Posted on 07/02/2013 4:43:57 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
Opinions?
How old is the Georgia Dome? What’s wrong with it? Seems like it was just built!
The NFL is a non-profit organization that specializes in enriching the lives of minorities. These racist Christians need to go!
I assure you that the membership demographics of Friendship Baptist Church make this a little bit of a delicate subject.
No clue. The Georgia Dome opened in 1992 and apparently, despite only being 21 years old, is now totally obsolete for the Dirty Birds and thus the taxpayers of Fulton County are going to be on the hook for $200m to get them a new nest.
}:-)4
That middle flower thingy is actually the moving roof.
There has never been a publicly funded pro sporting arena that has ever been a benefit for taxpayers - they are black holes of funds, provide exceptional profit for team owners with minimal return to taxpayers. The formulas utilized to determine the economic impact of a stadium / sports team on a municipality are flawed on a level that is staggering. Look at the outstanding debt on all pro stadiums and tell me they benefit taxpayers. We are old demolishing stadiums that sill have outstanding bond debt on them?!?
Looks like something a high-tech alien jumped out of, right before it went on a rampage and ate Atlanta.
Now, now. They have constantly reassured us that it all comes from hotel taxes and thus is paid by out of state visitor with no effect of the local economy.
Isn’t there some concern for the viability of the soft roof of the Georgia Dome..IIRC, there was considerable damage when a tornado hit a few years ago.
I’m not a big Arthur Blank fan. Why didn’t the taxpayers tell them to go eff themselves? Even the Miami Dade taxpayers said no to Super Bowl renovations to Joe Robbie (still call it that).
As of 2011, the GWCC (Which governs the Georgia Dome) had $112.6 million in debt still owed bonds from the construction of the Georgia dome, completed in 1992. They are about to double down and roll a hundred million of debt forward.
Not sure about the rest though.
Lucky for the churches they are on an “Protected list” else the city would “eminent domain” their A%%.
Otherwise I’m for the churches to squeeze the city and the falcons for all they’re worth.
(I love football but I’m tired of rich NFL teams soaking the local communities)
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.
Ping for later
Friendship Baptist is the oldest black Baptist congregation in Atlanta, established right after the Civil War. The building itself dates from around 1880. Morehouse College moved to Atlanta from Augusta at their invitation, and Spelman actually started in their basement.
The present church site is directly across the street from the college/Atlanta University complex (though closer to Morris Brown), so they will lose not only historic value but proximity to the school.
But sufficient money ought to allow them to move the building brick by brick and set it up again nearby (lots of vacant land in the vicinity).
The problem is Mt. Vernon Baptist, which is actually closer to the Dome (on the same side of MLK and contiguous w/ the Dome - FBC is across MLK). The building is pure 1960s and has no historical value whatsoever - but they are in the middle.
I drive right through that intersection on my way to work.
I support the separation of sports and state. The churches own the land, let the teams pay whatever the owners want.
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