The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is reportedly set to approve on Friday a financing package that would build a $1.1 billion stadium in St. Louis for the Rams, but that proposal counts on an extra $100 million from the NFL, according to David Hunn of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday addressed a letter to Dave Peacock, the man leading the task force to keep the Rams in St. Louis, stating the league has no current plans to provide $300 million towards a new riverfront stadium in St. Louis.
The NFL currently provides a maximum of $200 million to help franchises construct new stadiums, and the proposal the Board of Aldermen is set for approval is inconsistent with the NFL's program of stadium financing, according to Hunn. "We are not changing the bill," downtown Alderman Jack Coatar said on Thursday, via the St. Louis Dispatch.
A vote is set to happen on Friday at 3 p.m., and it's unclear if Goodell's letter will have any affect on the current stance held by the city's aldermen. Peacock has been clear since the beginning that the project is counting on private investment including $250 million from the team's owner, Stan Kroenke, but that has never been certain, as Kroenke clearly wants to move the Rams to Los Angeles.
Some have asked Kroenke to put forward more money in keeping the Rams in St. Louis, but it seems highly unlikely, as it is a business and Kroenke and the Rams would have a much bigger market in Los Angeles. The task force in St. Louis has tried multiple plans to raise the money, including using the $158 million naming rights deal, but those proceeds belong to the team and not the public. Then they tried to estimate a year in game-day tax revenue worth up to $4.5 million a year, but the that would increase ticket prices and would be stealing profits from their teams, according to Hunn.
The task force is adamant about keeping the Rams in St. Louis, but no proposed deals at this time seem to qualify in keeping them. The task force has until Dec. 30 to come up with a legitimate proposal to build a new stadium in St. Louis, but at this time, there doesn't look to be anything the league would agree upon in keeping the Rams in St. Louis. Kroenke will still need 24 owners votes out of the league's 32 owners to pass for relocation, and it will be interesting to see what happens during the January meetings, especially if the city of St. Louis has not provided a viable plan to keep the Rams.
