Problems
One of the problems with the building was that some of the innovations were not successful. The Cor-Ten steel failed to seal itself and instead corroded to the point where there were large holes in the outer structure. chain link fences were installed in a number of locations to keep people from crawling though the wall to see events. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a growing number of NBA and NHL teams started constructing new arenas with better amenities for their high-end customers, such as luxury boxes, club-level seating, and massive club concourses, in order to increase their revenue streams. Some of these new arenas had as many as 200 luxury boxes, compared to the Omni which had only had 16 luxury boxes and no club level at all, thus putting the Atlanta Hawks at a disadvantage. It also became a disadvantage to the city of Atlanta; until the Georgia Dome was finished in 1992, the Omni served as its largest indoor facility in terms of seating capacity.
Built on a former railroad yard, after construction, the Omni settled more than its designers expected. There were unanticipated stresses in the space frame roof, which often leaked water.
Although the Omni hosted many events, it lost more than its share due to the smaller seating capacity and lack of amenities when compared to newer buildings in other cities. Despite quite enjoyable seating and viewing for the fans, the structure had the outward appearance of looking dated by the early-1990s (although the arena was only 20 years old), so there was a collective effort by many parties to build a replacement. This also stemmed from the desire of Ted Turner to own an NHL franchise; the Atlanta Flames had been sold to Canadian businessmen and relocated to Calgary, Alberta a decade earlier. However, the only way the league would approve an expansion team to him would be with the guarantee of a brand-new arena. On July 26, 1997, the Omni was demolished, and Philips Arena, which was constructed on the former site of the Omni, opened on September 18, 1999.
Read more about this topic: Omni Coliseum
Famous quotes containing the word problems:
“Sustained unemployment not only denies parents the opportunity to meet the food, clothing, and shelter needs of their children but also denies them the sense of adequacy, belonging, and worth which being able to do so provides. This increases the likelihood of family problems and decreases the chances of many children to be adequately prepared for school.”
—James P. Comer (20th century)
“If when a businessman speaks of minority employment, or air pollution, or poverty, he speaks in the language of a certified public accountant analyzing a corporate balance sheet, who is to know that he understands the human problems behind the statistical ones? If the businessman would stop talking like a computer printout or a page from the corporate annual report, other people would stop thinking he had a cash register for a heart. It is as simple as that—but that isn’t simple.”
—Louis B. Lundborg (1906–1981)
“More than a decade after our fellow citizens began bedding down on the sidewalks, their problems continue to seem so intractable that we have begun to do psychologically what government has been incapable of doing programmatically. We bring the numbers down—not by solving the problem, but by deciding it’s their own damn fault.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)