"Eleven months ago, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and the Atlanta Falcons agreed to enter negotiations about a potential new open-air football stadium downtown.

They're still negotiating, both parties say.

A possible sign of movement came earlier this month, when Gov. Nathan Deal included money in his 2012 budget to purchase property next to the proposed stadium site.

The GWCC Authority, which oversees the state-owned complex that includes the Georgia Dome, voted last February to negotiate with the Falcons toward a possible memorandum of understanding on a $700 million stadium that would be built about a half-mile north of the Dome."