Stadium news, 12/27

STLToday

 

Bernie Miklasz is keeping far better track of St. Louis' football stadium situation than I have been able to for some time. Here's his latest article on the matter.

What we know:
- the Rams' 20-year lease is about to expire, making them free to play anywhere they want;
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has already given the order that no team will move to Los Angeles in 2015 (though the door sounds very open for 2016);
- Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has appointed a two-man team to put together a new stadium proposal that may go public shortly after the New Year. This team has gone over the Rams' heads and made a presentation directly to Goodell and representatives.

So far, so smart so far, along with the indication the new stadium would be built downtown north of the Dome. There's also, though, what I see as a fair amount of cynicism and lack of realism within this plan:


- the stadium as proposed will be under public ownership, i.e. not S.E. Kroenke or the Rams, though the team and the league will be expected to chip in $400-450 million toward the project. Where to even start with this idea? Kroenke prefers to own the facilities his teams play in. What's wrong with letting him build and own the whole thing? Does the rejection of the Dome upgrade last winter rule that out? Isn't part of the current problem that Kroenke has no skin in the St. Louis stadium game? Won't we just be doing this dance again in 20 years (or less)? And then, why should Kroenke pay for 1/3 of a stadium he'll own 0% of? Is this a loan from Kroenke? Is the theory Kroenke will get a huge ROI in the form of appreciating value of the team? Suffice it to say I don't quite get it.

- the stadium SUPPOSEDLY will have a joint tenant in an MLS expansion franchise. That is a total JOKE. Not that St. Louis isn't a very good soccer market; it's turned out major crowds for recent international club and World Cup exhibitions. But MLS has done little but screw with St. Louis for at least a decade now. MLS has passed over St. Louis several times because it's apparently more important to have multiple teams in New York and in Canada. They passed St. Louis over for Philadelphia and they didn't even have a stadium plan. I'm not even aware there's interested ownership in an MLS team in St. Louis any more, though I assume the Nixon team knows different. In any event, relying on MLS to bring a team here has been a proven fool's errand.

- In a possibly bigger joke, Nixon insists the new stadium will be built with NO NEW TAX BURDEN on the state or the region. Well, Nixon's a smart guy; he should be able to figure out a scheme at least as credible as the "pull-tab" scheme that's supposedly going to fund Minnesota's new stadium. Never underestimate the power and palatability to taxpayers of hotel and car rental taxes!

- Nixon also will not submit a proposal to voters to increase taxes for a new stadium. Well, THAT I believe. Many of the recent stadium funding proposals around the country have simply been done behind the taxpayers' backs. Plus I wouldn't expect the Rams to win such a vote any time soon around here. There's no appetite for it. The Cardinals wouldn't have won a vote here for the new Busch Stadium, so that funding got sneaked to them.

- So, no private equity, no new taxes, no public vote, where the BLEEP is the money for this coming from? Well, the forming plan appears to be to extend the current bonds on the Dome and put them toward a stadium/riverfront development project. Nixon is big on there being more development downtown than just the stadium. BECAUSE BALLPARK VILLAGE WORKED OUT SO WELL. It took ten years just to put up a few bars, and I'm not sure those are doing anything more than enriching the Cardinals further. Also, mere minutes into the stadium plan and we're deep into political weasel talk. NO NEW TAXES! We're just growing the old ones!

- And don't get me started on the possibility the new stadium is going to be outdoor only. The stupidity of building another facility that won't qualify to host a Super Bowl is too staggering for me to imagine. Also, I ain't buying another PSL to sit outside in December.

There is a LOT to be filled in about St. Louis' football stadium future, and I'm a notorious over-reactor. I still think I have raised legitimate questions that need good answers to get this thing off on the right track. I'm eager to get answers to those questions in the coming months.

-$-