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GEORGIA DOME

Home of the Atlanta Falcons since 1992, the Georgia Dome is the worlds largest cable supported stadium. Since the team's inception in 1966, the Falcons had played at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, a multipurpose stadium that was also home of the Atlanta Braves (MLB). As early as November 1983, the owner of the Falcons, Rankin Smith, wanted a new stadium for the Falcons. Two years later Atlanta businessmen joined efforts with city and county officials to obtain funding for a new stadium. Discussions were slow, with some officials suggesting that Atlanta Fulton County Stadium be renovated. Smith viewed this plan as unacceptable and threatened to move the Falcons to Jacksonville. By 1988, talks intensified about building a new stadium, and in 1989, approval finally came from the state, the Atlanta City Council and Fulton County Commission to build a domed stadium. Ground breaking ceremonies occurred on November 22, 1989 and the Georgia Dome was completed by the start of the 1992 NFL season.

The Falcons played their first game at the Georgia Dome on September 6, 1992 when over 70,000 fans filled the stadium. Three tiers of seats circle the entire gridiron. Every seat from the lower to the upper deck has a great view of the field. The roof is made of Teflon and fiberglass. The Georgia Dome has many amenities including several food courts, the In-Zone Restaurant, Kickers Sports Bar, Millers Lodge, over 4,600 club seats and 164 luxury suites. After the 2002 season, the surface of the Georgia Dome was changed from Astroturf to Fieldturf. In 2006, a $30 million renovation plan was approved to upgrade the Georgia Dome. Luxuries areas were updated, eight new super-suites were created and new LED ribbon-boards were installed. Before the 2008 season all of the original teal seats were replaced with new red and black seats, the facade was repainted, concourses were upgraded and new High-Definition videoboards were installed. The Georgia Dome has hosted Super Bowls XXXIV in 1994 and XXVIII in 2000. It also hosted several Olympic events in 1996, was the home of the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) in 1998-'99, and hosted the NCAA Men's Final Four in 2003 and 2007. Each year the Georgia Dome is home to the SEC Football Championship and the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Over the past year the Falcons have began working with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority to build a new stadium for the team. The latest plan is for a $947.7 million retractable roof stadium that would lead to the demolition of the Georgia Dome. The Falcons believe the Georgia Dome does not offer the premium seating and other amenities found in NFL stadiums recent built.