$15 million in tax credits approved for St. Louis riverfront stadium
By David Hunn, Alex Stuckey
JEFFERSON CITY • The Missouri Development Finance Board approved on Tuesday $15 million in tax credits this year for the proposed riverfront football stadium in St. Louis. It is the first step toward $50 million from the agency over three years.
Board Chairwoman Marie Carmichael urged passage, saying the money won't be sent to new stadium planners until the board is assured the credits are a good deal for the state.
"There are ample protections for our investment," said Carmichael, an appointee of Gov. Jay Nixon. "All the ducks have to be in order, all the stars have to be aligned. Everything has to be in place before any (credits) are expended."
The public entity that owns the Edward Jones Dome, where the St. Louis Rams now play, applied for the tax credits in July.
The Dome authority, under direction from Nixon's stadium task force, is funding plans to build the $998 million arena. They have proposed to pay for construction with $450 million from the National Football League and team, $201 million in bond proceeds from the state and the city of St. Louis, $160 million from the sale of seat licenses and $187 million in tax credits, according to the state application.
The finance board request is the first public tax credit application from the project. The authority is requesting $17.5 million more from the board next year and in 2017. Task force leaders have said they will apply for other tax credits soon.
The finance board program gives tax credits in exchange for project donations, up to half the amount of the gifts. The task force hopes to land $100 million in donations.
The board's executive director, Bob Miserez, recommended approval.
Miserez called the "vast majority" of the new stadium land "severely blighted." A stadium, coupled with the renovation of the Gateway Arch grounds to the south, "would transform the most visible downtown riverfront area and provide substantial economic benefit to the City and State," Miserez wrote in his recommendation.
Approval is contingent on the board's receipt of $30 million in contributions this year, plus evidence that the NFL has committed its share of the cash, and that an NFL team has executed a 30-year lease at the proposed facility.
The effort to build a new stadium in St. Louis is a latch-ditch attempt to keep the Rams, or attract another team. Rams owner Stan Kroenke has plans to build a new stadium in Inglewood, Calif., and move the team. He
presented his proposal to owners last week.
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