Atlanta not alone in stadium dreams

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons' vision for a new stadium are shared by a number of sports franchises (and cities) in the U.S. The Falcons' new stadium in downtown Atlanta is one of at least four major sports facilities planned to be built this decade.

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority board approved the Falcons stadium schematic designs and the $1.2 billion budget during their meeting on Oct. 29, 2013. This is an aerial view of the closed stadium roof.

The Falcons' $1.2 billion facility will include a retractable roof and a halo video board at its roof. The city hopes the facility - planned for a 2017 opening - will help lure a Super Bowl and possibly an MLS franchise. Plans call for the stadium to include artificial turf for football and grass for soccer.

The Minnesota Vikings hope to break ground on a $975 million enclosed stadium this fall with expectations of opening in 2016 and luring a Final Four, college football championship and Super Bowl. Plans call for the stadium to be retrofitted for soccer in hopes of attracting an MLS franchise.

The 65,000-seat facility will be the Vikings third home in Minneapolis. It will be the first new fixed roof stadium in the NFL since Detroit's Ford Field opened in 2002.

Farmers Field, in downtown Los Angeles, is the city's hope to lure an NFL franchise back to the California city. The stadium - designed by the Gensler firm - is to be located on a site adjacent to the Staples Center. The Staples Center is home to the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings.

The 72,000-seat Farmers Field is estimated to cost $1.2 billion and is expected to be completed by 2016.

A proposal has emerged to move the NFL's Buffalo Bills from Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park to a new 72,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium - which can double as a convention center - in Buffalo's outer harbor. The $1.4 bullion project was designed by HKS Sports & Entertainment, the Dallas-based architectural and engineering firm that designed Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

In 2006, the Oakland A's unveiled plans for a new ballpark in Fremont, Calif. The plan was withdrawn after funding and land acquisition difficulties.

A new plan emerged that would have moved the Oakland A's to a 38,000-seat facility in San Jose. That plan was scrapped and is the subject of a suit by the city. Still, new discussions have emerged to build the A's their first new stadium since 1909 when the team played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The A's have played at O.co Coliseum since moving to California in 1968.

The District of Columbia and its Major League Soccer franchise, D.C. United, have reached a tentative agreement to build a 20,000-seat stadium for the team on Buzzard Point in Southwest Washington. D.C. United - which has played at RFK Stadium since 1996 - has won the MLS Cup championships in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004, and twice capturing the U.S. Open Cup. The $300 million facility would be near baseball's Nationals Park.

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