Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank wants a new stadium for his team. Badly. Looking to build a stadium in the neighborhood of $1 billion, Blank is ready to leave the Georgia Dome in the past. However, there is just a little problem.
The Atlanta community is reportedly not behind this new stadium. Something that left Blank even bringing in commissioner Roger Goodell to help convince city officials of the need for a new place to play. With even that failing to work, Blank has officially gone to desperate measures. Los Angeles.
Per MyFoxAtlanta:
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is warning city council members about business interests in Los Angeles who want to move the Falcons to the west coast.
Team owner Arthur Blank 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 Mayor Kasim Reed told FOX 5′s Morse Diggs about private discussions the mayor hosted at City Hall.
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 open air stadium.
Threatening to move the team to LA if he can’t get his stadium is a brilliant move by Blank. As long as city council members aren’t willing to call his bluff.
Because if they do, we’ll have to see if Blank is truly ready to leave the city of Atlanta behind. Something I seriously doubt.