The construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium remains within its $1.4 billion budget despite almost $100 million in change orders by the Falcons, according to a status report prepared for a state agency.
The latest report by Heery International, which represents the Georgia World Congress Center Authority in the construction project on its downtown campus, said the Falcons’ stadium company “has issued change orders” to general contractor Holder Hunt Russell Moody “in the cumulative amount of $98.5 million for various scope changes.”
The report said the changes have been “funded by project contingency” funds in the budget. The “total project cost (is) still projected to be $1.4B,” according to the report.
The report doesn’t provide details about the changes. The GWCCA, in response to an open-records request, said it doesn’t have copies of the change orders.
“Some of the items that make up the change orders include elements of the concrete superstructure, steel increases, mechanical equipment, electrical systems and finish refinements,” Brett Jewkes, spokesman for Falcons parent company AMB Group, said.
Previous reports by Heery showed change orders totaling $53 million through Oct. 31 and $81.9 million through Dec. 31. The $98.5 million figure is through Feb. 29.
The Falcons' stadium budget, approved by the GWCCA board in December 2014, included $322 million for "soft costs" and "contingency." It isn't known how much of that was for soft costs (such as legal, architectural and engineering fees) and how much remains for further contingencies.
The changes don’t affect the amount of public money in the project.
The taxpayer contribution toward construction costs is $200 million from bonds backed by Atlanta hotel-motel tax revenue, with the remainder coming from the Falcons, the NFL and personal seat license sales.
Hundreds of millions in additional hotel-motel tax dollars are expected to ultimately go toward costs of operating and maintaining the stadium. The exact amount depends on tax collections over the next three decades, during which 39.3 percent of a 7-cents-per-dollar tax on Atlanta hotel rooms will go to the stadium each year – the same percentage that currently goes to the Georgia Dome.
After annual debt service for principal and interest on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium bonds — about $15 million per year — is paid from the stadium’s share of the tax, the remainder generated by the 39.3-percent share will go toward maintenance, operations and capital improvements.
The hotel-motel tax brought in $23.89 million for the Georgia Dome in fiscal 2015, Dome officials confirmed.
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