DEL.ICIO.USBigger, better home for the Georgia Dome?
Georgia World Congress Center looks to expansion to stay competitive with other cities
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, December 04, 2008
In the future, the Atlanta Falcons could play in a new Georgia Dome south of its current home while the front door to the Georgia World Congress Center would move to Marietta Street in a giant new building.
And conventioneers, who bring millions to Atlanta’s coffers every year, would get around the convention center on airport-like moving sidewalks or trams.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
For home games, Falcons running back Michael Turner plays in the 16-year-old Georgia Dome. That’s older than 20 of the NFL’s other stadiums. Newer venues typically get picked to host the Super Bowl.
Those are just some of the ideas unveiled Wednesday in a master plan for the downtown Georgia World Congress Center campus, which encompasses the convention facility, Dome and nearby Centennial Olympic Park.
GWCC officials are looking at ways to expand the massive campus to stay competitive with other cities that are building newer and larger football stadiums and convention centers. Khalil Johnson, GWCC chief operating officer, offered no pricetag for the ideas and said there is no timetable for when any, if accepted, would be implemented.
Any plans would need approval from the GWCC Authority, the governing board. The convention center, Dome and Centennial Olympic Park are state-owned and operated.
Whatever is done, it will be a necessary move. The Dome, which is just 16 years old, is older than 20 of the National Football League’s more than 30 stadiums. The NFL has increasingly awarded Super Bowls to cities that have newer stadiums. And Falcons owner Arthur Blank has said he wants a new stadium when the bonds issued to build the Dome are paid off, probably around 2015 to 2020.
When it was built in 1992, the Georgia Dome cost $214 million. But the cost of building a new stadium is now much more expensive. The Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium cost about $1 billion, while the New York Jets and New York Giants will play in a $1.3 billion stadium, now under construction.
The convention center — the fourth largest in the country at 1.4 million square feet of exhibit space — recently saw its main competitors — in Chicago, Las Vegas and Orlando — grow even bigger, even though it added 420,000 square feet in 2003 at a cost of $282 million, using state funds and convention proceeds.
Johnson told stakeholders — residents and community leaders living near the campus that were invited to the unveiling — that the master plan is designed to help officials look at opportunities for future growth.
“What we are trying to do is lay out the options,” Johnson said. “It gives us a road map for the way forward if you will, but not which exit to get off on.”
HOK Sport, a Kansas City, Mo.-based firm known for its work with NFL teams, helped create the GWCC’s master plan. The company said it saw ways for the facility to better use its footprint to attract business by improving landscaping on its border streets, making the campus more walkable and creating greater areas of greenspace.
The company laid out several alternative plans for the GWCC, which generally centered around expanding or moving the Dome and increasing the size of the convention center. Each configuration used some of the GWCC’s existing 44 acres of undeveloped space, including parking lots and pre-function or staging areas, for the expansion.
That growth also could come from expanding the current Georgia Dome, which has seen several renovations recently, including a new paint job, For example, one plan calls for building new floors atop the Congress Center, making it a vertical as well as a horizontal giant.
Building a new football stadium would take four to five years, while building a new convention facility would take about three to five, said Dennis Wellner, senior principal with HOK.
“This isn’t something that is prescriptive or definitive,” said Herman Howard, a senior associate in HOK’s Atlanta office.
Johnson said there are a lot of benefits to each of the alternatives.
For instance, expanding building A to Marietta Street would give the Congress Center an exciting front door and reinvent the facility’s original building, which is 33 years old.
Officials also would take advantage of a new conference center to build a ballroom that is three times the size of the facility’s largest offering to make the Congress Center an even bigger draw, he said.
Johnson said the plans are not pie-in-the-sky dreams that will just gather dust.
“This is not a static document that will be put on the shelf,” Johnson said. “This is a living document.”
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Comments
By wasting money
Dec 5, 2008 11:14 PM | Link to this
I am glad for the cosmetic renovation and the new paint job of the dome. the old one with the green seats looked hideous. Atlanta needs to payoff their debts and give their city workers a payraise so they can stop living in the dumpster. Don't worry about being trendy because it's not gonna be one for the next 20 yrs. I agree with almost everything that "typical Atlanta" said. I don't see the NEED for another facility or stadium or even the expansion of it.
