St. Louis Rams stadium controversy to come to blows in January

The St. Louis Rams and the Convention and Visitors Commission will finally go to arbitration in January. Get ready for more Edward Jones Dome renovation plans.

Edward Jone Dome Renovation: City Offering To Spend 'Tens Of Millions More' In A New Proposal

A new Edward Jones Dome renovation plan was submitted to the Rams on Monday, and while most expect the team to turn down the offer, it presents a significantly closer offer that, if accepted, would ensure the Rams stay in St. Louis.

The first stadium proposal from St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) was for a stadium renovation that was estimated to cost about $124 million and the cost would be split between the Rams and CVC. The Rams rejected the deal and rebutted with a proposal of their own that was reportedly estimated by city officials to cost about $700 million.

While the newest proposal doesn't come close to approaching the Rams' figure, it does represent a significant increase in the dollar amount, according to Kitty Ratcliffe, president of the CVC.

"It's not doubling or anything like that," Ratcliffe told Jesse Bogan of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. "We know it will be tens of millions more."

The renovation plans come due to a requirement in the team's lease that Edward Jones Dome is a "first tier" stadium by the year 2015. Otherwise, the Rams will have the potential option to leave the city if a renovation to meet the requirement is not accomplished.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Rams Relocation To Los Angeles By 2014 Predicted By CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora Of

The St. Louis Rams the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission board have agreed to enter binding arbitration over competing proposals to make the Edward Jones Dome a "first tier" facility to satisfy a specific clause in the stadium lease that would otherwise allow the team to leave the city a few years down the line, and that process may determine the Rams' future in St. Louis. There is a strong tide suggesting the NFL will soon return to the city of Los Angeles -- the Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers are the most likely franchises to relocate -- and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports decided to handicap the field with some help from his L.A. and league sources.

Here is what La Canfora offered up in his latest column on relocation to Los Angeles:

Several sources, if they had to handicap the field -- and it remains murky due to pending results of an arbitration issue on the Rams' lease and a possible San Diego vote on a stadium referendum in 2013 -- leaned to the Rams as being the team they would pick if they had to.

...Owner Stan Kroenke has ties to L.A., the team still has an office in the area, and Kroenke has been noncommittal at best about any long-term future in Missouri...

"If the arbitrator comes back and says 500, 600 or 700 million, then, yes, they're the prime candidate if they aren't already," one league source said. "But if he comes back and says 250 million, then St. Louis stays. They could go from being the frontrunner to being out of the running."

In the conclusion to his longer analysis in the article, La Canfora predicts that "it will be the Rams in time for the 2014 season" but admits the landscape could still change. Back at the end of June, Ryan Van Bibber of Turf Show Times has some calming words for anyone worried about relocation.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Roger Goodell's Relocation Memo Puts Rams, Chargers And NFL On Notice

The St. Louis Rams and the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission have been busy all offseason submitting competing proposals to make the Edward Jones Dome a "first tier" facility to satisfy a specific clause in the stadium lease that would allow the Rams to potentially leave the city otherwise, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants the Rams to know any relocation talk is subject to league approval. Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times recently reported on a memo from Goodell sent to all 32 NFL teams that reiterates the league's control over any potential relocation to Los Angeles.

The Rams are set to begin arbitration over the stadium renovation dispute with the CVC after the parties failed to reach an agreement on their own, and the team sounds committed to staying in St. Louis, but if the issue of relocation did advance there are many ways the league would oversee the process. Essentially, any team intending to relocate for the 2013 season would need to submit an formal application between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 that year and prove they have exhausted all attempts to remain in their current location. They would also need a clear rationale for why their proposed location is a better option than other destinations in the team's current market.

Rams fans, it isn't time to panic. Ryan Van Bibber of Turf Show Times has some calming words for anyone worried about relocation:

Even with no solution via arbitration, the Rams and the CVC, city, county and state can take this thing all the way to the brink in March 2014. That's what happened in Minnesota, and going right up to the deadline seems to be the rule in anything involving politicians.

The Chargers and the Raiders are in better positions to bolt before the Rams do.

Don't panic. I know the mouthbreathers on talk radio don't want to believe it, but the Rams aren't looking for an easy out here. I'm worldly enough to acknowledge the possibility that anything could happen, but the team has made a commitment to sink its roots here, in the wake of Georgia Frontiere's disastrous period of ownership. That was made pretty clear record in my visit with the team in Joplin last week.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

St. Louis CVC Initiates Arbitration With Rams Over Edward Jones Dome Renovation Dispute

On Thursday, the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission board voted in favor of entering binding arbitration with the St. Louis Rams over competing proposals to make the Edward Jones Dome a "first tier" facility to satisfy a specific clause in the stadium lease. Although the CVC had one more day to reach an agreement with the Rams, Matthew Hathaway of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the board held a short 23-minute meeting via teleconference to vote and initiate the arbitration process on Thursday.

The St. Louis Rams submitted an estimated $700 million renovation plan for the Edward Jones Dome that the CVC rejected on June 1. Prior to that, the Rams rejected the CVC's initial $124 million plan submitted back on March 1.

