Dome profits signify importance beyond Falcons

Revenue from the Dome has been so great over the past decade that the bonds that paid for the facility, which are to be retired in 2020, could be paid off as early as 2017.

That's a strong showing in a down economy when most businesses are lucky to break even, industry observers say. While conventioneer numbers have been declining and trade shows are asking for less floor space at the GWCC, the Dome is holding its own in turnout.

What's more, the facility's revenue numbers have stayed strong even though club and suite sales, which make up 52 percent of the Dome's earnings, are down.

The Dome's performance comes as Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has hinted that the team could move to a new facility sometime in the next decade. While sports fans speculate if the team could be suburban-bound, leaders for the GWCC Authority, which oversees the Dome, recently commissioned a $145,000 study to determine the campus' future sports need.

The study will consider whether to build another dome, a new stadium with a retractable roof or simply update the current facility.

Sports marketer Bob Hope said the Dome has remained relevant in the recession for a number of reasons: sports is a diversion that lures fans during periods of economic stress and events are a good way to interact with clients.

"In a tough economy you may cut back on advertising and marketing, but you can't cut back on customer relations," he said. "Sports are one of the few ways that you can create bonds and relationships. It's efficient. "

The Dome's proximity to the GWCC also helps pull in conventions, said William Pate, president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Bureau staff take meeting planners of big conventions on a tour of the Dome to try to separate their pitch from the competition.

"The Dome is a special events center," he said, explaining that not many conventions can offer a dinner on the 50-yard line of a professional football team.

It's that diversity of use that also has helped the Dome's bottom line. During the football season, the Dome not only hosts the Falcons, but also SEC championships, the Chick-fil-A Bowl, The Men's NCAA Final Four, an ACC Basketball Championship, the Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic and, proponents hope, one day another Super Bowl.

But during the off season, the facility has been used for graduations, monster truck rallies, soccer tournaments, Easter church services, motivational conferences and concerts like the recent U2 stadium tour.

Leaders said that diversity is why the Dome was located downtown on the GWCC campus. To convince lawmakers to support the state-owned Dome, leaders argued that it would generate revenue as an extension of the Congress Center.

Pate is confident the Dome will continue to be financially strong, mostly because the events held there have held up during the ups and downs.

"They are not recession proof, but the SEC Championships have been a sellout, the Chick-fil-A Bowls have been, the ACC tournaments have sold out," he said. "It has always been a great facility."