Is there a chance the Falcons would leave Atlanta if they don’t get their new stadium? Sure. Only a fool would say otherwise. But the same fool who believed the Falcons would beat the 49ers by 10 points feels compelled to levy odds on the likelihood of the Falcons’ departure.

The line on leaving: 1,000-to-1.

The belief here is that the Falcons will have their stadium, even if there seems – in my mind and apparently in the minds of others – no pressing need. They want it, and eventually they’ll get it. They might not get exactly what they want when/where they want it, but in the end they’ll be placated.

Some elected officials, including Gov. Nathan Deal and assorted state legislators, aren’t keen on supporting the granting of  public funds beyond the existing ceiling ($200 million) of the hotel/motel tax to a private business. This makes political sense in most any economic climate, and it makes particular sense in this one. What representative from Brunswick or Blue Ridge wants to face constituents wearing a campaign sign that says, “I backed the billionaire?”

At the same time, it would look awful for this city to lose yet another professional franchise, especially one that doesn’t play a sport of greatest interest to Canadians. Mayor Kasim Reed is on record as saying he doesn’t want to be remembered as the man who lost the Falcons, and Fox5 Atlanta reported Tuesday that Reed has told city council members that Los Angeles, without an NFL franchise for nearly two decades, would have interest in the Falcons.

On Wednesday, Reed went on 790 The Zone and confirmed the briefing. He also said the Dome will soon need as much as $350 million in upgrades and that the building, while “visually appealing,” isn’t “in the shape people believe it is.” The mayor also acknowledged that the city of Atlanta “may need to use its credit facilities to help facilitate the building of a stadium.”

For those not keeping score at home, here’s the rundown: The Falcons want a new stadium and have said they will not renew their Dome lease when it expires near the end of decade; the state is willing to help but only up to a point, and the mayor is determined to keep the Falcons downtown. Remember that last bit above all.

After the structure of a new stadium deal was approved by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority last month, Falcons president Rich McKay was asked what would happen if these plans fell through. Would the team consider leaving Atlanta? He said it would not. But, as we’re constantly reminded, not every part of what we consider Atlanta is technically Atlanta.

If the Falcons don’t get a new stadium downtown, Arthur Blank isn’t apt to go looking in Los Angeles County. He might, however, go hunting in Cobb or Gwinnett or Hall County. They would remain the Atlanta Falcons, but they wouldn’t be the city of Atlanta’s Falcons. If you’re the mayor of Atlanta, that’s a scary thought.

Reed on 790 The Zone: “Cities that play these games end up on the losing end of the stick more often than not. The Dallas Cowboys do not play football in Dallas. (They play in Arlington.) The same thing now with the San Francisco 49ers. (They’re moving to Santa Clara.) It would not be a healthy thing for the Falcons not to play in the city of Atlanta.”

Reed stressed that the Falcons have made no threats about leaving. There’s no need. That’s always the unspoken – OK, sometimes it’s spoken – part of stadium-building. The governing bodies might be in charge of taxes and bonds and infrastructure, but the franchise for playing NFL football belongs to an individual.

Robert Irsay didn’t get what he wanted and Mayflower’ed the Colts out of Baltimore on a snowy night. Art Modell ripped the Browns from a broken-hearted Cleveland. To say it couldn’t happen here would be naïve. At the same time, it's not apt to happen here. Too many big wheels want this new stadium to be built downtown for it not to happen.

There will be public resistance over the need to use public funds of any sort, and there will be ticketholder resistance over the personal seat licenses that are sure to come, but that’s expected. Of greater significance is that negotiations between the various parties have reached the stage where the haggling isn’t over the idea but its implementation.

Nobody really wants the Falcons to leave the area, the Falcons included. Real issues remain, but the notion of this team alighting in L.A. isn’t among them.