Q: MARTA ridership for the Braves has been reported to be about 6 percent. Falcons fans have much more favorable MARTA access. What is the percentage of Falcons fans who take MARTA? — Cathy Phelan, Atlanta
A: About 14,000 fans take MARTA to Atlanta Falcons games at the Georgia Dome, MARTA's Office of Research & Analysis told Q&A on the News in an email. The Georgia Dome's capacity is 71,250, which means about 19.6 percent of fans take MARTA to the games. "However, MARTA's actual market share may be significantly higher than that, just as MARTA's Braves game market share may be somewhat higher than 6 percent," the email stated. "That's because sports teams do not report actual attendance; they report tickets sold. So the official statistics often include many empty seats, leading to an underestimation of MARTA's market share."
Q: The Georgia High School Association recently held its state football championship games in the Georgia Dome. Where will these games be played when the new Falcons stadium is built and the Georgia Dome is demolished? — Lance DeLoach, Thomaston
A: No signed contracts are in place, but the GHSA has plans to move its state football championship games to the new stadium when it opens in 2017, spokesman Steve Figueroa told Q&A on the News in an email. "It is our understanding that the GHSA football championship weekend is one of the events that has been 'grandfathered' into the schedule for the new stadium," he wrote. "So our intentions are to move from the (Georgia) Dome to the new stadium when it is ready."
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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