The The Falcon’s Blank’s Slate
Arthur Blank said recently that he wants a new Falcons stadium. He’s been trying to get the Georgia Dome renovated for years and apparently has reached the point where he’s willing to spend some of his own money to get there. Blank claims that he receives the smallest portion of stadium revenues of any NFL team owner and that in order for the Falcons to remain competitive, he needs a new deal and a new stadium. He also points out that the Georgia Dome is now one of the oldest stadiums in the league.
Certainly, if Blank wants to pay for Stadium upgrades, let him! Any pro sports team owner willing to pay for improvements to a public facility should be encouraged to do so. The most noticeable change will be a reduction in seating. New luxury boxes will lower the total number of seats and encouraged more sellouts and improve TV visibility.
To some degree, you can’t blame Blank. Despite solid years under his leadership, Forbes Magazine consistently ranks the Falcons among the least valued teams in the league, and though his annual profit is about 1% of the value of the team ($6.6 million), he’d like to see his investment grow in value.
In some ways, the Georgia Dome never lived up to it’s promise. It does not get the number of uses originally expected. It’s empty over 300 days a year. It was supposed to be used more than 80 days per year. The concerts have not materialized. The political conventions have not come. The Silverbacks (who don’t get the press coverage they deserve) cannot play there. The Stadium is in its second set of leases. Perhaps Blank is right, but he may not realize everything a new stadium should entail… especially if he wants public money.
If he wants public financing as part of the package (and he does) then, the stadium should be designed to more easily incorporate different events. It should include a plan to help land an MLS franchise. It should the ability to attract more concerts. It should have a retractable roof. They may even want to build a theater into the complex. This would let the concessions folks work more and let smaller events use the facility. It would also make press heavy events easier to produce. They may also want to move the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame to a new Dome. That would add another cultural attraction downtown and continue to bring revenue into the state. On the other hand, if he wants to pay for the whole thing himself and pay the full property taxes on the facility, let him do what he wants. The one thing Blank should not do is move the stadium to a non MARTA location.
Blank has said his vision is 10 years out. By that time the Dome will be about 25 years old. That also provides the opportunity to create an architectural competition for the design of a new stadium that would bring attention to Atlanta and add to the city. Then, a new Dome will be built, Blank will have added value, and hopefully, even more cultural value will have been built into the city.
September 19th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
I’ve always been mystified as to how atlanta garnered the nickname “hotlanta”. Not to bash a city for bashing’s sake, but, other than EVERY city in Texas, I find Atlanta to utterly lack diversity, “hipster” culture, or any sense of anything truly metropolitan that might lend it the label “hot”. Perhaps it’s simply a clash of cultures, but if “new south” is suppose to be cool, then PLEASE give me any west coast city (Phoenix, San Diego, LA, San Francisco) you care to name instead. I happen to be Christian, but abhor your odd Bible-belt, insular, “it’s still ok to be racist, but don’t let anyone who’s not from here know that” mentality. I have friends who moved there a few years ago from Scottsdale (arizona, for the uninformed; a city known on the west coast for being Beverly Hills East.) The poor things experienced culture shock only known to those who ill advisedly leave a haven for art, theatre, dance, and world-class dining and sporting events for a rather monotone, same old rolling hills and trees-sort of existence. They realized that in Phoenix, they had snow boarding two hours away, surfing just four hours drive, and anything else you might imagine anyone would be into. Their kids nearly staged a mutiny. There’s nothing wrong with being lame, so to speak, as long as one doesn’t stick their head in the sand about it, but to call your city “hotlanta” generally makes those in the rest of the country erupt into spontaneous laughter.
