5 QUESTIONS FOR THE BOSS ‘Don’t let your ego get in the way of the outcome’

Frank Poe has one foot in the business world and the other in the political arena. And these days, both feet are firmly planted in negotiations with the Atlanta Falcons over a new stadium for the team.

Poe, a 40-year veteran of the convention business, became executive director of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority 2 ½ years ago. The authority, created by the state, operates the current Fal- cons nest, the Georgia Dome, as well as the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park. Together, the three downtown ven- Football Hall of Fame, scheduled to open in 2014, will be on authority-owned land.

Poe, 62, talks about the controversial stadium project and what he learned while working in the convention business in Dallas, Orlando, Birmingham and here. Q: Many Atlantans do not believe that public funds should be used to build a facility for a privately owned team, especially with today’s other pressing needs. Why should some $300 mil- lion in hotel-motel taxes be put toward a $1 billion stadium for the Falcons? A: It would be financed by a portion of a 7 percent tax on visitors who use hotel rooms. That tax cannot be used to fund roads or schools in its current form. The General Assembly would have to change the current law.

That tax is buying a $1 billion asset, with about 70 percent of the cost coming from the private sector. For

Frank Poe, executive director of Georgia World Congress Center Authority