Falcons announce controversial ticket pricing for new stadium

ATLANTA — If you want to reserve a club seat in the new Falcons stadium, it could cost you at least $10,000. The Atlanta Falcons announced Thursday that they plan to charge as much as $45,000 for personal seat licenses for the best seats in the new stadium.

The Falcons are offering one-time PSL fees of $10,000, $15,000 and $20,000 depending on the seat location. There will also be a small number of exclusive Founders Club seats, with all-inclusive amenities, available for $45,000. Those seats will be located in the lower-bowl near the 50-yard line.

The Falcons presented the pricing plan to the Georgia World Congress Center Authority Thursday. The plan covers roughly 11 percent of the seats in the 71,000-seat stadium.

In the new stadium, club seats will be located on each of the lower sidelines between the 15-yard lines or on each of the 200 level sidelines between the 35-yard lines. Club members will have access to a VIP stadium entrance, wider seating, more leg room, private club lounges, upscale dining option and more. They will also have the option to purchase premium parking near the stadium.

The plan presented Thursday is as follows:

• The seats requiring $45,000 PSLs -- representing about 1.5 percent of the building's total seats -- will be located in the lower bowl between the 45-yard lines on both sides of the stadium. These seats will include food and beverage in the Founders Club, billed as the stadium's most exclusive space, and parking. In addition to the one-time PSL fee, tickets in these sections will be set at $385 per game ($3,850 per season) for the first three years in the stadium.

• PSLs will cost $20,000 for lower-bowl seats between the 30- and 45-yard lines, and $15,000 for lower-bowl seats between the 20- and 30-yard lines. These seats will include access to 30,000-square foot Champions Club lounges located below the seats and to a patio area on the field behind the team benches. Ticket prices in these sections will be $365 and $345 per game in the stadium's first three years.

• Higher in the stadium, above the suites level, sections of club seats between the 30-yard lines will carry PSLs costing $10,000 per seat. These seats will have access to a club space called the Piedmont Club. Tickets in these sections will cost $325 per game through the stadium's first three years.

The team will begin selling the club-level seats with the new PSLs on Jan. 12. All current club-level season ticket holders will have the opportunity to visit a state-of-the-art new stadium preview center and meet with a sales consultant to learn more about the seat selection process on Monday.

What is a PSL?

The personal seat license is a one-time fee that will give ownership rights to the seat through the end of the stadium lease. In the Falcons case, the PSL will provide ownership for 30 years, plus three five-year renewal options. PSLs are a common form of financing for building new stadiums, but have never been used by an Atlanta pro sports franchise before.

The owner of the seat will have the ability to transfer or resell the PSL, the right to purchase Falcons season tickets and playoff tickets as well as priority right to purchase tickets for non-NFL events. PSL owners are also guaranteed a three-year price lock on Falcons season tickets for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Buyers will have the option to pay the fee in full, pay annual equal installments until 2017 or finance the cost over the next 10 years.

Purchasing non-club tickets

PSL prices for non-club seats will be finalized and submitted to the GWCCA later this year. All seats sold as season tickets will require a PSL, but those prices are not set yet. They will be at various price points below $10,000. Non-club season ticket holders will have priority in purchasing a “reasonable comparable seat in the new stadium.” The Falcons say that priority will not be affected by club seat sales.

“We expect the entire club seat sales process to take approximately five months, after which we will begin the PSL and seat sales process for the remainder of the building.  Our plans call for a wide range of prices to ensure affordable access for all fans," said Michael Drake, Vice President of Sales and Service for Legends Global Sales.

WSBTV