The bad news? The expected cost of the new Falcons stadium has expanded, again. The worse news? The place won’t be open when it’s supposed to be.
According to Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the venue will miss its expected opening date of March 2017. Instead, the new target date has become June 1, 2017.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank told the Journal-Constitution that the delay results from the “design process” of the structure that will support the retractable roof and video board. Blank also said that the delay will increase the cost of the stadium. He declined to elaborate on the extra expense.
The delay doesn’t affect the Falcons; Blank said he has “absolutely zero doubt” that the Falcons will launch the 2017 season in the new stadium. The delay nevertheless will keep Blank’s new MLS team from playing at home for three months in 2017.
Blank said that the construction will be accelerated via “compressing” more work into the available time. It will result in “double-time, triple-time” work.
The stadium gradually has expanded in anticipated cost from $1 billion to $1.4 billion, with Blank required to pay for all cost overruns.