Editing Atlanta Falcons (section)

==Stadiums==
{{main|Mercedes-Benz Stadium}}
The Falcons have called three stadiums home in their 51 years of existence, and its third home in their history opened in the late summer of 2017. The first was the [[Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium]], sharing with the [[Atlanta Braves]] [[Major League Baseball]] team until 1991. In 1992, the [[Georgia Dome]] was built, and the Falcons played there from its opening to the 2016 season. The Dome has been frequently used for [[college football]], including [[Georgia State Panthers football|Georgia State]] football and college bowl games such as the [[Peach Bowl]].

In an effort to replace the aging Georgia Dome and potentially host a future [[Super Bowl]], team owner Arthur Blank proposed a deal with the city of Atlanta to build a new state-of-the-art stadium not far from where the Georgia Dome is located. Blank will contribute $800 million and the city of Atlanta will contribute an additional $200 million via bonds backed by the city's hotel/motel tax towards the construction of a retractable roof stadium. Blank will contribute additional money for cost overruns if it is needed. The team will provide up to $50 million towards infrastructure costs that weren't included in the construction budget and to retire the remaining debt on the Georgia Dome. In addition, Blank's foundation and the city will each provide $15 million for development in surrounding neighborhoods. Though the total cost of the stadium was initially estimated to be around $1 billion,<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 7, 2013 |title=Atlanta Falcons, city officials agree on financing terms for new $1 billion stadium |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/9028345/atlanta-falcons-city-officials-agree-financing-terms-new-1-billion-stadium |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408214042/http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9028345/atlanta-falcons-city-officials-agree-financing-terms-new-1-billion-stadium |archive-date=April 8, 2014 |access-date=February 17, 2014 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> the total cost was revised to $1.5 billion according to Blank.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saporta |first=Maria |date=April 13, 2015 |title=New Falcons stadium cost 'rises up' – again – another $100 million |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2015/04/13/new-falcons-stadium-cost-rises-up-again-another.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417165642/http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2015/04/13/new-falcons-stadium-cost-rises-up-again-another.html |archive-date=April 17, 2015 |access-date=May 24, 2015 |website=Atlanta Business Chronicle}}</ref> In March 2013, the Atlanta City Council voted 11–4 in favor of building the stadium.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 18, 2013 |title=Atlanta City Council approves Falcons stadium funding |url=http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/21667196/atlanta-city-council-could-vote-on-new-falcons-stadium#axzz2tZQLx7YR |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222100730/http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/21667196/atlanta-city-council-could-vote-on-new-falcons-stadium#axzz2tZQLx7YR |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |access-date=February 17, 2014 |website=My Fox Atlanta}}</ref> The retractable roof [[Mercedes-Benz Stadium]] broke ground in May 2014, and became the third home stadium for the Falcons and the first for the new [[Atlanta United FC]] [[Major League Soccer]] club upon opening in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Josh |date=2019-01-31 |title=Five years after Mercedes-Benz Stadium broke ground, is Atlanta's Westside revival working? |url=https://atlanta.curbed.com/atlanta-photo-essays/2019/1/31/18201601/super-bowl-liii-atlanta-gentrification-poverty-blank |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Curbed Atlanta |language=en}}</ref>