The Atlanta Falcons and state officials face a critical round of new talks over public financing for a proposed $1 billion stadium, as the deal they reached last month after two years of negotiations could be in jeopardy.
Gov. Nathan Deal confirmed Tuesday that he prefers a deal with less than the $300 million in public funding called for in a tentative agreement between the Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority.
“That seemed like a little bit high of a number,” Deal said. “We’re still talking and hopefully before too very long we will have a proposal that will save the taxpayers a lot of money.”
Deal added he remains confident a compromise can be reached.
“It’s still very uncertain economic times but I think people can recognize the validity of what they’re advocating,” he said. “My concern is to save the taxpayers.”
The governor’s stance - reported Friday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - means team owner Arthur Blank faces the possibility of having to pony up an additional $100 million if he wants to preserve plans for a retractable-roof stadium downtown.
It also brings Deal, who has long sought to avoid a potentially politically-damaging debate over the stadium, to the forefront of negotiations he once ceded to the GWCCA.
In discussions this week, Blank will consider a range of new options for public help on the stadium. Chief among them is an idea he has so far resisted: To lower his request for public funds from the $300 million he originally sought to $200 million.
The Falcons struck a deal with the GWCCA in December, agreeing to demolish the Georgia Dome and use an estimated $300 million in bonds backed by Atlanta hotel-motel taxes to help fund the new facility.
The Falcons would be responsible for the rest of the tab, though the city of Atlanta may have to pay for related infrastructure work.
But the deal would hinge on a legislative vote to raise the GWCCA’s borrowing limit, now at $200 million, by $100 million. That’s a dicey prospect amid dismal public polling on the project. Lawmakers have threatened to postpone a vote on the project until more pressing matters are tackled, and the governor called on the Falcons to do a better job selling the stadium to the public.
To try to stave off a delay - and keep the team from potentially fleeing downtown for the suburbs - both sides are resuming negotiations in hopes of working out a deal this week, while there is time to craft a proposal and get it through the legislature during the current session.
Blank also could consider other options to reduce the bond amount, such as tax breaks or incentives for the stadium or an attempt to route some of the bonds through Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm.
A last-minute scramble to pull together a deal could present new problems, but it could also salvage Blank’s desire for the new stadium to be ready for football by the 2017 season.
Blank is on the board of directors of Cox Enterprises, whose media holdings include the AJC.
“The Falcons continue to make a good case about the need for a new stadium to accommodate future growth,” the governor said. “The argument is do you spend millions more dollars on repairs and perhaps to replace the Dome roof … or do you go ahead and make an investment now that will be good for 20 years?”
Falcons executives and state officials have had a flurry of meetings over the deal, including one between Deal’s office and Falcons president Rich McKay on Friday as the team prepared for its NFC Championship game. One party that hasn’t been involved in recent days is the GWCCA.
The team didn’t comment Tuesday, and GWCCA executive director Frank Poe indicated he wasn’t sure where things stood.
“We read the reports over the weekend and are trying to discern what those mean and how the current efforts on the (December agreement) may be affected,” Poe said Tuesday in a statement. “For those reasons, we are unable to provide an interview related to (the) existing draft as we are not sure what aspects, if any, remain relevant.”
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