The Atlanta Falcons apparently are being courted by Los Angeles which has sought a National Football League team for years, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle newspaper.
The news about Los Angeles surfaces just as the Falcons are trying to negotiate with various officials for a new $1 billion stadium.
The team currently plays in downtown Atlanta at the Georgia Dome, which is owned by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. A tentative deal for the team to pay about $700 million and for the authority to issue $300 million of bonds has been inked.
However, the Legislature needs to raise the borrowing capacity of the World Congress Center in order to issue the debt, and a considerable number of lawmakers are opposed to the idea. An alternate plan that would bypass the need for legislative approval and allow the city of Atlanta to issue the bonds reportedly is also under discussion.
While questions remain about the financing, the World Congress Center on Monday continued working toward selecting an architect to design the new stadium, narrowing a list of 10 applicants to five.
