[TSFH Fan]

Hochman: Time is now for stadium
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... b2ddd.html
3 hours ago • By Benjamin Hochman

Are we having a crisis in confidence?

Is that what this is?

I feel that Ferguson has embarrassed St. Louis, exposed St. Louis. And now, with the Rams looking to leave, that has deflated St. Louis, emasculated St. Louis.

We need to resuscitate our confidence, together — this town really is good, guys (and gals) — and that’s why I enjoyed the energy from Gov. Jay Nixon, whom I met with one-on-one Thursday afternoon.

Can Nixon save the NFL in St. Louis? He’s going up against Stan Kroenke, the stalwart Soviet hockey team of businessmen. And he’s facing misconceived skepticism nationally and, as it seems, a lack of confidence locally.

Nixon described a moment, standing near the possible new stadium site, where he pointed and said, “If we don’t do this deal, 10 years from now, the same decrepit buildings will still be there. There’s not another deal. That’s why I’m focused on the time frame — this is the time to be competitive, this is the time to move forward. And if we do, I think both under the relocation guidelines and the fact of the size of market we are, things will turn out well.”

OK, but who exactly needs to be competitive? Does the family in Festus or the single dude in Ladue really matter at this point?

The governor took 22 seconds to clearly capture the significance of what he was trying to share. He then said: “This is an important historical moment. And we all need to grasp the opportunity to redevelop the riverfront, and the necessity to remain one of what’s very rare air — an NFL city. It’s doable. … I understand it’s football, but it’s important.”

He’s renewing the call, and you know what? Let’s buy into it. Why not? What else do we have to lose? I know, I know — the Rams, yes. But even if St. Louis is to lose the Rams — after a decade of the Rams losing — here’s a twist that people don’t talk about. I can foresee St. Louis becoming the NFL’s latest “Cleveland,” a proud city that is awarded an expansion team. This is something the NFL execs have indeed considered.

When Art Modell whisked the Browns to Baltimore, the league rewarded Cleveland with the new Browns. And with the modern NFL’s possibility of expanding the regular season and creating annual games in Europe, an extra franchise or two could help with the math of bye weeks — and help build the NFL’s global brand, even from here on the Mississippi riverfront. The thing about expansion is, the timetable is open-ended.

There is a misconception nationally that St. Louis isn’t a great football town. No, St. Louis is a great football town — with bad football (and a bad stadium, and yes, I know, the city and state can take the blame for that). The Rams haven’t made the playoffs since the Coolidge administration. And it’s funny because I’m sure commissioner Roger Goodell is going to closely watch this season’s attendance figures, as if that’s at all indicative of St. Louis being a football town. Roger, why don’t you pop in the old DVD of the Rams’ Super Bowl season, instead of somehow punishing the hard-working St. Louisans, football fans who didn’t buy tickets to see a team that doesn’t want to be in St. Louis?

Nixon visited Goodell on Wednesday, and described it as “a good, thoughtful productive meeting. And we continued to say what’s on the punch list of what needs to be done and what the owners are thinking, so we know we’re meeting the competitive bars that are necessary.”

I asked, does Goodell get it? Does he see that St. Louis needs the NFL and is an NFL town?

“I don’t use the word ‘needs,’ because I think we’ve earned,” Nixon said. “We don’t have a tin cup out here, asking. This is a great sports market with a great project that has a lot more certainty around it than many others. … (Goodell) recognizes that I bring a high level of commitment, a deep knowledge of the realities of what the pressure points are, and I think they’ve been very impressed by the team that we’ve put together.”

It’s easy for us to play what-if, regarding the musical franchises. There are probably 20 scenarios we could cook up right now, for what will happen by this winter in the NFL. (The St. Louis task force will make its stadium pitch to NFL owners in October). But you know what — the 21st scenario will probably happen.

As for the locally funded new NFL stadium here, Nixon assures that data shows it will be viable and profitable (I know, he’s a politician, what else is he going to say? But he said it was a thorough economic analysis). And this is just one example, and maybe not apples to apples, but I moved here from Denver, where in the early 1990s its downtown was one big, sun-splashed crack house. But they built a baseball stadium in the heart of it, and a re-energized downtown sprouted all around it. Today, downtown Denver is buzzing, and it’s one of America’s fastest-growing cities. Denver was a nationally perceived “cow town” with only two of the four major pro sports teams. Now they have all four (and yes, I am aware that it’s the Kroenke family that owns two of the four).

I’m not saying we’re going to become Denver. But let’s use that city as a history lesson, at least. Or, if anything, simply a confidence-booster.

[TSFH Fan]

St. Louis columnist says Rams need new stadium because of Ferguson and something about balls
Posted on September 4, 2015 by Neil deMause
http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2015/09/0 ... out-balls/

Boosters of a new St. Louis Rams stadium held a rally yesterday, and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon reiterated that he thinks he can spend money on one without legislative approval, because ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!

Nixon said he has no plans to seek Legislative approval. This is an economic development project, he repeated Thursday. He doesn’t seek Legislative or voter approval for business expansion, he said, or factory construction.

“If we don’t do this, there is no other project that’s going to knock out 50 dilapidated buildings and build a world-class facility there,” he said. “There’s nothing else in the queue.”

Besides, he said, the Legislature had all session this year to do something, and couldn’t get anything done, he said.

Yeah! If you don’t build a stadium, you legislators, I’m going to build one for you! How’s about them apples!

(In completely unrelated news, yet another state legislator said that the reason the legislature hasn’t yet passed a stadium bill is that it thinks it should actually hold a vote before taking on extra debt.)

I was going to write something snarky about how crazy this all is, but then I ran across this Benjamin Hochman column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (2015 Pulitzer Prize Winner! presumably not for this!) that asserts that the combined impact of the Ferguson police killing of Michael Brown and the possibility of the Rams leaving has “emasculated” St. Louis, and the city needs a new stadium in order to, presumably, give it, you know. Where’s Cynthia Ozick when you need her?

[majik]

Maybe if Nixon had gone through the legislature a year ago to provide some democratic legitmacy the stadium project. Maybe if his Task Force tied themselves to Stan and offered him land surrounding the stadium through eniment domain (since Kelo case it can) instead of tying itself to CVC. Nixon fumbled this effort.

[bubbaramfan]

The writer calls Stan " A stalwart Soviet hockey team businessman", and clains he is holding St. Louis "Hostage", but still expects him to pay for half the stadium and not own it?

And if you aren't embarrassed by Furgeson, take a drive through East St. Louis. Maybe if they took the money for that stadium and applied it to those two eyesores folks would be much less embarrassed.

[Hacksaw]

But the stadium will fix everything.