[bluecoconuts]

That fake $100 million was in exchange for letting Rams keep amusement tax. So what happens with that?

An Alderman is saying they will pass the bill as is because all the private money is hypothetical. Okay, sounds like a wonderful strategy. I guess they're playing with monopoly money now. If that's the case, they're passing a proposal that is 100 million short of budget.

Looks like Bernie needs to grovel to Grubman again.

I really don't want to hear ANYONE say the St. Louis proposal is good enough. It's a joke right now.

Why not pass it? Kroenke would never accept the deal, these guys know that. Not getting the 100 million works for them even more, they'll pass this bill with extra insurance that the NFL wont go for it, which allows them to shrug their shoulders and say "Hey, it's not our fault."

[SoCalRam78]

That fake $100 million was in exchange for letting Rams keep amusement tax. So what happens with that?

An Alderman is saying they will pass the bill as is because all the private money is hypothetical. Okay, sounds like a wonderful strategy. I guess they're playing with monopoly money now. If that's the case, they're passing a proposal that is 100 million short of budget.

Looks like Bernie needs to grovel to Grubman again.

I really don't want to hear ANYONE say the St. Louis proposal is good enough. It's a joke right now.

Why not pass it? Kroenke would never accept the deal, these guys know that. Not getting the 100 million works for them even more, they'll pass this bill with extra insurance that the NFL wont go for it, which allows them to shrug their shoulders and say "Hey, it's not our fault."

I know they can pass whatever they want, but no owner with a straight face could ever say at this point "that's a decent offer Stan, sorry, you're blocked from moving."

Wasn't that McNair's angle yesterday? St. Louis is close to a good proposal. Yeah, uh, no.

[Hacksaw]

A defeatist strategy? The got fuzzy laws, fuzzy math and a fuzzy proposal. When you hear comments misrep'ed by the chosen media stream that "some of the owners would pass it even if it wasn't the greatest deal" ,, then McNair echos that sentiment (it was him all along) you get the feeling that other owners might support the Loo is it does

[SoCalRam78]

A defeatist strategy? The got fuzzy laws, fuzzy math and a fuzzy proposal. When you hear comments misrep'ed by the chosen media stream that "some of the owners would pass it even if it wasn't the greatest deal" ,, then McNair echos that sentiment (it was him all along) you get the feeling that other owners might support the Loo is it does

This many kickbacks and fake bills and avoiding the public votes, and at the end of the day, the proposal will be a total piece of turd. Honestly, I'd rather have a referendum vote in June in SD over this. Idiots on PD saying it'll still be enough to block SK, claiming it shows "good effort." Wait didn't SD show good effort this year as well?

[bluecoconuts]

An Alderman is saying they will pass the bill as is because all the private money is hypothetical. Okay, sounds like a wonderful strategy. I guess they're playing with monopoly money now. If that's the case, they're passing a proposal that is 100 million short of budget.

Looks like Bernie needs to grovel to Grubman again.

I really don't want to hear ANYONE say the St. Louis proposal is good enough. It's a joke right now.

Why not pass it? Kroenke would never accept the deal, these guys know that. Not getting the 100 million works for them even more, they'll pass this bill with extra insurance that the NFL wont go for it, which allows them to shrug their shoulders and say "Hey, it's not our fault."

I know they can pass whatever they want, but no owner with a straight face could ever say at this point "that's a decent offer Stan, sorry, you're blocked from moving."

Wasn't that McNair's angle yesterday? St. Louis is close to a good proposal. Yeah, uh, no.

Sure they can, if they like Spanos enough they'll do it. Conventional wisdom says Inglewood is better for the league, Rams are better for LA, and the Raiders don't have the cash, but at least some owners are willing to throw all that aside so they can help their buddy out. If they're willing to do all that, then they're willing to say whatever they want to make it seem legitimate. Mental gymnastics, St Louis could be offering up a drawing of a turd and owners who like Spanos enough would say it's good enough.

[The Ripper]

An Alderman is saying they will pass the bill as is because all the private money is hypothetical. Okay, sounds like a wonderful strategy. I guess they're playing with monopoly money now. If that's the case, they're passing a proposal that is 100 million short of budget.

