The powers-that-be in Atlanta are hoping that support from the local sports teams will help persuade the public to plunk down an extra penny for every dollar used to buy stuff.
According to Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons joined the Braves, the Hawks, and Atlanta Motor Speedway to support a new sales tax. A recent poll showed that 47 percent of likely voters oppose the one-percent tax, that 26 percent support it, and that 27 percent of likely voters are undecided.
The teams brought executives and mascots to the Metro Atlanta Chamber building on Monday to show support for the tax, which would raise $7.2 billion for transportation projects.
“This is about the region and how the region succeeds, grows and prospers,” Falcons president Rich McKay said. “When you look at what Atlanta has done, we’ve been such a progressive city over time, always kind of marching forward. Here’s an opportunity for us to continue that. Our concern is that with a ‘Vote No’ we’ll kind of take a step backwards.”
McKay estimates that 80 percent of the fans who attend Falcons game will benefit from the projects that the tax would fund.
The question of whether Atlantans will step forward or backward will be resolved on July 31.