The Falcons first started playing at the Georgia Dome in 1992. (US Presswire)

Since the NFL season ended, teams have been negotiating with and jockeying for position against the cities in which they reside. While the city of Charlotte has agreed to pay $143 million for improvements to Bank of America Stadium, South Florida officials want the NFL to guarantee the area another Super Bowl to host before approving tax funds for renovations to Sun Life Stadium.

Let's now turn to a city geographically between Charlotte and Miami and talk about what the Falcons want from the city of Atlanta. Not surprisingly, they want a new stadium.

Falcons CEO and president Rich McKay told the Atlanta City Council on Wednesday that if the team can’t get a $948 million deal to build a new retractable-roof stadium, the franchise will explore looking at another spot in the metro Atlanta area.

According to Fox Sports South, McKay didn’t mean it as a threat. He meant it as reality.

The Falcons began playing in the Georgia Dome in 1992, and their lease with the facility is up at the end of 2017. McKay said he doesn’t believe it makes sense to sign another lease.

“Depending on the final funding mechanism chosen for the stadium -- a project that is not universally popular among the public -- the city council might have to vote to approve it, as bonds could be issued through the city’s economic development arm, Invest Atlanta,” writes John Manasso.

Officials have said a new open-air stadium could be built for less than $700 million -- and the open-air aspect is something the Falcons would want -- but the city also uses the Georgia Dome for NCAA basketball tournaments, SEC football championship games and stadium concerts. Thus, the desire by the city for a retractable roof.

If the Falcons don’t get what they want, they could move to the suburbs.

Much of this, of course, is because of the desire to host the Super Bowl again. The Georgia Dome has hosted two Super Bowls: 1994 (the Cowboys' second consecutive victory over the Bills) and 2000 (the Rams edging the Titans). William Pate, president of the Atlanta convention and visitors bureau, relayed this story from when he asked commissioner Roger Goodell in 2010 if the city could host the big game again.

"He said, ‘You need to get a new stadium,’" Pate told the council. "That’s straight from the man himself."

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