Narrowing of candidates to design stadium delayed

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority and the Atlanta Falcons say it’ll take them longer than expected to choose the finalists to design a proposed retractable-roof stadium.

The GWCCA and the Falcons originally planned to select three to five finalists Wednesday from the 10 architectural firms that applied last month for the design job. But the GWCCA and the Falcons instead jointly extended the deadline for the decision on finalists until Jan. 28.

“Additional time is needed to review qualifications and references (of the applicants) and to prepare additional program information for finalists,” GWCCA spokeswoman Jennifer LeMaster said.

The finalists will interview with Falcons and GWCCA officials, including Falcons owner Arthur Blank. The original plan called for hiring a lead architect by March 15.

“We can’t speculate on how this (delay) may affect our March 15 deadline,” LeMaster said.

The process of choosing an architect began last month after the GWCCA and the Falcons agreed on a non-binding “term sheet,” which spells out the framework of a potential stadium deal. Under the proposed deal, an estimated $1 billion stadium would be built with about $300 million from bonds backed by hotel-motel taxes and the other $700 million from the Falcons, the NFL and personal seat license sales.

The Falcons and the GWCCA continue to negotiate a more definitive agreement called a “memorandum of understanding.” The GWCCA plans to seek approval from the Georgia Legislature to increase its debt limit from $200 million to $300 million — a necessary step if the proposed deal is to be completed.