Atlanta Falcons owner Rankin Smith Sr. threatened...

Atlanta Falcons owner Rankin Smith Sr. threatened to open negotiations with Jacksonville, Fla., to move the team to the Gator Bowl unless a $158-million domed stadium is built near downtown Atlanta by 1992 and he gets a $4 million-a-year guarantee.

Atlanta civic leaders are discussing how to keep the NFL team from moving.

The loss of the franchise “could be a serious blow to the state,” said Ernest Moore, spokesman for the Fulton County Stadium Commission, one of four agencies involved in the talks. “It could cost the city prestige.”