We've known for a while that any new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons is probably not going to be financed primarily by the team. That's just not the way these things work.

Instead, a big chunk of the cost will fall on the fans. Ticket prices will probably rise. Personal seat licenses will wind up costing fans a considerable chunk of change. Maybe that hot dog costs a little bit more than it used to.

That'll happen when the city is fronting $300 million and the team is on the hook for $698 million. It's naive to think that prices won't rise, because you are talking about something that isn't even pocket change for a billionaire owner. The price of going to a game is probably going up.

Now, could the Falcons choose to absorb that cost entirely? They could, and it would be noble enough to win headlines across the nation for a couple of weeks. But we don't live in a world where that kind of largesse makes economic sense to owners of NFL teams. We just don't. So brace yourselves.

At the risk of opening of the floodgates, your thoughts on this?