By Typical Atlanta
Dec 4, 2008 5:09 PM | Link to this
To even consider this now is borderline reckless! The city of Atlanta and state are drowning in debt. How about they figure out how to be a better facility and campus as opposed to continually playing the "we need to be bigger to compete" card?? The GWCC is already the fourth largest convention center in the country. The Dome just underwent a bunch of cosmetic renovations. They don't NEED a new Dome? They don't need a bigger GWCC? They need to quit playing around with these firms and focus exclusively on how they can sell the facility better. The days of being able to play the Olympic City card are long over. Outside of the Southeast, Atlanta is not trendy anymore. Truth be told, they never needed the expansion they pushed so hard for a few years ago. From what I read and hear, the place is always half empty. And Blank should focus on keeping a competitive team on the field as opposed to another dome. I think most Atlantans would rather have an outdoor stadium and not worry about Super Bowls?? If the NFL wants Atlanta, then great. But you can't build a stadium for the sole purpose of landing Super Bowls? You build a stadium that your fan base relates to and becomes an iconic symbol of the community. Poll most sports fans around the city and they will tell you they wish the Falcons played in an outdoor facility.
By South of The Dom
Dec 4, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this
Dying Breed,
I mean this in a friendly way - but life is not blighted south of the Dome. Castleberry Hill is about a half mile south of the Dome (the first thing you come to on the otherside of the gulch) and is a great neighborhood. Next time you are down walk south a half mile on COP and you'll find a solid neighborhood with restuarants and places to hang out before the game. Check out No Mas Cantina or Eliott Street Pub or Slice or Star (if it's open on Sunday's).
Go Falcons!
By DawgieStyle
Dec 4, 2008 2:30 PM | Link to this
Who the hell cares? If isn't tax money, build, tear down, uproot, refurbish-whatever they want, I only care about the Sanford Stadium and Grant Field.
By gafarmer
Dec 4, 2008 2:21 PM | Link to this
Who cares? Most of us can afford to watch on tv. Why build billion dollar barns for spoiled rotten professional sports figures. I almost wrote sportsmen and women. Sickening.
By Mike
Dec 4, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this
Downtown is the ONLY suitable location for a stadium for the Falcons. It is the only place that is easily accessible from the north, south, east and west. To all of you who complain about gameday traffic, TAKE MARTA!! This year MARTA has revamped gameday train service and it is, pardon the pun, a breeze! For the games for which I have taken MARTA, it has been 30 minutes door to seat and vice versa.
And if you were about to reply with "but I like to tailgate.." then quit lying to us about all this traffic. There is literally ZERO traffic before a Falcons game at around 10am-11am when most tailgaters get started.
By sean
Dec 4, 2008 1:57 PM | Link to this
I agree with questioning why the stadium needs to be a dome? I know it was originally needed to get the Super Bowl but I think we can agree that that won't happen again. How best to showcase our city when it's 60 degrees and sunny in November and it's snowing in up north. Domes are for the cities like Minneapolis and Detroit not Atlanta!
By Amazed
Dec 4, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
Ridiculous idea, particularly in this economy.
By MexicoRon
Dec 4, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this
This one shouldn't get done even though it will. And at taxpayers expense, even though most people will never go to a game there, whether from affordability or lack of interest in the Falcons.
If Art wants to throw up a new stadium for his team, let him do it on his dollar, not mine.
By A Dying Breed
Dec 4, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this
I'm a Falcons Season Ticket Holder that drives from the northern suburbs to games at the Dome. It has increasingly become a hassle due to access to and from the Interstates onto 4 lane streets to get to Dome parking. In addition, the ticket and parking prices continually go up. Others are right in that the community is still blighted on the South and West sides of the Dome, while the North and East are downtown business areas. The average fan is being priced out of the "NFL Experience" and any new facility will bring Personal Seat Licenses which will further erode all but the very wealthy or corporate participants. If this is done in this area, much of that money needs to go for community grants to revitalize the area, which will never happen IMO.
They need to build any new stadium in the suburbs with lower land prices and easier access, since the Dome is not really doing anything to better the community.
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