w
September 19th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
Another thing…while the jury’s still out on whether the venue translates into a winning season for them, the Arizona Cardinal’s new stadium has created a low chant which has become popular in many other metro areas…”we want one, too!…we want one, too!” This vast structure is as state of the art as it gets, and is as artistically viable as it is practical. The field of play rolls outside to bask in the sun during the week, and then, within an hour or so, rolls back in on Sunday morning. Far from the dreary-looking east-coast domed stadiums, a massive, high-tech fabric section in the roof allows in natural sunlight for games, while the air conditioning keeps the fans and players at around 74 degrees. Long about October, when the outside temperature becomes the envy of most of the rest of the nation, the roof rolls back and we have football in a beautiful, sunny, cool fall setting. In contrast to Atlanta’s apparent inability to attract world-class conferences, concerts, and other entertainment possibilities, Phoenix is virtually overbooked (that’s “overbooked”, not “overlooked”) in all of its many venues for the forseeable future. I’m afraid that your city needs a cultural makeover as much as you feel the need for a new stadium. The flushed, breathless glow of superiority Atlanta once felt at inexplicably landing the Olympics, and then managing to host a rather forgettable, even tragic version is now an afterthought in the rest of the country. I’m afraid that the only reason that Atlanta is a media center (at least on cable) is because Ted Turner is from there. The bottom line is this: Cities have a sort of cultural life span as far as the “hipness-factor” scale is concerned. Ha-ha-ha-Hotlanta’s had about the shelf-life of a cup of steam, and looks old and tired, kind of like a southern version of Detroit. Outside of the hip-hop community, you’re going to find that you have a very difficult go of selling your image anymore.
w
September 19th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
The Blank”s Slate essay makes some compelling points regarding the value and potential of a new sports venue for Atlanta. However, two additional points should be added to the discussion: the possiblity of a Super Bowl-the NFL promises them to franchises who build them and will kick in $ as well; and, the potential for becoming the site of the 5th Bowl Championship Serise(BCS) game.
Adding these points to the argument for the proposed venue allows for a wider discussion on the merits of e project .
September 19th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
“The Blank”s Slate essay makes some compelling points regarding the value and potential of a new sports venue for Atlanta. However, two additional points should be added to the discussion: the possiblity of a Super Bowl-the NFL promises them to franchises who build them and will kick in $ as well; and, the potential for becoming the site of the 5th Bowl Championship Serise(BCS) game.”
Another bit of fodder to make my point, urban guru…Atlanta is not an attractive potential for these world-class sporting events. The reason such draws are given to up-and-coming cities (Phoenix has the 2007 BCS game, AND the 2008 Super Bowl) is because such communities exhibit foreward thinking by promoting measures which take advantage of their sense of newness and excitement. As an example, because Phoenix is a very new city, downtown had not yet become a “24/7″ entity. We moved one of the large campuses of Arizona State University (the largest single university in the country, at nearly 70,000 students)) downtown this year, and are subsequently creating a vibrant, artistic, youthful, urban core. Literally, more than 100,000 people move to Phoenix each year, from a hundred countries as well as other states, making it the most vibrant, fastest growing region in the nation. These are the urban types that these committees look for in determining where to place coveted international sports draws, and their accompanying dollars. Atlanta is comparatively elderly, and culturally monochromatic, placing it on the “last resort” list, rather than as a serious contender.
w
September 19th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
“Today, Atlanta is the place where “Every Day is an Opening Day.” With our limits defined by our own boredom from driving, there is a new spirit of optimism. There must be something better we can create for ourselves. And now, there’s plenty of room to do that. Every day, new land developments will open. It won’t happen because there is so much space to fill out in the nether-regions of our metro. It will happen because there is so much space to fill right here in the center. It’s all so 21st century.
For all times, Atlanta is a place defined by its own Name, history and geography. The Name retains its attractive mystique, no matter how the place is shaped. For the future, the network must be made more efficient. Lan is in our heart. Lan is in our Name.
Atlanta: The World Lands Here”
I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such incredible denial in my life…lol…As long as Atlantans consider themselves “rebels” and all the rest of us “yankees”, and as long as you cultivate some sort of linguistic hick-gymnastics in relation to the name of your city, you’ll always be America’s cousin in a trailer at the bottom of the property…lol…”Atlanta: the world lands here”…lol, oh my gosh…so many obvious crude analogies regarding the world’s waste landing there spring to mind, that I won’t even bother….
w
September 19th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
“In any case, through great upheval, New York long ago learned the lessons that overcrowding wrought on America’s cradle of capitalism. Is Atlanta now learning the lessons of undercrowding? Are Sunbelt cities like Atlanta perhaps an overreaction based on the myths of higher density development?”
