Yesterday, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced that he would release the details of the St. Louis Rams’ Dome Upgrade Counter-Proposal to the St. Louis Convention And Visitors Commission (CVC). This comes as a welcome surprise to fans and taxpayers who believe this information should be made public.
The announcement is also an unwanted move by the CVC and of course, the Rams. Last week, the public body filed a lawsuit to have the details of the plan kept private while the CVC attempts to negotiate a new deal with the Rams. As expected, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch filed a lawsuit to have the plan made public per Missouri’s Sunshine Law.
The Rams can’t be happy about the State Of Missouri now being involved and potential for public access to their counter-proposal. Based upon what we’ve seen from the Rams thus far, the demands are likely beyond obtainable. Since this is a negotiation, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, the original proposal from the CVC was seen as reasonable based upon what is possible for making The Edward Jones Dome are more sustainable home.
The current lease’s “Top Tier” Clause is an impossibility, so the Rams have all of the leverage, especially with Los Angeles trying to formulate a legitimate plan to lure the team back. Because of this, the Rams’ counter-proposal is potentially another public relations disaster. Fortunately for the franchise, PSL holders were required to renew their season tickets on May 1, so those sales can’t be affected.
The next step is that the CVC has until June 1 to accept or reject the Rams’ offer. If an agreement can’t be reached between the parties by June 15, the case will be handled by an arbitrator. As I mentioned before, I expect this to happen. At that point, the negotiations will easily last into next year.
The question is: How much sunshine will we have in that forecast?
Vikings Update
Monday night, the Minnesota House voted 73-58 in favor of its latest bill to provide state money to build the Vikings a new stadium. The Minnesota Senate will vote on its version next. Here’s a look at the difference between the two from the Pioneer Press.
Should Minnesota’s government fail to reach an acceptable agreement with the Vikings, the team is the most viable candidate for moving to Los Angeles. However, that wouldn’t be the end of a potential move for the Rams. There is potential for two teams to make a move west.
