New Coalition Of Old Faces Rallies Against Falcons Stadium Deal

The coalition includes familiar faces in the stadium debate: The Rev. Anthony Motley of Lindsay Street Baptist Church and William Perry, who heads the ethics watchdog group Common Cause Georgia.

“Bonds have not been sold,” Perry said at a rally on the steps of city hall. “And up to the minute that bonds are sold is when the city council can choose to reverse their decision from one year ago to put in place such a horrible deal for the people of Atlanta.”

In June Common Cause launched a petition drive to put the issue on the 2013 election ballot, but ultimately failed to collect the 35,000 votes needed.

Perry said this new effort is different.

“We need eight votes on the city council. If we can get the ones that voted against it the first time … we’re halfway there,” Perry said, suggesting the council’s two newest additions, Mary Norwood and Andre Dickens, could also potentially be swayed. “Last time was about David and Goliath. This time it’s about slaying dragons.”

Joining the opposition was Debbie Dooley of the Atlanta Tea Party Patriots, who said the deal crafted by the city will divert $150 million from Atlanta Public Schools over the 30-year stadium agreement.

“Why are we doing this? People are in bad economic times,” Dooley said. “Yet the hotel/motel tax is being diverted to help build a stadium for a billionaire [Falcon’s owner Arthur Blank] that can afford to build it himself.”

A Fulton County judge last month delayed a bond validation hearing until April after a group of residents sued over the stadium’s financing plan.

Still, work on the stadium is moving forward.

The city council Monday voted 11-1, with one abstention, to abandon six downtown land parcels that will eventually become part of the stadium site. It also approved the creation of a “stadium oversight committee” to oversee the progress and planning.

City officials did not respond to WABE for comment on this story before airtime.