Atlanta

You could pay more the next time you go to a big event in Atlanta. Here's why.

ATLANTA — You may be among the tens of thousands of people who flock to see the Hawks and Falcons play or listen to tunes at the iconic Music Midtown Festival.

Would you come up with a couple more dollars to get into those places if the money was going to Atlanta police, fire or corrections -- the personnel who are in place to keep people safe at those events?

A surcharge on tickets to large sporting and cultural events is on the table in Atlanta City Hall.

The idea to study the charge was introduced this week by Councilman Dustin Hillis, the chairman of the public safety committee.

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A relatively small fee would be tacked onto tickets for big events -- big meaning an event with more than 1,000 available tickets that public safety personnel have to manage.

Channel 2's Nicole Carr spoke to people around town Wednesday. Opinions were mixed.

"I just think we can keep paying the taxes that we pay," said Aysha Jackson.

"There's good and bad sides to it. Everyone's going to raise a big stink about raising the price on anything they like to pay for, especially when it comes to major activities like buying concert tickets," said Brad Navin.

Carr also took to Twitter to poll viewers.

"I think that could be a good idea. It is only a couple of dollars, and what they do is really important," said Latiffa Kabba.

According to the resolution, it would exclude ticketed charity events, and Hillis has amounted the possible surcharge to anywhere between 50 cents and a few dollars.

During an interview with Channel 2's Mark Winne on Wednesday, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said exploring the use of a sports and entertainment tax is something her administration has been examining for months.

"I think it really again speaks to our ability to think outside the box on how we address public safety and where we get our funding for public safety, but this is one of many ideas we are exploring and will continue to explore with our internal departments and our external partners," she said.