St. Louis is no stranger to tortured “conversations” about the public benefit of building new football stadiums. On average, it seems to convene one per decade.
But this one has entered a parallel universe. It is incoherent.
Gov. Jay Nixon held a press conference today to announce some stirring new development on moving infrastructure to pave the way for a new football stadium on the riverfront for the “purpose of making sure St. Louis remains an NFL city now and for years to come.” But there was one slight omission: Nixon largely ignored the team that presently plays here.
There was a reason for this, one that seems lost on many in the local media: The St. Louis Rams do not need a new stadium to play here. Owner Stan Kroenke possesses nine—count em’, nine—one-year options to play football in the Edward Jones Dome through the 2024 season. That’s one year at a time, at the cost of postage on a certified letter, plus the lowest rent of any team in the NFL. He exercised one such option just two weeks ago.
In case you missed it, Kroenke has launched an all-out attempt to relocate the Rams to Los Angeles. By most estimates, he would more than double—even triple—the value of his franchise, which is presently ranked 32nd out of 32 teams by Forbes.com.
Now, for the sake of discussion only, let’s say St. Louis is successful in the apparent strategy to impress NFL executives and owners with its new stadium, so much so that they thwart Kroenke’s move to Los Angeles. Even were it to stop him in the short run, does anyone really believe he would then reward that effort by writing a $200 million check to fund a new stadium that he doesn’t own in St. Louis, giving up his renewal options and the free agency that’s arguably worth more than the team itself?
Really?
And that’s not even taking into account Kroenke’s sweetheart deal at the dome, where he pays less for rent ($25,000 per game) than it costs to operate the building and where he receives naming rights, all of the concessions, and three-fourths of signage revenues. That lease has long been regarded as among the most generous in the NFL.
If Los Angeles isn’t available to Kroenke in 2016, is he going to give up the prospect of that city in 2017 or 2018? Or would he perhaps move the Rams to London, where he owns Arsenal, one of the most prestigious soccer teams in the world? And, for that matter, what about other U.S. cities that might emerge as an opportunity to upgrade his last-place rank in franchise value?
Reasonable people can differ about Kroenke’s odds of success in getting to Los Angeles. That’s all speculation at this point. Ditto for what the NFL executives and owners are thinking. Some reports have them grateful to Kroenke. Others (preferred by the local sports media) see them as great friends of St. Louis.
I certainly wouldn’t bet against Kroenke, not with his resources and his Inglewood land purchase and the official support that he seems to have gained. But no one has a crystal ball to predict that outcome. Nor can anyone say for sure whether St. Louis would have much of a chance to secure another NFL franchise if the Rams leave.
Personally, I think it would be a terrible misuse of public resources to fork over a half a billion dollars for a new NFL stadium, whether for the Rams or any other team. I say that after having reluctantly supported the dome project a quarter-century ago.
But it doesn’t matter what I think or what anyone else thinks about a new NFL stadium, as long as Kroenke owns the Rams in St. Louis. This isn’t a matter of speculation. It’s a matter of common sense: Kroenke isn’t about to bankroll that stadium if its backers succeed in blowing up his plan. And he isn’t about to walk away from his freedom to move to please a city that he just tried to leave.
So if you’re rooting for football in a new NFL stadium downtown, don't worry about the Rams leaving. Worry about them staying.
SLM co-owner Ray Hartmann is a panelist on KETC Channel 9’s Donnybrook, which airs Thursdays at 7 p.m.
