Public sounds off on proposed new Falcons stadium

The public got the chance to give input into a proposed new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday.

The hearing in front of the Finance Committee was the first dedicated solely to getting public comments and concerns.

Councilmember Felicia Moore, the head of the Finance Committee, says no deal is officially on the table yet. Early speculation has been that the stadium would have a price tag of $1 billion: $800 million to come from the Falcons and the other $200 million to come from the city's hotel-motel tax.
   
Some people at the hearing said that the money could be better spent.  

"It will be funded out of Atlanta tax money, but used by the rich and super rich, who can still afford to go to games after they raise general ticket prices and institute personal fee licenses to pay for their share of the stadium funding," said one man.
 
Many of those in attendance at Wednesday's hearing questioned whether the team needs a new stadium. Falcons President Rich McKay said a new stadium would be a better option than renovating the Georgia Dome.

"We think it creates a long-term solution for Atlanta. It puts us in a better position 15 years from now than doing some type of small renovation or $200 or $300 million renovation," said McKay.

Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young says everything big is controversial in this town.

"The Dome is sort of like the Olympics, and we said if we won the Olympics, the day we won it, the future of Atlanta would change," Young said.

McKay said that there is still a lot of work to do before a deal is done.

Moore said that the mayor is in charge of the negotiations and once an agreement is met, the mayor will hand that over to council to consider.

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