Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed yesterday said that needed improvements around the site of a new Falcons stadium "could push the total project cost" to $1.2B, according to a front-page piece by McWilliams & Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Reed "did not say the cost of the stadium itself would rise above an architect’s estimate of $948 million -- money to be raised by the state and the Falcons." But he said that "a variety of upgrades to sidewalks, roads and other amenities could boost the project price to the larger total." Reed indicated that he "would be willing to commit some city money to the surrounding improvements." He said that he is "confident that a new stadium to replace the 20-year-old Georgia Dome will be built." McWilliams & Tucker note the Falcons and the state-run Georgia World Congress Center are "in talks aimed at a deal by year’s end." The Falcons "hope for a new home" by the '17 season. The city of Atlanta "is not a party to the negotiations between the Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority." The current plan is "to build a retractable-roof football stadium, but a decision on a location has not been announced and a final design has not been commissioned" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 9/11).
L.A. STORY: In L.A., Dakota Smith cites a report from L.A. Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller, the city's "top financial analyst," as saying that the cost of building a new hall for the downtown L.A. Convention Center was "substantially understated" last year. The updated cost assessment was "outlined in an agreement" between AEG and the city over the proposed Farmers Field project. The report shows that the cost of the new hall and associated parking structures "has risen from $350 million to $374 million" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 9/11).
