach an accord. If none is found, the hemisphere's boldest stadium will be built just north of the team's current house.
I cannot name one professional athlete or coach of any stripe, I only know a few city locations and hardly any team names.
It's all ridiculous.
Opinions? Yes, it looks like a dam cootie catcher. Not much imagination for a stadium.
zero taxpayer dollars should be involved in this crap
An appropriate site would be at the Paces Ferry Rd exit outside I-285. Tear down Home Depot corporate offices and use that location.
“Buying another lot and building a very large replacement facility “
How ‘very large’ would it need to be with 450 on the rolls, some of whom probably haven’t been in the building since their momma quit making them show up?
I personally think a more western location - perhaps Los Angeles - might be a better choice. But let’s be clear. This is a chance for the Black power structure in Atlanta to fleece the taxpayers almost as fully as Blank is doing.
“n appropriate site would be at the Paces Ferry Rd exit outside I-285. Tear down Home Depot corporate offices and use that location. “
A better choice might be just south of Paces Ferry and Northside, where his foundation is located. (Yes, it fronts on Howell Mill, but it connects through an office park to Northside. )
GA ping.
My opinion is that I’m glad I’m not backing this, since I don’t live in the City of Atlanta. Or at least that’s my understanding of who ultimately backs this.
Let Art build his own stadium.
The Mayor and his administration backs this. Team’s Owner backs it, even though he’s coming off a 21 year record on the Georgia Dome where the taxpayers, I’m assuming, still owe about half of the original cost ($200M?).
Atlanta has a history of what one might call unproven corruption in its government. All the way back to Maynard Jackson and his infiltration into the Atlanta Airport Concession gravy train.
Only one mayor since him has gone to jail, though. Bill Campbell for Tax Evasion.
On the whole, I’d say Kaseem Reid is for it because of the enormous ‘side benefits’ that could come with managing a $200 million plus development. Team’s owner is for it because he gets new venue for a bargain price.
If it’s such a great investment, let the Falcons pay for it. Why should anyone who doesn’t go to a game have to pay for this boondoggle?
Pray for America to Wake Up
Another instance of the taxpayers being screwed by the politicians and bureaucrats to benefit wealthy democratic donors. (A$$hole Blank donated to both parties, but more to the Democrats.) Atlanta's mayors ever since the reign of the late and totally unlamened Mainturd Jackson have kept alive the black democrat tradition of corruption and unethical dealigs when not engaged in outright criminal acts. Just one more unethical act of screwing the taxpayers for something that the majority of them DON'T want.
GA ping.
My opinion is that I’m glad I’m not backing this, since I don’t live in the City of Atlanta. Or at least that’s my understanding of who ultimately backs this.
Let Art build his own stadium.
Falcons Launch New Stadium Website
Got a better idea.
Find a huge tract of undeveloped land outside the Perimeter.
Stadiums don’t need to be in the city where they create traffic problems and use up valuable real estate. There is lots of fairly cheap real estate outside the perimeter.
Of course, the Atlanta government might miss out on its graft...
We looked into moving an old family plantation house from rural middle Georgia to Atlanta. The cost was absolutely prohibitive - we built an architect-designed, custom built home for less than a quarter of what it would have cost to move a single-story, wood frame structure to the site.
Just look for the big ugly truck with big tires and a bunch of dog crates in the back. That’s me!
This stinks of a kick-back scheme.
I don't think the Cobb fathers would fall for it anyhow. They're generally pretty fiscally responsible.
You might not be supportu\ing it directly, but if you live in GA you're supporting it. Atlanta gets tax money from the state, and anything spent on this benefit for Arthur Blank is money not spent on some other entitlement that the working taxpayers are also forced to support. This is just an additional entitlement that comes from the taxpayers pockets.
All of these stadium deals are. The politicians get the best seats and the red carpet treatment, and the taxpayers get screwed.
Atlanta had approx. 40 million visitors last year in convention business which contributed in payments for the hotel-motel tax. The tax is being extended and $200 million from these projected revenues will be issued in a bond to assist with the new stadium.
Therefore the taxpayers of Georgia are not directly being impacted because the City of Atlanta decides what purposes the revenues from this hotel-motel tax are being used for. So for us out in the burbs we would get no direct benefit anyways aside from potential infrastructure improvements within the City of Atlanta that we could potentially benefit from if/when we travel into/through Atlanta.
Here the tax payers are the 40 million plus conventioners who pay the hotel-motel tax from which the city’s contribution of $200 million will be provided.
But there will definitely be winners, including those who currently live/work in the dilapidated area where where the land is being sought to construct the new stadium. Their properties will be bought at premium prices.
Further, those local area businesses will now receive significant upgrades to area infrastructure including public transport which will bring an increased stream of customers.
And this just for being at the right place at the right time...
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