Looks like Bernie needs to grovel to Grubman again.

I really don't want to hear ANYONE say the St. Louis proposal is good enough. It's a joke right now.

Why not pass it? Kroenke would never accept the deal, these guys know that. Not getting the 100 million works for them even more, they'll pass this bill with extra insurance that the NFL wont go for it, which allows them to shrug their shoulders and say "Hey, it's not our fault."

I know they can pass whatever they want, but no owner with a straight face could ever say at this point "that's a decent offer Stan, sorry, you're blocked from moving."

Wasn't that McNair's angle yesterday? St. Louis is close to a good proposal. Yeah, uh, no.

McNair should be more worried about Harris County. He's willing to offer NFL money for St Louis but not for his own city and county that have to make improvements to NRG for the Superbowl.

[69superbowl]

Stan is not going to request that extra $100M, as Goodell clearly states in his letter is the procedure. It would help make the St. Louis deal look better, and that is not what E. Stash wants. So, what?, somebody just changed a "2" to a "3" and expected to get the extra hundred mill? Nice. Sounds like loan fraud.

[Hacksaw]

So Peacock lies to the Aldermen, McNair lies to the public, and the public get's no say.
No wonder the task force has garnered the appearance they got things done so quickly.

It would be so much cleaner if the BoA vote it down in a couple of hours, but I guess that is asking too much.

[SoCalRam78]

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/12/18 ... -financing

In a letter addressed to Dave Peacock of the St Louis Stadium task force, Roger Goodell had a bone to pick regarding the NFL's portion of the proposed riverfront stadium:

Our review of the materials disclosed that the proposal being submitted for a vote of the Alderman is expressly premised on an irrevocable commitment by the NFL of $300 million to a stadium project in St. Louis...This premise is fundamentally inconsistent with the NFL's program of stadium financing.

He went on to elaborate that the task force was informed of the $200M cap that the NFL can contribute. This means one of two things:

1) Peacock and the task force deliberately didn't tell the city that there was a cap on NFL funding to the stadium - which I find very hard to believe. Peacock is working to keep the team in StL. Why would he submarine his efforts now?

2) The board of aldermen knew about the limit, but in the end didn't want the city to pay for it. So they told the NFL to show how much they really want to keep teams in their home cities. When you consider the politicking involved, this seems much more likely.

This is not so much a wrinkle as a massive divide that has sprung up mere weeks before the NFL will vote on who will be granted the L.A. market. A fundamental inconsistency popping up this late in the game bodes poorly for the city of St. Louis.

I'm not privy to the politics involved in these decisions, but it does seem to give Kroenke more negotiating power. The city is obviously going to be $100M short in funding. Kroenke is certainly not hurting for funds, but I don't see him as likely to cover that gap. It's entirely possible that Kroenke parlays that $100M into some tangible item - say a relocation of the project to nearby Maryland heights, where he could control the surrounding real estate.


With the Raiders and Chargers not wanting to split their partnership and their project becoming more appealing by the week, Silent Stan may not have a choice but to finally sit down in earnest with the city. Who knows where those conversations go. Maybe Kroenke sells the team. Maybe he refocuses on London. Who knows what's going on in his head.

I'm not even going to attempt to predict how this all plays out. That would be foolish of me. But I will say that absolutely nothing would surprise me. One thing is for certain. We all need to buckle up. Because the next month is going to be a helluva ride.




I swear to God all these guys must buy into Bernie's shtick. Maryland Heights? Sell the team? Lol. One time can these guys admit the St.Louis market has zero appeal to Kroenke in terms a new stadium?

[69superbowl]

Hack, they should have let the people of the region vote on an expenditure of money and land of this magnitude. That's what gets me about the whole thing. It's public money and trust and a few elitists are making the decision for the rest. It's called Oligarchy.

If an owner or ownership group wants to put down the lion's share of the dough and has a legal piece of property to build and play, then let him do it. The market will decide whether it is a right or wrong decision. If only the Rams had someone like that....