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The St. Louis Rams will have to decide whether or not to accept the city’s renovation plan for the Edwards Jones Dome on Thursday, March 1. If the team chooses to reject the plan, it would need to offer St. Louis a counter-proposal.
Though I’ve been a Rams fan since they were in Anaheim, I don’t want the team to move. The Rams have already moved from Cleveland and Los Angeles during the franchise’s history, and I don’t want to see it happen again. Of course, some of my reasons are selfish. Since I live in Ohio, the team is close enough for me to catch a game from time to time. Merchandise is a bit easier to find in stores. And many of the team’s games are televised in the 1:00 p.m. ET slot, which means I still have the rest of the day to get things done.
However, I have to admit that my rather silly personal reasons for wanting the team to remain in St. Louis are ignoring the big picture. The truth is that the city has lost 20 percent of its population since the Rams moved there, while St. Louis County has maintained it’s current population levels. The city, county, and the state of Missouri still owe $153 million on the Edward Jones Dome. I just don’t understand how it’s possible for state and local authorities to pay their part of the proposed $124 million renovation.
Wall Street Journal’s Jack Nicas did an excellent job explaining the problem the city of St. Louis has with the Rams. Under the current proposal, taxpayers would pay for $59.5 million of the renovations made to the Edward Jones Dome. I believe it’s a given that the Rams will counter this offer, and that would probably mean even more money coming from public funds. Meanwhile, both the city of St. Louis and Missouri are dealing with severe budget deficits.
That’s why I’m starting to have doubts about whether or not keeping the team in St. Louis is the best idea for the region. While I have no real connection to the city, I have a huge amount of respect for the people there. I want to see professional football played in St. Louis. But is it good for the city at this point?
Rams owner Stan Kroenke is a businessman. His job is to maximize his franchise’s profits and net worth. He’s going to get everything he can from St. Louis. But the city should have other priorities, including a police department that is eliminating 50 officers. I don’t want the Rams to go, but maybe St. Louis will have to let it happen. Hopefully, the issue gets a little clearer over the next few months.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, Sports Out West and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
(Originally published on Yahoo! Sports on Feb. 29, 2012)
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The St. Louis Rams will have to decide whether or not to accept the city’s renovation plan for the Edwards Jones Dome on Thursday, March 1. If the team chooses to reject the plan, it would need to offer St. Louis a counter-proposal.
Though I’ve been a Rams fan since they were in Anaheim, I don’t want the team to move. The Rams have already moved from Cleveland and Los Angeles during the franchise’s history, and I don’t want to see it happen again. Of course, some of my reasons are selfish. Since I live in Ohio, the team is close enough for me to catch a game from time to time. Merchandise is a bit easier to find in stores. And many of the team’s games are televised in the 1:00 p.m. ET slot, which means I still have the rest of the day to get things done.
However, I have to admit that my rather silly personal reasons for wanting the team to remain in St. Louis are ignoring the big picture. The truth is that the city has lost 20 percent of its population since the Rams moved there, while St. Louis County has maintained it’s current population levels. The city, county, and the state of Missouri still owe $153 million on the Edward Jones Dome. I just don’t understand how it’s possible for state and local authorities to pay their part of the proposed $124 million renovation.
Wall Street Journal’s Jack Nicas did an excellent job explaining the problem the city of St. Louis has with the Rams. Under the current proposal, taxpayers would pay for $59.5 million of the renovations made to the Edward Jones Dome. I believe it’s a given that the Rams will counter this offer, and that would probably mean even more money coming from public funds. Meanwhile, both the city of St. Louis and Missouri are dealing with severe budget deficits.
That’s why I’m starting to have doubts about whether or not keeping the team in St. Louis is the best idea for the region. While I have no real connection to the city, I have a huge amount of respect for the people there. I want to see professional football played in St. Louis. But is it good for the city at this point?
Rams owner Stan Kroenke is a businessman. His job is to maximize his franchise’s profits and net worth. He’s going to get everything he can from St. Louis. But the city should have other priorities, including a police department that is eliminating 50 officers. I don’t want the Rams to go, but maybe St. Louis will have to let it happen. Hopefully, the issue gets a little clearer over the next few months.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, Sports Out West and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
(Originally published on Yahoo! Sports on Feb. 29, 2012)
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