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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| With NFL Rams gone, St. Louis still stuck with stadium debt |
| 2016-02-04 |
| [REUTERS] The National Football League's Rams left behind more than bitterness when the team ditched St. Louis for Los Angeles last month - it left a stadium saddled with about $144 million in debt and maintenance costs. When the Baltimore Colts left it was in the dead of night, after assuring the city they were staying. I don't know what the Saint Louis Browns did when they left to become the Baltimore Orioles. Probably about the same thing the Los Angeles Rams did when they moved to St. Louis. Taxpayers will now shoulder the remaining payments for the Edward Jones Dome with only the help of revenue from tractor pulls, volleyball tournaments, concerts and the like. That's why we have taxpayers, isn't it? St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed has asked the NFL to help pay off the stadium, but so far has gotten no response. This is known in trade circles as "the finger." "The fans are being left holding the bag," Reed said. "I think they should factor that into the total cost of the move." "But... But... My season ticket!" The leftover debt and maintenance costs are another example of the NFL's negotiating prowess with many cities, sports economists said, and also reflects larger problems with the deal St. Louis struck with the Rams. Tell it to the Brooklyn Dodgers. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #12 There's always the Super Fan Self-Tax(tm) in which supporters can individually help finance a new stadium, sort of like Kickstart, but not on the backs of the rest of the community. Why haven't they done that? /rhet question |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-02-04 15:35 |
| #11 Hopefully San Diego is paying attention. Owners keep trying to get the city to pony up for a new stadium. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2016-02-04 15:26 |
| #10 But prestige requires debt, and debt shows prestige! |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2016-02-04 13:48 |
| #9 NFL owners seem to think they're all entitled to the kind of stadium that top tier teams like Dallas, New England and Denver have. The Chargers's owner wants one too. He wants the City of San Diego to build him one when the city can't even fill it's pot holes or fix it's rusting water mains before they break and create embarrassing sink holes. It's corporate welfare at it's worst. I like watching football on TV but I don't care if these guys have to find a high school that'll let them play on their field. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2016-02-04 12:22 |
| #8 Can't they just burn it down for the insurance money? Or is that too Detroit? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2016-02-04 12:08 |
| #7 Soccer! No? Women's beach soccer! |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2016-02-04 11:37 |
| #6 Feral pig refuge and petting zoo. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2016-02-04 09:17 |
| #5 They could sponsor a St. Louis/Ferguson MMA pay per view fight where everyone has to fight with their hands up. |
| Posted by: Airandee 2016-02-04 06:45 |
| #4 Detroit and Saint Louis are the foundation of America. Live in St Louis, and traveling for work to Detroit next week. And we ain't makin' web pages or ipads for the ladies, rather radars, alloys, and armor. As for the NFL, that's a freak sideshow. |
| Posted by: rammer 2016-02-04 01:29 |
| #3 The citizens voted stadium construction down repeatedly. The democratic voter process was eventually overridden by local pols and taxes were levied for construction. Evidently the citizens were right. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-02-04 01:21 |
| #2 I thought it was "Da Bears" . . . . |
| Posted by: gorb 2016-02-04 00:57 |
| #1 Instead of getting weepy, the St Louis folks should be getting busy. St Louis is somewhat of shithole - but nowhere near as awful as Detroit, or Baltimore. It might be hard to entice away a Superbowl contender (albeit from a murder record city), but how hard can it be to talk the Lions into relocating. Or - even "'Dem Bears". Much as they may like Chicago (another murder award winner), the coming financial collapse of the city is sure to drive taxes through the roof. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2016-02-04 00:51 |