St. Louis giving up on the NFL after loss of Rams
The NFL may have made its last deal in St. Louis.
Less than 24 hours after the loss of the city’s second professional football team in since the 1980s, Mayor Francis Slay said he had no interest in working with the NFL again.
“Their home cities and hometown fans are commodities to be abandoned once they no longer suit the league’s purposes,†St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told the Associated Press.
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“At this point I’m so frustrated and disappointed with the NFL,†Slay said. “Why would anybody want to, in any way, even entertain any suggestions from the NFL after the way they dealt with St. Louis here? I mean, it was dishonest. They were not being truthful with us. There’s no appetite that I have to take another run at an NFL team.â€
That could change, of course, with time, but the wound is still fresh.
So the team is gone, but the bills for the Edward Jones Dome, which was their home for the last 20 years, will, however, remain until 2021.
The city, county and state of Missouri still owe more than $100 million on the Rams’ former home, yet plans for a new $1-billion riverfront stadium, which would have required an additional $400 million in public money were in the works.
Instead, the Rams will move to Los Angeles and play in a temporary home until the 2019 season, when their new stadium in Inglewood is complete.
A stadium that could top out at $3 billion to construct without the aid of public financing. A good deal for Los Angeles.
Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme
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