Falcons Owner Arthur Blank on Thursday said his initial goal as an NFL owner is to have a "sustainable winning organization, one that would be important in the NFL conversation every year," and Blank said they have "reached that level this year" as they prepare for Super Bowl LI, according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Blank in a media session said now the "bigger goal is (to) ... be back in this room having this conversation a number of times in the years to come.” Tucker notes Blank has "embraced the advice he got in recent days" from Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and Steelers President Art Rooney II about how to "approach the Super Bowl." Blank: "The message I got from (them) is treasure the moment, treasure the time, treasure it for your franchise, for your coaches, players, fans, sponsors, everybody connected to the organization. ... Not only compete well but enjoy it.” Blank said Kraft and Rooney also advised him to "try to pace yourself.” Blank: "I haven’t done so well on the pacing side so far" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 1/27). Blank said of his decision to fly all of the team's employees out to the Super Bowl, "It's not about money, It's about these associates, who were the ones that support our players, our coaches and our franchise. A lot of them are connected to other businesses that were involved in our soccer business, our PGA business, our guest ranch business and our foundation. We are a family of businesses that share a set of values and we want to be able to celebrate this with everybody. All the Falcons associates are going because they're all a part of what it takes to produce a winning team on the field" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/26).
GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT: The AJC's Tucker noted On Location is offering several Super Bowl packages "geared exclusively to Falcons season-ticket holders and corporate partners." Those packages include "tickets to the game and to an 'official Falcons pregame party at NRG Arena,' which is within the security perimeter of game site NRG Stadium, and range from $3,514 to $7,029-plus, depending on seat location." On Location Experiences CEO John Collins, whose company is partly owned by the NFL owners' venture fund, said that the "'Falcons-specific fan packages' were developed in conjunction with the team." Collins: "We’ll do a lot of the execution work, but the spirit and vision of what that (pregame) party will be is very much driven by the Falcons." He said that prices were "lowered -- albeit slightly -- for the team-specific offerings Tuesday night." Collins called the prices “compelling and competitive” in the Super Bowl marketplace, with “a bit of a premium.” He said that the premium is "justified because the packages contain NFL-verified tickets and include access to the close-to-the-stadium pregame party." Collins: "Hopefully Falcons fans will look at it and say, ‘If I’m going to go and make the kind of investment (required), this is the way I want to go'" (AJC.com, 1/26). Blank said he believes Falcons fans "will travel" to the Super Bowl because "they've been great fans since" he acquired the team in '02. Blank: "We've had three, maybe four games that have not been sold out. ... Our record has been significantly better since I've acquired the team ... and I think we're in a really good place from the national standpoint" ("Squawk on the Street," CNBC, 1/26).