This is a quote from an earlier blog….Atlanta has no business comparing itself to New York, or considering itself a Sunbelt city when it’s actually Bible-belt. Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and even Albequerque are sunbelt cities. Not to be unkind, but the sunbelt isn’t long enough to stretch around Atlanta’s reputation as being one of the most morbidly obese populations in the nation (separate subject, but an interesting metaphor nonetheless).
w
September 20th, 2006 at 12:22 am
W–
Could you please just stop posting until you get a clue because you are not sounding very intelligent. Did you get robbed in Atlanta once? If you hate this place so much, why do you post about it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbelt
September 20th, 2006 at 3:25 am
Matt…
I’m perfectly familiar with the geographic boundaries of what are widely considered to be the sunbelt states, and need no Wicki-lesson. For those who are more in tune with long-held cultural boundaries, your region is generally considered to be the Bible Belt, while CULTURALLY, southwestern states are referred to as the sun belt. While I’m sure you question whether I’ve been robbed there due to the local acceptance of your soaring crime rate, no, I haven’t, incredibly. Ironically, I don’t really hate Atlanta. I simply can’t resist occasionally posting a few literary digs on “civic pride” blogs that spring from a few specific cities in the south, particularly the large Texas metropoli, and yes, Atlanta. The reason for this is because some southerners have this irritating way of promoting their communities as if they’re teaching the rest of us what we’re missing, in some pathetic sense. If you happen to be interested in how you’re viewed, it unfortunately reminds most people on the west coast of the wannabe who picks up social cues 2 or 3 years too late, and shows up to the party wearing a “Vote for Pedro” shirt, asking all of us if we’ve seen Napoleon Dynamite yet. There is much to admire in southern charm, pretty peach trees and endearing accents, to be positive. One other thing: It would be uncouth of me to give you my resume in response to your suggesting something disparaging regarding my “intelligence”. If lucid, well-articulated thoughts possess content that offends you, I would assert that, in the end, attacking my IQ instead of my opinion only serves to enforce the notion that YOU had no options but a GED and Welding School, not the other way around.
h
September 20th, 2006 at 7:23 am
>>Ironically, I don’t really hate Atlanta. I simply can’t resist occasionally posting a few literary digs on “civic pride” blogs that spring from a few specific cities in the south, particularly the large Texas metropoli, and yes, Atlanta.
And how do southern cities differ from those in the north? You can’t tell me that Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and least of all New York and Chicago have an overblown sense of pride in their communities. Hell, New York is the worst offender of them all.
September 20th, 2006 at 8:06 am
W-
It looks to me like you’ve misread my posts. Not that your points are very interesting, in any case.
September 20th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Joe…
There’s nothing in your posts that anyone would find difficult to decipher. Also, some people find that books with small words in a large font and lots of pictures are more “interesting” than having to go through all that reading. My publisher and audience seem “interested” enough.
w
September 21st, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Wow, I turn off for a few days, and behold! We’ve drawn the attention of a snit, which I declare to be a more eloquent version of the standard net troll. This’ll be fun, y’all!
September 21st, 2006 at 6:15 pm
Thank you, Some other Mike…
w
September 24th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
W–
Let me just say that Georgia Tech is working out for me.
However, if I wanted to go into welding, I’d certainly try to permantly zip your sister’s couchie up so y’all would stop interbreeding.
Let it go. Try your first cousin for a change.
September 26th, 2006 at 2:12 am
Matt,
Hmmm… I’ve heard of the school, but in your given context, I’m more inclined to believe that you’re referring to a first cousin of yours by that name, who “works out” for you on a daily basis. Bless your heart; when people feel stressed, they most often revert to that which is most familiar. Due to your locale, and subsequent natural Georgia penchant for “loving” one’s family members, I’m not surprised at all regarding your suggestion. If your..um…”interesting” family ever makes it out here to the west coast, we’ll be sure to tell your loud, classless southern sister to keep her mouth shut until you jiggle your zipper.
w