“Georgia Senate Gives OK to Super Bowl Tax Breaks”

Salzer, James. “Key Georgia Senate Panel Gives OK to Super Bowl, Shopping Tax Breaks.” AJC. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2 Mar. 2016. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/key-georgia-senate-panel-gives-ok-to-super-bowl-sh/nqcNQ/>.

Because the Atlanta Falcons invested in building the new Mercedes-Benz stadium which cost over $1.5 billion, they put in a bid to the NFL to be considered to host the Superbowl. In efforts to further persuade the NFL, Governor Nathan Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the Atlanta Sports Council proposed a bill to the Georgia Senate to have sales taxes on tickets to the big game waived. Tax breaks in the past have proven beneficial to our city as they have often created jobs and generated plenty of business for retail stores. The Georgia House and Senate assessed the pros and cons of offering tax breaks on super bowl tickets and found that it would cost the state and city $10 million but having the game in Atlanta would bring in over $400 million as estimated by economists. Because this bill is so broad it could also cover large sporting events such as Final Four games. This bill will possibly allow the city to have more economic growth and prowess through tax breaks on Superbowl tickets.

“Demolition of Georgia Dome Scheduled for 2017”

Tucker, Tim. “Demolition of Georgia Dome Scheduled for 2017.” AJC. The Atlanta Journal Constitution, 30 Jan. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2016. <http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/football/plans-in-works-to-decommission-the-dome/nqFFh/>.

Recently it was decided that the Mercedes-Benz Stadium will not be opened for business for an additional 3 months after the original date intended. Because it had been previously decided that the dome will close in March of 2017, local vendors and employees of the Dome are worried about not working for three months as the new stadium’s opening date is not June 2017. The construction company in charge of the Dome’s demolition stated that in order to have the significant amount of parking needed for the new stadium’s large attendance, they need to begin the implosion as soon as possible. The takedown of the dome is predicted to take from 6 to 7 months, which would not be in time for the 2017 NFL season. The parking decks would not be prepared in time due because of the time it takes to build such massive parking structures to hold such weights and the MARTA tracks that are so close. This opening date push back and not opening of the dome during the over lapped dates will mean that the Atlanta soccer team will not be playing in their new stadium or the Georgia dome for the first three months of their first ever season. Conclusively, there has been no revisiting of the demolition date of the Georgia Dome and it can potentially backfire locals and their sports teams.