As Falcons owner Arthur Blank and government officials are pushing a new downtown Atlanta retractable-roof stadium for the team, reports have surfaced that the city of Los Angeles has expressed interest in acquiring the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has warned city council members that business interests in LA want to move the Falcons to the west coast, reports Fox 5 TV.
Falcon’s owner Arthur Blank reportedly shared that information with top city and state officials in their discussions about financing a new stadium in downtown Atlanta.
Two council members who met with Reed told FOX 5 about the private discussions.
Reed called in council members one at a time to tell them that the city needs to take a more aggressive lead in the public financing portion of the proposed stadium.
The Falcons and the National Football League would cover two-thirds of the stadium’s cost, with public dollars on the hook for the remaining amount. There has been no word about financing for proposed downtown infrastructure renovations that have been backed by Reed. The mayor estimated that project would push the cost from $946 million to $1.2 billion.
According to previous reports, key business terms for a new stadium include:
The Georgia World Congress Center Authority, a state agency, would own the stadium.
The Falcons would operate the stadium under a 30-year license agreement, with options to renew for an additional 15 years.
