Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank's making the public case for a new stadium, this time to season ticket holders at the team's "State of the Franchise" on Wednesday night at the Buckhead Theatre.

The official Falcons write-up of the event makes no mention of the stadium talk, which you can watch here at around the 38:00 mark. Blank asked the audience not to ask questions about the proposal, which could be funded with up to $300 million from the city's hotel/motel tax. Reports John Manasso of FoxSportsSouth:

• Joeff Davis
• Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank

“A new stadium is going to be important not only for playing football, but if we eventually want to have Major League Soccer in Atlanta we need a new stadium,” Blank said in a video archived on the team’s Web site. “If we eventually want to be considered to not just play in a Super Bowl but to host a Super Bowl, we will need a new stadium. If we eventually want to be a consideration for a World Cup – and the World Cup will come back to United States’ soil — we need to have a new stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. If we want to continue to be considered for the NCAA Final Four, we need a new stadium in Atlanta.

“I can give you examples, many examples, a lot of the existing events that if we didn’t get a new stadium in the next five, 10, 15 years, we would not be a player. The governor (Nathan Deal) understands that, we certainly understand that and the authority understands it, as well. So that’s one challenge is to get the stadium done.”

The team is currently exploring two potential locations for the new stadium, which would feature a retractable roof: "the Gulch," the expansive parking lot and railroad junction near Philips Arena, or along Northside Drive near Ivan Allen Boulevard. (Blank said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's prefers an open-air stadium, which the Falcons originally considered.)

Blank told the crowd — which booed the very mention of an open-air stadium ‐ that he hopes the facility will be a "win-win" for everyone involved, including the surrounding communities. He said the team wants the new arena to "make a difference in people's lives" who live in downtown, Vine City, and English Avenue.

"We are committed to developing a vision with political and social leadership to build something that won't just be a stadium but will change lives in downtown," he said. "And those areas that have not changed because of development in downtown Atlanta, we want to make sure they do change because of our commitment."

Mayor Kasim Reed, who supports the new stadium proposal, is scheduled to brief the Falcons board next Tuesday night, Blank added. It's also worth checking out Manasso's report for details about ticket prices if — or is it when? — the new stadium is built.

• Dustin Chambers
• Gucci Mane at a recent video shoot

Grantland.com writers Chris Ryan and (Atlanta's own) Rembert Browne were discussing the Hawks-Celtics playoff series (Game 5 is tonight at Philips Arena, 8 p.m., TNT) in a podcast last week, and therein was born the single-greatest Hawks marketing idea since the team drafted Sheldon Williams just so fans could feel better about their own athletic ability.

Here's how the two writers broke it down:

CR: Why not just give all the front row seats at Atlanta Hawks home games to Brick Squad members? … Like get all of Atlanta hip-hop in the building, and then you turn it into a real cultural event.

RB: … Not only is that genius, because it would be, like, the greatest display, but it would also probably intimidate pretty much every single basketball team.

CR: Seriously! Do you think [Boston's Kevin] Garnett chirps if Gucci [Mane] is in the front row?

RB: Yeah, I don't think Garnett does the whole "Ivan Johnson, I don't even know him" thing. He doesn't talk all that smack [then]. And Gucci is, like, the 18th most intimidating Brick Squad member.

I thought that was a fantastic idea. It's not like there are big stars at most Hawks games. And if Dwight Howard saw these guys in the first row, he might pee on himself. I checked with music editor Rodney to see what he thought, and he kinda half-smiled, which for Rodney means he thought the idea was amazing and he laughed really hard inside. So I sent the idea to Hawks corporate communications. I'll be happy to take credit if you see the guys courtside tonight.

The PR campaign to convince area plebians to subsidize a new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons kicked off this weekend with... a fencing match between Arthur Blank and Jeff Foxworthy! No, it was an op-ed in the AJC by team CEO and President Rich McKay touting the benefits of the proposed arena. (Look forward to more-than-usual bits on local TV news about Falcons players helping charities, team-related foundations contributing to local causes, a humorous shaving how-to with Falcons owner Arthur Blank, etc.)

In the piece, McKay said the new stadium will help "enhance the perception of the state, region and city, help drive economic development, and cement our franchise’s stability well beyond its current ownership." The sports franchise is prepared to put some "substantial" skin in the game, he says, and will handle construction, capital and operating costs. The we-might-win-a-Major-League-Soccer-team-if-we-build-a-stadium bait was used. He also managed to drop bits of bizspeak that made our inner deputy associate vice president of logistics swoon:

"public-private partnership"
"create a win-win scenario"
"ability to remain competitive"
"seek to positively impact the surrounding community with our time, our talent and our other resources"

First things first: let's get our ducks in a row and agree to give this 110 percent. The time is now to find dynamic solutions that will leverage the potential of we, the change agents, who are eager to catapult Atlanta to that next level. Move forward. That sound you just heard? That was the city seizing the future. Go Dawgs. (throws down mic, walks off stage)

Oh, and the AJC gave the stadium proposal a milquetoast endorsement, provided that state officials only agree to help finance the stadium with revenue from the city's hotel/motel tax.

