[Elvis]

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/prin ... ml?ana=twt

Peacock ‘more confident than ever’ before vote



For the last eight months, Dave Peacock has lobbied NFL officials on the merits of St. Louis as a viable football town.

For the next month or so, he’ll turn his attention toward the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. Peacock said he plans to meet with or pitch members of the city’s Board of Aldermen in advance of a potential vote on whether the city will help pay for a new $1 billion riverfront stadium.

St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Thomas Frawley ruled in early August that a public vote was not needed for the city to spend an estimated $66 million in new St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority (RSA) bonds on a stadium.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay did not appeal the ruling, but said the St. Louis Board of Aldermen would have a say on financing.

Slay’s chief of staff, Mary Ellen Ponder, said aldermen could take up the issue at one of their September meetings.

Nine of the city’s 28 aldermen in May called for a public vote on the use of city tax dollars for a new stadium. If 15 aldermen voted against funding the stadium, the measure would fail.

“I didn’t think I’d live long enough to see a billion-dollar stadium built without any real money,” said Alderman Tom Villa on Aug. 25.

Peacock said any money the aldermen approve — similar to state tax credits recently approved — would be contingent on nearly $500 million committed to the project through a team owner and the NFL’s G4 loan program. Ideally, he said, that commitment would come before the city officially sells the bonds.


“Hopefully, we’ll be in a position where (aldermen) deem it a viable project,” Peacock said. “Basically, we’ll go to the Board of Aldermen and let that process take place. We’ll do whatever the process dictates, whether that’s share information they need or informing them.”

The current task force proposal and the RSA analysis assumes the city of St. Louis would make lease payments of $5 million each year through 2023, $5.5 million in 2024, and $6 million annually through 2051. The RSA analysis also said the total estimated direct city net revenue from a stadium complex and related football activities totals more than $115.7 million over 35 years.

Peacock said he hopes to have the financing and land acquisition plans — all but one parcel of land on the actual stadium footprint are under option agreements with land owners — firmly in place by the time NFL owners meet in October, when the task force plans to present to league owners in New York City.

Following the Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB) approval of $15 million in state tax credits — a number that should rise to $50 million over the next three years — to help fund the project, Peacock said he’s more confident than ever in the stadium’s prospects.

“Whether that’s through resolution of lawsuits or getting the vote from the MDFB or even just design development, all those milestones continue us down the path and make me more confident than I was when we started this in January,” he said.

[Elvis]

I can't help but notice this article doesn't mention the Rams...

[BuiltRamTough]

Lets go Alderman!

Even though I don't know who and what they are.

Even though I don't think it matters anymore if STL gets funding for a stadium or not.

[BuiltRamTough]

Correct me if I'm wrong..

The alderman could put a vote for the public to use CITY funds?

And the Missouri leg, the guys that have made noise this week are trying to put it to a public vote for STATE funds?

Is this correct?

[den-the-coach]

[SoCalRam78]

Must be nice for this smug asshole and idiot governor Jay Nixon and his cronies to completely ignore the appropriate process and railroad a plan down the constituents throat and completely disregard an ordinance voted and passed by said constituents in 2002. All for personal backdoor gains, this guy stands to make a crap load of money. Hope these guys never get an NFL team.

Democracy at it's ugliest.

[Hacksaw]

So that is the face of the guy working his ass off to screw LA out of getting the team back. Some guy named Peacock. Rat.

[dieterbrock]

I've never felt that Peacock was ever about keeping the Rams in St Louis. To me its all about being the hero regardless of the outcome. If the Rams move to LA, Peacock failed.
Period.
But I get the impression that he'll be revered for his "efforts"

[bubbaramfan]

I can't believe they are still counting on Kroenke putting up. He's not going to. And if he doesn't, I bet the NFL doesn't put up G-4. That leaves St. Louis finding financing for the whole 998 mil. If I read it right, Nixon can't extend the bonds until the owner and the NFL commits.