[TSFH Fan]

Slightly switching gears: In thinking about market share, something finally occurred to me. The people of StL could not, under any circumstance, allow Stan to build a 100% privately funded stadium and cannot consider just letting him own a stadium there.

The EJD is still being paid for and is running out of money just for maintenance. If Stan had his own stadium, it would be competing for a lot of the same things the EJD is used for. I mean if I were a convention goer or a concert promoter and I had to choose between a brand new Stan dome or the run down EJD, depending on pricing, I'd go Stan -- and I'm pretty sure Stan would set up aggressively competitive pricing. This lost business for the CVC would be in addition to losing rent/income from the Rams playing there.

Theory: Paradoxically, it seems that the people of MO could not and cannot "afford" a 100% privately funded (privately owned) stadium.

[Elvis]

Slightly switching gears: In thinking about market share, something finally occurred to me. The people of StL could not, under any circumstance, allow Stan to build a 100% privately funded stadium and cannot consider just letting him own a stadium there.

The EJD is still being paid for and is running out of money just for maintenance. If Stan had his own stadium, it would be competing for a lot of the same things the EJD is used for. I mean if I were a convention goer or a concert promoter and I had to choose between a brand new Stan dome or the run down EJD, depending on pricing, I'd go Stan -- and I'm pretty sure Stan would set up aggressively competitive pricing. This lost business for the CVC would be in addition to losing rent/income from the Rams playing there.

Theory: Paradoxically, it seems that the people of MO could not and cannot "afford" a 100% privately funded (privately owned) stadium.

That's a good point, probably should've kept the dome top tier...

[bubbaramfan]

Even if they find the financing for a new stadium, won't they still compete with each other? Ethics, lol.

[moklerman]

I suppose there's no end to the ways St. Louis could have done things better but the beginning is a crucial point. When they built the stadium it wasn't even top tier, was it? So, how did they get to the point where they thought writing that clause into the contract was a good idea? They had to know that SOME day, they'd be facing a dilemma. Not even a dilemma, an obstacle that couldn't reasonably be overcome.

They had to know that they would never be able to meet that top tier stipulation. Which swings us back around to ethics.

[Elvis]

I'm sure they just wanted to close the deal. "Top Tier could be a problem in 15 or 20 years? We''ll worry about that later. What's important is getting the Rams here now, possession being 9/10 of the law and all that..."

[moklerman]

I'm sure they just wanted to close the deal. "Top Tier could be a problem in 15 or 20 years? We''ll worry about that later. What's important is getting the Rams here now, possession being 9/10 of the law and all that..."

You're probably right but we're talking about the beginning. If you were planning to build a stadium that didn't have a tenant, wouldn't you build the best stadium you could build to try and lure the hypothetical team you're gunning for?

At least then you could say that when it was built, it was top of the line and regardless of the lease, work with us here.

[Hacksaw]

I'm sure they just wanted to close the deal. "Top Tier could be a problem in 15 or 20 years? We''ll worry about that later. What's important is getting the Rams here now, possession being 9/10 of the law and all that..."

Like they are trying to close this deal. StL will seem to do or say anything to manipulate their way into getting/keeping the Rams. I hope that we can put that part of our Rams experience behind us, , , and sooner than later. I've developed a bad tase in my mouth towards StL. Not so much the fans,, or at least a lot of them.

I'm sure they just wanted to close the deal. "Top Tier could be a problem in 15 or 20 years? We''ll worry about that later. What's important is getting the Rams here now, possession being 9/10 of the law and all that..."

You're probably right but we're talking about the beginning. If you were planning to build a stadium that didn't have a tenant, wouldn't you build the best stadium you could build to try and lure the hypothetical team you're gunning for?""
At least then you could say that when it was built, it was top of the line and regardless of the lease, work with us here.

It's probably all they could afford or allocate not having a team. It was a wise clause (top tier) to insert as at the time the stadium was probably underwhelming. In 2005, the writing was on the wall. They were too far behind to catch up and financially they we're screwed. They got exposed 10 years later and fumbled the way they handled things. Now as a reward for their lack of financial heft, poor planning, zero foresight and questionable tactics, they are going to lose their 2nd team in some 30 years. Their loss will be our re-gain.

[bubbaramfan]

The way you put it hacksaw, sure makes me fell sorry for the fans in St. Louis. The folks in St. Louis responsible for bringing the Rams probably knew there would be trouble down the road but they wouldn't be around when it came time to point fingers. They just wanted the kudos for getting another NFL team in St. Louis.

[Hacksaw]

The way you put it hacksaw, sure makes me fell sorry for the fans in St. Louis. The folks in St. Louis responsible for bringing the Rams probably knew there would be trouble down the road but they wouldn't be around when it came time to point fingers. They just wanted the kudos for getting another NFL team in St. Louis.

Yep. And they hooked a whopper. The Los Angeles Rams. Still unbelievable to me. It's like the NY Giants moving to Des Moines.
Some of those fans with whom we continue the discussion might get on our nerves, but like you said, I feel a bit sorry for many of them too. They love where they live and have pride in their town and our team. If it wasn't a team from LA we're talking about, they'd be a lot more secure. All this doscussion and disclosure is exposing a lot of crap. Except for that possession 9/10th's law thingy the StL is likely doomed.

[Hacksaw]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-pol ... story.html