Congress Center makeover?

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.

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.”

 CURRENT NFL STADIUMS
Though it opened in 1992, the Georgia Dome is among the league's older stadiums. 

Name............................Team..................Capacity..Opening date
Lucas Oil Stadium ..............Indianapolis Colts ....63,000 ....9/7/2008 
University of Phoenix Stadium ..Arizona Cardinals......63,000 ....9/10/2006
Soldier Field II................Chicago Bears..........63,000 ....9/29/2003
Lincoln Financial Field ........Philadelphia Eagles....68,500 ....9/8/2003
Ford Field......................Detroit Lions..........65,000 ....9/22/2002
Qwest Field ....................Seattle Seahawks ......68,000 ....9/15/2002
Gillette Stadium................New England Patriots ..68,000 ....9/9/2002
Reliant Stadium ................Houston Texans ........69,500 ....9/8/2002
Heinz Field ....................Pittsburgh Steelers....64,500 ....10/7/2001
Invesco Field ..................Denver Broncos ........76,125 ....9/10/2001
Paul Brown Stadium..............Cincinnati Bengals ....65,600 ....9/10/2000
Cleveland Stadium ..............Cleveland Browns ......72,300 ....9/12/1999
LP Field........................Tennessee Titans ......67,000 ....9/12/1999
Raymond James Stadium ..........Tampa Bay Buccaneers ..65,657 ....9/20/1998 
M&T Bank Stadium................Baltimore Ravens ......69,084 ....9/6/1998
FedEx Field ....................Washington Redskins....80,000 ....9/14/1996
Bank of America Stadium ........Carolina Panthers......73,250 ....9/14/1996
Edward Jones Dome ..............St. Louis Rams ........66,000 ....11/12/95
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium..Jacksonville Jaguars ..73,000 ....8/18/1995
Georgia Dome....................Atlanta Falcons........71,149 ....9/6/1992
Dolphin Stadium ................Miami Dolphins ........75,000 ....8/16/1987
Metrodome ......................Minnesota Vikings......64,035 ....9/12/1982 
Giants Stadium..................New York Giants/Jets ..79,469 ....10/10/1976*
Superdome ......................New Orleans Saints ....69,082 ....9/28/1975
Ralph Wilson Stadium............Buffalo Bills..........75,339 ....8/17/1973
Arrowhead Stadium ..............Kansas City Chiefs ....79,409 ....8/12/1972
Candlestick Park................San Francisco 49ers....64,450 ....10/10/1971
Texas Stadium ..................Dallas Cowboys ........65,675 ....10/24/1971*
Qualcomm Stadium................San Diego Chargers ....71,294 ....8/20/1967
Oakland Coliseum................Oakland Raiders........63,146 ....9/18/1966
Lambeau Field ..................Green Bay Packers......72,515 ....9/29/1957
* Replacement under way

 ELIZABETH LANDT / Staff 
COMPETITIVE EXPANSION
The Georgia World Congress Center, which includes the Congress Center convention center, the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, could look different in the future with a bigger football field, even larger convention building and more greenspace. GWCC officials on Wednesday unveiled several options in a master plan for the campus' future. It's an effort to stay current against competitors who have their own expansion plans. 

GEORGIA DOME
A. Georgia Dome expansion/renovation
B. New stadium to the north
C. New stadium to the south wth park extension to the west

GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTER
A. New exhibit hall to the south
B. New exhibit hall to the north
C. Vertical expansion of exhibit hall A

Source: Hok Sport 

 Staff
Map locates Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Dome and nearby landmarks. Inset map outlines area of detail in Atlanta.