The AFL originally intended to grow by adding two new clubs in 1966, in Atlanta and Philadelphia. Following that, it changed into the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968.
The NFL originally intended to add two teams in 1967; however, due to competition from the AFL for Atlanta, the first franchise had to be established a year earlier, in 1966. Each team played 14 games over 15 weeks, but because to the odd number of teams, one team had a week off (bye) (similar to 1960: 12 games over 13 weeks). The New Orleans Saints, the NFL’s second expansion team, officially became the league’s sixteenth franchise in 1967 as scheduled.
In 1962, the American Football League (AFL) held two preseason games in Atlanta, one involving the Houston Oilers vs. the Denver Broncos and the other featuring the Dallas Texans vs. the Oakland Raiders. This was the first time that professional football had ever been played there. The New York Jets and San Diego Chargers played each other in an exhibition game two years later during another AFL event.
The city of Atlanta decided it was time to pursue professional football in 1965 after the construction of the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which was then just known as Atlanta Stadium. One unaffiliated organisation that participated in NFL exhibition marketing in Atlanta petitioned for franchises in the AFL and NFL, working independently and without any assurance of stadium rights. Another organisation declared that it had paid earnest money for an AFL team.
In the midst of everyone scattering in separate directions, a group of local businessmen (Cox Broadcasting) struck a deal and on June 8 received an AFL franchise, subject to obtaining exclusive stadium rights from the city council. Due to the AFL’s interest, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who had been moving slowly on Atlanta-related issues, boarded the next flight to Atlanta to prevent the rival league from claiming the city. He had the city choose between the two leagues, and by June 30. The city had decided on Rankin Smith and the NFL.
Stadiums History
In their 51-year history, the Falcons have resided in three stadiums, with the third one becoming their permanent home in the late summer of 2017. The first was the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which was used until 1991 by the Major League Baseball franchise of the Atlanta Braves. The Georgia Dome was erected in 1992, and the Falcons played there all the way through the 2016 campaign. The Dome has frequently hosted collegiate football games, such as Georgia State football games and college bowl contests like the Peach Bowl.
Team owner Arthur Blank offered a contract with the city of Atlanta to build a new cutting-edge stadium nearby the Georgia Dome in an effort to replace the outdated Georgia Dome and maybe host a future Super Bowl. A retractable roof stadium will be built thanks to investments totaling $800 million from Blank and $200 million from the city of Atlanta in bonds secured by the city’s hotel/motel tax. If more funding is required to cover cost overruns, Blank will do so.
Conclusion
The team will contribute up to $50 million for infrastructure expenses that weren’t planned for in the construction budget as well as to pay off the Georgia Dome’s outstanding debt. Additionally, the city and Blank’s organisation will each contribute $15 million to community development. Although the stadium’s overall cost was originally projected to be around $1 billion, it was later increased to $1.5 billion, according to Blank. The stadium was approved by the Atlanta City Council in an 11–4 vote in March 2013. Construction of the retractable roof Mercedes-Benz Stadium began in May 2014. When it opened in 2017, it served as the third home field for the Falcons and the inaugural venue for the new Major League Soccer team Atlanta United FC.
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