St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Thomas Frawley ruled that no public vote will be required to build a riverfront stadium for the Rams, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Frawley criticized the ordinance as “too vague” and fraught with too many “uncertainties”. Frawley also ruled that the location of the planned stadium along the riverfront is close enough to be considered “adjacent” to the city’s convention center, which state law requires. A mixture of seat licenses, state tax credit and different incentives would assist pay for it. About half the cash would come from the group proprietor and an NFL mortgage program.
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“As we proceed to make wonderful progress on the stadium challenge, this can be a nice time for everybody within the St. Louis area to rally on behalf of one thing that may make a distinction in our financial system, nationwide profile and high quality of life for generations to return”, Peacock stated in a press release. The incident sparked protests and a scathing Department of Justice investigation, all of which exposed numerous disparities in Ferguson and the surrounding municipalities that had escaped the national spotlight.
“I don’t know the timing of that”, Calvert said.
The ruling is seen as a hurdle cleared by the St. Louis task force that is trying to keep the Rams in St. Louis. The Ram’s owner, Stan Kroenke, has threatened to move the team back to Los Angeles if a new stadium isn’t constructed. The open-air stadium is expected to cost $998 million. While that still may very well be the case, a court ruling in Missouri on Monday makes it a real possibility that the Rams will get a new venue in St. Louis.
“The court’s opinion is a victory for a bold and promising future for the NFL in St. Louis and the continued rebirth of our downtown”, said Dave Peacock, co-head of the task force and a former Anheuser-Busch executive.
Other officials weren’t as enthusiastic about Frawley’s decision. “The Board of Aldermen tomorrow could meet and put public financing of the stadium on the ballot…”
A spokeswoman for Mayor Francis Slay says the city is reviewing the ruling.
French said he and his colleagues would be assessing their options in the coming days and other opponents indicated they would keep fighting the prospect of taxpayer dollars being allocated for the stadium without a public vote. Their attorney, John Ammann of the Saint Louis University legal clinic, called it a “tough day for democracy”.
Ammann said his clients would appeal Frawley’s ruling on the request to intervene.
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Jo Mannies, political reporter for St. Louis Public Radio, joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson to discuss. That plan took on new meaning when the Inglewood City Council approved construction of the stadium-construction that’s slated to start late this year. “You can decide any priorities you want, but let’s at least have a public discussion about what the priorities of the community are”.
