Forbes: Is $124M enough to keep the Rams in St Louis?

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian ... -st-louis/



The Convention and Visitors Commission has proposed $124 million of upgrades to the Edward Jones Dome to keep the St Louis Rams from terminating their lease with the city after the 2014 NFL season. The city would be on the hook for $64 million of the renovations while the Rams, owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke, would pay $60 million.

Under the lease agreement between the Rams and the CVC the Dome must be among the top quarter (eight) of the league’s stadiums. If it’s not, the Rams could break the lease and would be among the top candidates to move to Los Angeles where there are competing proposals for a state-of-the-art stadium. The Rams now have until March 1st to either accept the CVC offer.

It is not clear if the plan put forth by the city would qualify the Dome as one of the NFL’s top eight stadiums. The CVC plan includes adding 1,500 new club seats, installing a massive 96-foot-long scoreboard over the center of the field and adding windows for more natural light. Off the top of my head it would seem like the Dallas Cowboys, MetLife Stadium (NewYork’s Giants and Jets), Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots), Cleveland Browns Stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis Colts) and M&T Bank Stadium would still be superior to the Dome.

Kroenke is bidding for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and if he owns an MLB team he could not keep control of an NFL team in St Louis if the league also has a team in the Los Angeles market (which seem inevitable). Kroenke, who is married to the daughter of Wal-Mart co-founder James “Bud” Walton, owns an estate in Malibu.

Kroenke bought control of the Rams in 2010 at a $750 million valuation. In a new stadium in Los Angeles the team would easily be worth over $1 billion primarily due to more premium seating and sponsorship revenue. The Rams would also likely have to pay the NFL a hefty relocation fee (the team and CVC combined paid $29 million to the league to relocate from Los Angeles in 1995).

 

[Memento]

I'm sorry, but that's definitely enough. I'd be ecstatic if they made those changes. I mean, a ninety-six-foot scoreboard? Large windows for natural light? I'd be more than happy with that.

 

[steferfootball]

I'm sorry, but that's definitely enough. I'd be ecstatic if they made those changes. I mean, a ninety-six-foot scoreboard? Large windows for natural light? I'd be more than happy with that.

Meh. I'd be happy with the dome as it is. Specifically given the economic conditions and whatnot.

96 ft scoreboard would be pretty sweet though. The one we've got now isn't bad. (The old one sucked).

The Superdome's screens are the worst. I have a CRT TV bigger than theirs.

 

[ZGare]

A good lawyer could make the case that any dome is better than an open air stadium in terms of fan creature comforts. You can control temperature, precipitation, light, and wind. 9 of the 31 stadia have lids.

 

[Anonymous]

A good lawyer could make the case that any dome is better than an open air stadium in terms of fan creature comforts. You can control temperature, precipitation, light, and wind. 9 of the 31 stadia have lids.

"stadia"......nice. :sly:

 

[RamsSince1969]

The So. Cal weather is some of the best in the world. Nothing like an open air stadium in So. Cal with a state of the art natural grass versus playing on surface that is similar to a minature golf course. I'm for a relocation and new staduim. Of course I'm just 50 miles from L.A.. This is getting interesting!