At today's press conference at the GWCC, Blank reemphasized that although the south site was listed as the preferred site in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GWCCA, the north and south sites are about equal on pros and cons and on development costs (and that the Falcons preferred the north site in the first place). He said that the "fluff" build into the stadium construction timeline is gone, and that a decision will be made by October 1st at the absolute latest, although he expects a decisions within two weeks. Overall, he said that all of the parties, including Mayor Reed, are satisfied with the north site if the south site falls through, and that investigative work on the north site (presumably, soil samples, etc.) has caught up with the progress of investigative work on the south site. Falcons President Rich McKay says that final stadium design will be delivered by before constructions starts in March 2014, and that the PSL system will be decided upon by January 1, 2014.
One of the audience questions/comments was from Atlanta City Councilmember Ivory Lee Young (who represents Vine City and English Avenue), who brought up that the current Georgia Dome traffic locks down the local neighborhoods with traffic, and that he hopes the Falcons, GWCCA, and constructions partners build the new stadium close to MARTA. He went on to say that he hopes the State of Georgia would "cut a check" to expand the Vine City and GWCC/Philips MARTA stations. Other comments focused on community benefits, such as job centers, opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses in the construction and stadium operations phases, water run-off in Vine City and English Avenue caused by the current Dome, and whether the Falcons thought that the south site could ever be acquired without private funds (they did, but realize now that private funds will be necessary). The Falcons reiterated that they have not been involved with negotiations with the churches, besides one meeting that Blank had with the pastor at Mount Vernon, but that they would get involved if requested, and that they want the churches to make a decision that is in the churches' best interest, not the Falcons'.
Also, an audience member asked if Arthur Blank would buy an MLS franchise, to which he responded that he does (since his kids like it, and it fits with his Foundation's work to fight child obesity), but he said it's not clear whether he will own the team himself. He reiterated that he's been in discussions with MLS and Don Garber for a while now.
Notably, when Rich McKay said that the PSL program would be decided on by the end of the season in January, Arthur Blank said, "Mr. McKay, I believe we'll be playing in February." 
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