TIMELINE
Sept. 7, 2006: Falcons owner Arthur Blank predicts in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the team will have a new stadium in a decade or so.
April 13-14, 2010: The Georgia Legislature authorizes an extension of the hotel-motel tax in Atlanta and unincorporated Fulton County through the year 2050 as a potential vehicle to partially fund a stadium on Georgia World Congress Center property.
May 18, 2010: Falcons President Rich McKay says in an interview with the AJC that the team's preference would be an open-air stadium rather than a renovated Georgia Dome or a retractable-roof facility.
Feb. 22, 2011: The Georgia World Congress Center Authority agrees to enter formal negotiations with the Falcons on an open-air stadium. That plan calls for the new stadium to be home to the Falcons and other outdoor events while the Georgia Dome will continue to operate for indoor events. Several days later, the GWCCA says in a statement that it "could take up to a year to finalize" an agreement with the Falcons.
May 2011: Gov. Nathan Deal vetoes Senate Bill 140, the legislation Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, altered to lift the cap on the GWCCA's authorization to borrow money..
April: After more than a year of negotiations, the Falcons and the GWCCA abandon an open-air stadium, concluding the challenges of two neighboring stadiums are too great. Instead, they shift their focus to a retractable-roof, indoor-outdoor facility that would lead to the demolition of the Dome. The GWCCA's stadium development committee sees a PowerPoint presentation on "business term concepts" that includes a goal of "June/July 2012" for an agreement with the Falcons on a single-stadium plan.
Now: Negotiations continue between the Falcons and the GWCCA.
What's next: The GWCCA says it hopes to reach an agreement with the team by the end of the year. If a deal is reached, the GWCCA would ask the Georgia Legislature next year to approve an increase in the agency's debt limit.
Georgia World Congress Center Legislative Overview Committee members
Senate:
Sen. Ronnie Chance, R-Tyrone
Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta
Sen. Bill Hamrick (who has since left the state senate), R-Carrollton
Sen. Ronald Ramsey, D-Decatur
Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock
Sen. David Shafer, R-Duluth
House:
Rep. Jan Jones, R-Milton
Rep. Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta
Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain
Rep. Butch Parrish, R-Swainsboro
Rep. Jimmy Pruett, R-Eastman
Rep. Donna Sheldon, R-Dacula
The Georgia World Congress Center has given state lawmakers thousands of dollars in tickets to enjoy football games, Wrestlemania and monster truck races from a luxury box, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of lobbying records shows.
Some of the recipients sit on a little-known legislative committee charged with overseeing that state authority, which is poised to ask legislators to boost its borrowing limit as part of a deal to build a $1 billion retractable-roof stadium for the Atlanta Falcons.
The panel’s current members have received more than $9,000 worth of gifts since 2010, when key legislation was passed that set the stage for the proposed stadium. Some said they were concerned about accepting gifts as negotiations over a new stadium heated up. Others were unapologetic.
The legislative panel has attracted little attention but nice perks. Officials say the 12 members of the Georgia World Congress Center Legislative Overview Committee get first dibs on the coveted luxury box seats at the Georgia Dome.
Pick up Tuesday's print or tablet edition of the AJC for the full report on the aggressive lobbying efforts by supporters of the new stadium.
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