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.
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