The Atlanta Falcons' desired open-air stadium might wind up with a retractable roof if ongoing negotiations get bogged down according to Tim Tucker and Leon Stafford of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While both the Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority say the focus remains on trying to reach a deal that would put the team in an outdoor stadium and preserve the nearby Georgia Dome for indoor events, neither side shuts the door on the option of an indoor/outdoor, retractable-roof facility. That option would be much more expensive, could make the Dome unneeded and would represent a change in stance for the Falcons, who have expressed a preference for an open-air stadium without the added cost of a retractable roof. A Georgia legislator briefed on the negotiations between the GWCC Authority, which oversees the state-owned complex that includes the Georgia Dome, and the Falcons told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week that a new stadium with a retractable roof and a natural grass playing surface is among the options being considered. Another person familiar with the negotiations said a retractable roof could be pursued if it is determined that two stadiums - the Dome plus a new open-air facility - on GWCC property are not financially or logistically viable, asked for the Falcons' current position, team president Rich McKay said in an email: "A retractable roof stadium has always been one of the options, but our first preference has been to focus on an open-air stadium."
Source: The Redzone
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Source: The Redzone
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