Matt Towery:

World Congress Center And Falcons Pull A Fast One

By Matt Towery

(4/29/08) Several months ago I received my bill (I call it a life sentence) for my loyal support of the Atlanta Falcons and the Dome in which they play.

As anyone knows who reads our various online and print publications (and is sick of reading, I am sure) I have been an avid Falcons fan since 1966. Except for a period in the late 1980s and early 1990s, my family has owned season tickets. Since 1997 I have owned (it’s really a lease) four club level seats on the 45-yard line where I go to watch my beloved heartbreakers until I reach the point that even I am giving the tickets away.

When Arthur Blank, who I so badly want to like and trust, announced that Falcons tickets would not go up this year, I felt some small compensation for 42 years of total devotion. Now before I tell you about the scam the Georgia Dome has pulled on me and so many others, let me let the Falcons know just how much this is not sour grapes towards their organization.

Back in the dark ages, (the mid 1990s), Rep. Mark Burkhalter (then-small time state Representative) and his stupid colleague (yours truly) wanted to introduce a resolution honoring the Falcons (I believe it was for having made the playoffs or one of their anniversary years). When we tried to get colleagues to co-sponsor the resolution, everyone just laughed at us. So we introduced it on our own. It passed and not even the Falcons appreciated it! That’s how devoted I am to this pitifully cursed team.

Now for the kicker. When I received my notice for payment of my seats this year, I noticed a nine percent “escalation” fee. That sent me to my contract with the Dome. Now I don’t practice law everyday anymore, but I pride myself as a pretty good lawyer when it comes to contract law. How would I have missed such an outrageous fee?

Then I read the amendment that extended my lease; you know—the one I signed just before Michael Vick was indicted. It mentioned that the Dome “may” impose an escalation percentage of 9% per year on those of us who signed three year leases, less on those who signed up for longer than Vick will serve in prison. The “may” stuck out because “may” does not equal “will.” May suggests a rapid increase in inflation. May suggests a vastly improved system of parking (not!). May suggests they pick you up in a stretch limo and drive you to the sorry game. May portends the purchase of a second home in France.

Now I’m not the only sucker who ended up stuck on the “escalator” at the Dome. I’ll bet you plenty of folks are paying this outrageous equivalent of the now infamous “adjustable rate mortgage” and haven’t taken the time to notice. Think of it. The Falcons, whose draft choices this weekend were so roundly criticized by the sports media that I had to turn my sports-talk radio off (I thought it was a political show), now have me locked into “compounded misery.” Nine percent of $10,000-plus for my four seats suddenly has me well over $11,000. Take the $11,000 and add nine percent next year and I’m over $12,000. And add nine percent “maybe” as a given and you are well over $13,000. Get the picture?

I want to know how the slippery ones at the GWCC are going to justify doing this to us after King Arthur rode in on his white horse and said ticket prices would stay the same. Well, thank goodness for that or I’d probably be paying $15,000 a year to watch the laughingstock of professional sports.

To be serious, the Georgia Dome has always been run as a half-a** place. Traffic management stinks; the food is still mediocre. National broadcasters are always wondering why few people are in their seats at kick-off for sold out games. The answer is, they are still stuck on the roads trying to get into the place or standing in line for that “wink-wink” special food vendor contract service.

Oh, and speaking of service: the Dome sent me a reminder that I had yet to pay them, and attached a lovely little “service charge” of $165 to what they called “a friendly reminder.”

Now, the Dome accepts checks, credit cards or “payment arrangements.” So here is the payment arrangement I want to make. I will pay this government-run disaster and its pitiful team that I still love (it’s an illness) their crooked money this week in full. But I want Dan Graveline and a Falcons official on hand to receive the payment in quarters. The service charge I’ll pay in pennies. I‘ll let Chuck Dowdle take my place analyzing politics on WSB (he would love it) and I’ll sub doing sports and make it my lead! And I’ll invite the guys from 790 the Zone and 680 The Fan to be there too. And of course I’ll poll the damn thing for national distribution. The last poll we did on the Falcons ran all over - even in Japan (no joke). That would make my day.

This is an obscene example of government not being run like a business. Not only is it not customer friendly, it is customer crooked. It is a discredit to a governor who otherwise has worked on cleaning up our state and an embarrassment to my former colleagues in the legislature who must qualify to run for re-election this week. I’ve told you guys for years to clean up that place. I mean it.