Atlanta Hall Management interim President & CEO John Stephenson, whose group will oversee operations of a College Football HOF in downtown Atlanta, said yesterday that “the project is on schedule to open by the end of 2014 and will have an economic impact of more than $12.7 million annually,” according to Leon Stafford of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Stephenson “didn't say when work will begin,” but added that he “told state legislators that AHM needs to finish working on engineering plans for the building, its budget and negotiations with banks on construction costs ‘before we have our final top-line budget.’” Stafford writes the project was “announced to great fanfare in September 2009.” Stephenson in February told Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau leaders that AHM was “reassessing the entire project, examining everything from expected annual attendance to the size of the facility.” AHM in April “presented its findings to the National Football Foundation, which owns the rights to the facility.” Stephenson yesterday told legislators that AHM “has secured about $42.5 million in commitments for the project, with some of the donors coming from out of state.” When Stephenson was “pressed to name a few, he declined” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 8/28).