• Populous

In addition to explaining why simply retrofitting the Dome isn't a good plan — apparently, planners say, the arena's configuration wouldn't allow enough higher-priced seats and the long construction time would leave the team homeless — there's this nugget:

To date, the most talked about new stadium proposal had the next home of the Falcons north of the Georgia Dome at the intersection of Northside Drive and Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. But now a new site gaining favor is the area immediately south of Georgia Dome and just west of the Gulch, which itself could be redeveloped into a mixed-use complex centered around a bus and rail terminal.

All very interesting. No mention still of who's gonna pay for the new sports complex.

• Historic America
• Opening weekend at Turner Field as the Braves battle with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Dust off those tomahawks and start chopping the air, it's Atlanta Braves season again.

The Braves' season opener at Turner Field is happening today at 7:35 p.m. The Braves, who have won only two of their first six games this season, will take on the Milwaukee Brewers tonight.

After narrowly missing the playoffs by one game last year due to late season slump, expectations are high for this season.

And while no one can ever replace the level of excellence Bobby Cox produced as manager for the Braves, manager Fredi Gonzalez put together a decent season last year (other than the lackluster ending) for his first time managing the Braves.

This Braves team will be helped greatly by the return of veteran player and team leader Chipper Jones for one more season with the team before his retiring.

Jones, who is the only player still active for the Braves from the 1995 World Series championship, proves to still be a large spark to the team.

On Tuesday, Jones hit a home run in the top of the third inning to break a tie, igniting the Brave's offense and leading to a 6-4 victory. Watch a highlight reel of Jones' game here.

Jones returning to the lineup proved to be the remedy for the Brave's three-game sweep by the New York Mets last weekend. On Wednesday, the Braves squeezed out another victory as young gun Jason Heyward homered in the eighth to extend the Braves' lead, then Jones had a ninth-inning RBI single to provide extra padding for the Braves' win.

With the Braves returning to Atlanta for their first home series, they will be facing a balanced Brewers team that has won four out of their last six games. Luckily, the Braves played great at home last year, and pitcher Jair Jurrjens will be the starter today, after posting a 13-6 record last year with a 2.96 ERA.

To help celebrate the Brave's homecoming, Academy Sports and Outdoors will be giving away the iconic foam tomahawks to the first 45,000 fans at Turner Field today. In addition, Turner Field will be continuing their tradition of a fireworks show after every home game on Friday night, be sure to hang back and watch the sparks fly after the game.

Braves vs. Brewers, Opening Day at Turner Field, 7:35 p.m., 755 Hank Aaron Drive Atlanta GA

• Joeff Davis
• Motorcyle cops escort the University of Kentucky basketball team last night on I-85

Last night I was cut off and brought to a stop while getting on the highway from an on-ramp by a highway patrol motorcycle officer holding traffic for a passing motorcade. I excitedly arched my neck to see who was so important to deserve a police escort down an otherwise almost empty highway at 7:30 pm. Suddenly two large buses cruised by- I squinted my eyes in excitement and made out the lettering of the University of Kentucky's basketball program. Really, the University of Kentucky basketball team gets a police escort? Is this really necessary?

According to an e-mail from APD spokesman Carlos Campos "The SOS Commander informed me the escort in question was an 'off-duty' function — which means the requester is responsible for paying." Campos later explained to me over the phone that police escorts are approved on a case-by-case basis in which the "compelling interest is public safety" when approving an application. I feel safer now.

Being cut off by a police escort of student athletes just adds to my outrage at college athletics and the raw exploitation in big time college sports.

• wikimedia commons
• He stank

See? I can write like a sportswriter.

But just because I can write like a sportswriter doesn't mean I want to. What I really want to say is, GODDAMN THAT WAS A CLOSE AND EXCITING FUCKING GAME. Also, Ramses the Ram is very, very stinky. He did a lot of his dancing right beside me, seeing as I'm at the end of press row right next to the UNC band, and by the end of the game that ram stank.

Here's the thing: for a team with national championship hype, NC State shouldn't have given UNC that much trouble, even with one of their star players out. On the up side, State's performance proves definitively to me that they deserve a place in the NCAA tournament, which their defeat of Virginia on Friday is widely thought to have earned them.

UNC Coach Roy Williams agrees that NC State ought to be in the tournament. At the post-game press conference he said "If I was on the [NCAA tournament] committee I'd fight very hard for NC State to be in the tournament. There's no doubt in my mind they're one of the best 68 teams in the country." He also refused to answer any questions before his players, Kendall Marshall and Tyler Zeller, had been addressed. "We need to get them back in the shower," he said. "They smell bad up here."

I'd love to stick around and see the end of this Duke FSU game, but I've got beer to drink! See ya tomorrow for the championship game.