Study to tackle impact of new Falcons stadium

By Leon Stafford

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority will conduct an economic impact study on how a new open-air football stadium for the Atlanta Falcons would affect communities around Northside Drive in downtown Atlanta.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com The proposed site of the Falcons stadium is along Northside Drive and Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd at the Marshilling Yard. The stadium being proposed for the Falcons will be a little more than a half-mile away from the Georgia Dome, along two streets dominated by the massive Georgia World Congress Center or sparse businesses along Marietta Street between Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd.

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Area residents pushed for the study because they want to avoid duplicating a Turner Field-type development in which a new stadium is surrounded by parking lots and not much else.

They argue that communities along Northside Drive, specifically Vine City and English Avenue, have already been cut off from downtown by a "super block" that houses the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center convention facility and acres of parking devoted to each. That has left Vine City and English Avenue with fewer restaurants, hotels and retail outlets than other parts of the city.

Building a stadium on what is now the Marshaling Field for convention vehicles along Ivan Allen Boulevard would only worsen the situation if the effect on the area isn't considered, they said.

"East-west connectivity is already a challenge in downtown and now you're talking about adding to what has become a wall on Northside Drive," said Suzanne Bair, president of the Marietta Street Artery Association.

The GWCCA, a state agency, and the Falcons are in talks to either build a new $700 million stadium on the Marshaling Field or to expand the Georgia Dome, the football team's current home. The Falcons have made it clear the team wants a new open-air facility.

The suggestion of a new stadium has raised questions about the need for an updated facility, who will pay for it and how it will effect downtown. The state would issue bonds to raise $350 million to $400 million for the stadium, while the team would cover the rest of the cost.

The impact study would be done after the two parties decide whether to build a new stadium or expand the Dome, said Frank Poe, GWCCA executive director. He did not know how much the study would cost, but said, "They are fairly reasonable."

Poe said the analysis is part of the agency's "due diligence" and would look at the effect of a new stadium on taxes, jobs, business opportunities and potential for non football-related events at the field.

Stadiums don't create restaurants, retail development or commercial buildings, he said. But the authority can help start the conversation about development opportunities.

"Are there partners that you can bring to the table that will look at the stadium development from a holistic perspective?" Poe said. "Yes."

Atlanta City Council member Michael Julian Bond said the study will give the community a "realistic" idea of what the stadium can do. It's especially important for the English Avenue and Vine City communities, which have seen decades of disinvestment and are looking for a cure that might not be in a new stadium, he said.

"People want so badly, and rightfully so, for something to improve the community," he said.

Michael Koblentz, chairman of the Northwest Community Alliance, said he'd like to see funds set aside to help the community directly like there were in 1992 when about $8 million for the Dome was made available to neighborhoods to build area housing.

"The bottom line is it has to be very well thought out and you want to have the broadest impact possible," he said.

Bair salutes the authority for launching an impact study but wonders how much it matters.

"Just because they've done a study doesn't mean they have to do anything with it," he said.