Gov. Nathan Deal says he’s asked the Falcons to look at other ways of funding a new stadium in Atlanta without requiring more state money.

With public sentiment against a new stadium mounting, lawmakers have been hesitant to raise the amount the Georgia World Congress Center Authority can borrow from $200 million to $300 million.

The Falcons have asked for a third of the $1 billion price tag to come from public money that would be repaid through the hotel/motel tax paid in the city of Atlanta and Fulton County.

“Well that seemed like a little bit high… but we are still talking and hopefully before too very long we’ll have a proposal that will save the taxpayers a  lot of money,” he says.

But Deal admits a new stadium could, in the long run,  save the state money with the aging Dome requiring expensive upgrades in coming years.

“The argument is do you spend millions of more dollars on repairs and perhaps even, at some point, having to replace the current Dome roof which is a major expenditure, or do you go ahead and make an investment now that will be good for 20 years and will have a commitment that the Falcons will remain in Atlanta,” he says.

One option would be for the city of Atlanta to invest more through its economic development arm known as Invest Atlanta.

Deal says they are currently working through the details and isn’t ready to unveil any proposals.