Falcons fans “may be asked to help pay for a proposed new downtown stadium through personal seat licenses that can cost thousands of dollars,” according to a front-page piece by Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. A document -- the “most recent draft of a non-binding term sheet that is being negotiated between the Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority -- provides the first acknowledgement that a sale of seat rights is being contemplated as part of the funding plan for the stadium.” PSLs “commonly have been used in the financing of NFL stadiums over the past 15 years.” The document states the Falcons would have “the right to determine the exact terms of such seat rights program, including price, term, etc.” The GWCCA would have “final approval rights over the marketing and sales program plan and forms of agreements to be utilized in connection with such seat rights.” Under the deal being negotiated, an “estimated $300 million or less would come from bonds to be repaid by hotel-motel tax revenue and the rest of the cost -- minus whatever is raised from seat licenses -- would be the responsibility of the Falcons and the NFL” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 10/2).
