 |
| Rams proposal/Ctsy: hks sports/stl.com |
Well, that didn't take very long.
The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission at least did take a look at the Rams proposal for an overhaul of the Edward Jones Dome.
They looked at the extravagant plan that the city believes will cost in the neighborhood of $700 million and said "Uh...no thanks".
The Rams plan was a counter to the CVC's plan, which came in at a more modest $124 million estimate.
Oh...and apparently if the two sides don't agree on the renovation, it heads to an arbitrator after June 15th.
Read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch story RIGHT HERE
Folks, this one may get ugly.
The Rams are pushing hard because of a clause in their lease with the dome that states it has to be a "Top" facility in multiple categories by 2015. And no, nobody knows exactly what that means.
As much as we tend to lean optimistic on these type of deals getting done, we're a bit more skeptical here. Both sides are VERY far apart. And we get the CVC's concern over losing business while the place is closed for the work.
And since we don't live in STL, we don't know how much booking is done there during the off-season.
We also know there are multiple parties in a certain large, NFL-less city out West who are anxiously monitoring this. And they should be.
As many of you know, we've stated that any "New" or "Major" renovation to a perfectly good stadium is a waste of money. Unless you are an NFL owner trying to maximize revenue.
If they do come to an agreement on renovation, expect that the good people of St. Louis to pay a lot more money to buy tickets. We think the team will be better in the upcoming years and thusly, attendance will grow. And much like other teams around the NFL, the Rams owners will continue to price out people who can't afford tickets.
The question we have is, if they do a "Major" renovation, where does the team play while the work is being done?
And yes, if there is an "In-House" favorite franchise to be moved, this would be the one.
No comments:
Post a Comment