St. Louis fans sue Rams, alleging ‘deception’

In case anyone cares about the financial costs to St. Louis due to the Rams’ move, this story has a lot of information. It doesn’t sound like St. Louis will sue.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2016/01/13/st-louis-not-interested-in-another-nfl-team-slay.html

St. Louis not interested in another NFL team, Slay says
Jan 13, 2016, 12:08pm CST Updated Jan 13, 2016, 1:39pm CST

Jacob Kirn and Brian Feldt St. Louis Business Journal

Proclaiming that St. Louis leaders were “duped” by the National Football League, Mayor Francis Slay said Wednesday he is not interested in bringing another team to the region after the league on Tuesday allowed the Rams to leave for Los Angeles.

“At this point I’m so frustrated and disappointed with the NFL,” Slay told reporters at City Hall. “Why would anybody want to in any way even entertain any suggestions from the NFL after the way they dealt with St. Louis here? They were dishonest.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay on Wednesday addresses the media’s questions about the Rams’ departure from the city.
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St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay on Wednesday addresses the media’s questions about the Rams’… more

“They knew what was going to go on, and they knew we were putting a lot of energy and money in this effort, and we had some pretty talented people working on this,” Slay said, referencing attorney Bob Blitz and former Anheuser-Busch CEO Dave Peacock, who were working to build a $1.1 billion stadium on St. Louis’ north Mississippi riverfront. “They duped him,” Slay said of Peacock.

The plan has cost taxpayers in the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County and State of Missouri more than $16 million, raising questions about the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority’s (RSA) finances.

At the RSA’s board meeting Wednesday, Executive Director Brian McMurtry said cash flow could become a concern for the RSA, though it’s not an imminent problem.

“It isn’t a problem we shouldn’t be able to handle,” McMurtry said. “The fact is the authority has the ability and authority to borrow money should they need it. We’ll try not to but we may.”

RSA Commissioners on Wednesday accepted a $3 million line of credit from the Missouri Development Finance Board, though it may never access those funds.

Now that the Rams are leaving, the RSA will not collect $25,000 annually from the Rams for rent at Rams Park, in Earth City. That property, which is owned by the RSA, has an appraised value of $7.6 million, according to county records.

Jim Shrewsbury, chairman of the RSA, said he wasn’t sure of the future of the facility.

“It’s our asset but we want to make decisions about it after the dust settles,” Shrewsbury said. “I assume we’ll come up with some sort of proposal to sell it or have some other use for it.”

Blitz said the RSA could pursue legal action against the NFL, though Shrewsbury doubted it would do any good.

“Anytime you are aggrieved, there are all sorts of legal options available,” Blitz said. “Those will be considered, but first we want to understand if there is a way for the NFL to help us get a team here and do it quickly.”

Slay said Rams owner Stan Kroenke had his sights set on Los Angeles for years.

“We were in mediation a number of years ago, and there was no negotiation,” Slay said. “They put up a plan for us to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $750 million for improvements (to the Edward Jones Dome), which is a lot more money than we were putting in (the Mississippi riverfront stadium proposal).”

The Rams’ lease with the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (CVC) mandated that the Dome be among the top eight league facilities by last year. When arbitrators chose the Rams’ plan for upgrades, local authorities did not act on it, allowing the Rams to leave.

From January 2015: How the deal to get the Rams could cause them to leave

Kroenke said Tuesday night the lease required “certain things.”

“As an owner, and to be able to appeal to our fans, we have to have a first-class stadium product,” Kroenke said.

Slay said the RSA should exercise options on land within the proposed stadium site, connecting the Arch grounds, north riverfront and Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge.

He referenced Great Rivers Greenway’s plan for parks and trails on the site, but said there is room to include more development.

“That area has seen no investment for a long period of time,” Slay said. “We’re going to regroup and take a look at that.”

In the short-term, the city will lose money, as the roughly $4 million in annual tax revenue it collects from the Rams will leave with the team.

The city still must pay roughly $5 million per year on Edward Jones Dome debt through 2021, with smaller payments for a period afterward. Roughly $100 million is still owed on the dome debt, split between the city, county and state.

“But without the Rams in the Dome, we will be able to book more citywide conventions,” Slay said, adding that he would like to make investments in America’s Center and Scottrade Center.

The Business Journal has reported that the CVC is likely to ask for about $100 million in public money for upgrades. The Blues are asking for an undetermined amount.

Slay said he thought St. Louis’ new stadium plan was never seriously considered by the NFL.

“To them, it’s all about money,” Slay said. “Nobody thanked St. Louis,” he said of Kroenke and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Nobody thanked the Rams fans for being loyal for 20 years. I was very disappointed in that.”

Oh, I’m sure he’ll make it difficult. I also wonder if the NFL will ask him to just pay off the plaintiffs upfront with an undisclosed sum just to shut it down. Really, though, only people in St. Louis will care about what details come out … by the time anymore information hits the light of day, people will have moved on.