The situation stems from that would allow the Rams to opt out in 2015 if the Edward Jones Dome is not deemed to be a "first-tier" facility among the top-eight stadiums in the NFL. The proposals by both parties were designed to address that clause in the lease, but without a mutually acceptable agreement the Rams and the CVC will handle the issue through binding arbitration.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of The St. Louis Rams Dome Negotiations

Next week the open negotiations between the St. Louis Rams and the CVC end and both sides enter into arbitration. What's the good, bad and ugly that came out of this five month public dance?

St. Louis Rams' Proposal Rejected By CVC, June 15 Marks Arbitration Date

As expected, on Friday morning the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission formally rejected the St. Louis Rams' estimated $700 million proposal to renovation the Edward Jones Dome. June 1 was set as the deadline for the CVC's decision after the Rams rejected the agency's $124 million plan submitted back on March 1. Now the two parties have until June 15 to agree on a renovation plan that would satisfy a clause in the stadium lease requiring the Edward Jones Dome to rank among the top-eight stadiums in the NFL by 2015.

If no agreement is reached before June 15, the matter will head to arbitration. Even so, is there a proposal that makes economic sense for the taxpayers in St. Louis?

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

June 1 Marks A St. Louis Rams Dome Proposal Deadline

On May 1, the St. Louis Rams submitted a counter-proposal to the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission regarding renovation plans for the Edward Jones Dome -- the addition of a retractable roof is one of the centerpieces of the team's plan -- and June 1 is the deadline for the CVC to either accept or reject the team's proposal. The CVC initially submitted their own $124 million plan on March 1, but it was rejected by the Rams. Both parties are trying to address a clause in the stadium lease that would allow the Rams to leave St. Louis in 2015 if the dome is not ranked among the top-eight stadiums in the NFL.

If the parties cannot reach an agreement by June 15 the issue will be handled through arbitration.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Rams Stadium Proposal: Economics Just Don't Make Sense For St. Louis, Taxpayers

The St. Louis Rams' stadium proposal—a half-a-billion-dollar fantasy of glass and sharp edges—is a local issue, but with the Minnesota Vikings' even-larger proposal going through of late and a lot of pre-retractable domes going under the publicly-subsidized knife, the issues that drive the St. Louis debate are going national. Which is why a fascinating article on the problem just came out courtesy the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The conclusion: Football stadiums are not a profitable venture for public funds.

Apparently the Super Bowl, one of the things promised to St. Louisans after they finish paying for Stan Kroenke's new toy, is itself a money-loser; it cost Indianapolis somewhere between a half-a-million and a million dollars.

One of the things that bothers me most about public stadium funding is that it massively distorts the market for new sports stadiums. There's literally no need for a billion-dollar stadium to play in today's NFL, and no reason for the Edward Jones Dome to be considered a relic after 20 years—the only reason it's become one is that the market for these domes and stadiums has been permanently overheated by the amount of public money sloshing around.

If the billionaires who owned the teams were spending their own money, the Edward Jones Dome would probably look perfectly fine.

Edwards Jones Dome Renovation: Rough Economy Could Affect Rams Stadium Debate

The latest economic reports from the St. Louis area may have a significant impact on the continuing debate over the Edward Jones Dome renovation process. St. Louis Rams and NFL analyst Ryan Van Bibber reports that the St. Louis county and city is losing some of its wealthiest tax payers:

Between 2001 and 2010, more people left the city and county than moved into them. Those leaving earned an average of $8,000 more than those arriving. All told, it meant $3.41 billion in lost income in the county and $760 million in the city. Reflecting back to civics 101, that means less tax revenue.

The Rams are hoping to give the stadium a significant renovation in the near future, but the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission has actively opposed the effort, which would require large amounts of tax payers' funds.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Rams Stadium Proposal Pictures: Presenting St. Louis's Glassiest New Stadium

New Rams Stadium Proposal: Team Demands Enormous Ransom From St. Louis

The St. Louis Rams' new stadium proposal is little more than a 39-page ransom note.

So, Why Should Taxpayers Have To Pay Anything For Stadiums, Again?

The St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings are both in stadium negotiations. Explain to me why the taxpayers need to foot any of this bill.

Vikings Stadium Plan Gets Close; St. Louis Rams Watch Closely

St. Louis Rams' Stadium Proposal No Longer Confidential

The St. Louis Rams submitted a counter-proposal to the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission regarding renovation plans for the Edward Jones Dome on May 1, and now the public will have an opportunity to look over the plan. The team originally released a statement that the their proposal would be confidential, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch filed a lawsuit claiming the plan was subject to open-records law and since then the Post-Dispatch has reported that Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and the AG's office will release the Rams' counter-proposal to the public by Monday, May 14.

The situation stems from a clause in the stadium lease that would allow the Rams to opt out in 2015 if the Edward Jones Dome is not deemed to be a "first-tier" facility among the top-eight stadiums in the NFL. The proposals by both parties are designed to address that clause in the lease. Back on March 1, the CVC's $124 million plan to renovate the Edward Jones Dome was rejected by the Rams. The CVC now has until June 1 to either accept or reject the team's counter-proposal, and if the parties cannot reach an agreement by June 15 the issue will be handled through arbitration.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.