New Atlanta Falcons stadium is... interesting

While the Carolina Panthers hope public funding can add an escalator or two, the Atlanta Falcons move forward with their bold new design -- something we'd need to look at twice a year. It's a design that's as subtle as you think it would be, given Arthur Blank is a 21st century embodiment of Snidely Whiplash.

SB Nation has a full and even-handed write-up on the stadium, which you can read here. However as Carolina Panthers' fans we're charged, neigh required to mock it endlessly. (All photos courtesy of Falcons.com)

They're calling it the 'stadium envelope', which is a more appropriate name than 'Voltron's sphincter', I suppose. In all honesty the design is pretty neat in a lot of ways, and as a sucker for industrial design aesthetic I love the angular edges and exposed beams.

It will be interesting to see if a glass-clad stadium in Georgia will be able to keep appropriately cool at the start of the season. There seems to be a huge potential for it to overheat.

Furthermore, bold designs don't often age well. It's not even a year since the Miami Marlins opted for a Lisa Frank statue in center field, or a ludicrous fish tank behind home plate -- and it's already getting old.

Ultimately, I think it's better than Dallas Cowboy stadium, and an innovative new design -- but I can't help thinking this is some master plan to put a giant petri dish in Atlanta for the CDC to use.