Falcons stadium cost goes up again — to $1.4 billion

Atlanta Falcons stadium is set to open in 2017.

Credit: Atlanta Falcons

Credit: Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons stadium is set to open in 2017.

The price of the new Atlanta Falcons stadium has gone up again — by $200 million.

The Falcons will tell the Georgia World Congress Center Authority board at a meeting this afternoon that the price of the retractable-roof downtown stadium has risen to $1.4 billion from the $1.2 billion the team estimated a year ago. This is the second $200 million jump, as last year’s $1.2 billion figure represented an increase from an earlier estimate of $1 billion.

In the latest figures that the Falcons will report today, the team will put the “hard costs” of building the stadium at $1.078 billion and soft costs/contingency funds at $322 million, adding up to a total budget of $1.4 billion.

UPDATE: The GWCC board voted 13-1 to approve the new budget. Board member Taz Anderson voted against.

The latest increase won’t affect the amount of taxpayer money that goes into building the stadium but could affect the amount the Falcons need to raise from naming rights, sponsorships and, importantly to Falcons fans, personal seat license sales.

Please check back for updates.