14 Questions for Lawmakers Suing Over the St. Louis NFL Stadium
By Randy Karraker
http://www.101sports.com/2015/06/01/14-questions-for-lawmakers-suing-over-the-st-louis-nfl-stadium/
It was surprising to find out six Missouri legislators, half of them from the St. Louis area, have filed a suit to circumvent their own job by suing Governor Jay Nixon.
The suit alleges a law in place that allows Nixon to refinance bonds from the Edward Jones Dome to help build a new stadium for the Rams is illegal.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon
Legislators are suing Governor Nixon over financing of the proposed stadium.
The lawmakers filed their lawsuit less than two weeks after the session, which began January 8 and ended after 71 days of deliberations, ended on May 15.
With all that time to review the law in place and change it, lawmakers instead decided to not do their job.
They chose to try and derail the future of the Rams in St. Louis through legal channels.
The Fast Lane attempted to get Rep. Tracy McCreery, D (Olivette) and Mark Parkinson, R (St. Charles) on the show, and had no success.
The other area politician involved is Rob Vescovo of Arnold. Obviously, if these “representatives” of the people win their suit, they will clear a path for Stan Kroenke to move the Rams to Los Angeles.
I had hopes that one of them would join The Fast Lane, but they wouldn’t.
Here are the questions I had prepared:
1) If this is important enough to file a lawsuit about, why didn’t lawmakers do something about it during the legislative session?
2) If you want a vote, you’ve hopefully canvassed your constituents to find out what they think. What has the response of the people who voted for you been?
3) As you’ve performed your due diligence before filing…talking to the Governor and his task force…you certainly know that time is of the essence to keep the Rams in St. Louis. Why obstruct the stadium now?
4) What do you think of the job Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz have done on the governor’s stadium task force?
5) What has your communication with the task force been like?
6) You know the numbers…players playing in St. Louis generate roughly $10 million a year in revenue for Missouri; that’s before the 2,400 game day employees, the coaches and staff that work full time at Rams Park, and the benefit generated by people using hotels and restaurants on game weekends.
Why would you think it’s beneficial to have the Rams leave?
7) What is your plan to replace the more than $12 million annual revenue generated for the region by the Rams and NFL players?
8) 23 of the 24 largest city economies in the United States are cities that have an NFL team. How do you plan to maintain the St. Louis economy in light of the fact that you’re attempting to force the team out of St. Louis?
9) The plan calls for the biggest private contribution, $450 million, for a project in St. Louis history. Why would you want to turn that down?
10) This project would provide thousands of construction, plumbing, and electrical jobs. Why would you want to deny the people that could have those positions?
11) The Rams were the Philanthropic Organization of the Year in St. Louis in 2010. D’Marco Farr and his teammates started Sack Homelessness many years ago, in which the defensive line contributes $1,000 per sack to combat homelessness.
The St. Louis Food Bank’s biggest fundraiser is Taste of the NFL, sponsored by the Rams. The team also supports Special Olympics, Heat up St. Louis, Big Brothers-Big Sisters and many, many more. What’s your plan to replace that philanthropic impact?
12) There are 2,400 game day employees and more than 100 full time employees at Rams Park that will lose their jobs if the team relocates. What’s your message to those people and their families who would lose their livelihood if you win this lawsuit?
13) I bought PSL’s 20 years ago so that my kids could experience the NFL like I did with my dad. What reason can you give to people who did the same to remove the team from the region? It’s no different than depriving them of the Zoo, parks, and other forms of entertainment.
14) If you win and the Rams leave, this will be your legacy. If the Los Angeles Rams win a Super Bowl, you will be the local names and faces of their departure. How does that make you feel?
In a similar vein, on Sunday ESPN featured Rams players William Hayes and Chris Long shining a national light on homelessness in the area. I wonder what the legislators are doing to benefit homeless people.
We are still more than happy to welcome the litigants to the show. They can reach me by e-mail at
randy@101sports.com.
