Officials for the St. Louis Rams football team must submit their counter-proposal for upgrading the Edward Jones Dome to the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (CVC) by tomorrow. It will be interesting to see the Rams’ proposal; however, CVC officials will not release the plan — unless the Rams give them permission (I would not bet on that).
This proposal is integral in determining whether the Rams stay or leave Saint Louis. But what really matters is that the CVC will not let the public review the proposal, which if accepted, could cost the taxpayers millions on top of the $24 million per year that the state, city, and county already pay for the Dome’s construction. The Rams already rejected a proposal from the CVC that would have left the public on the hook for $60 million, so it is reasonable to guess that the public’s portion of the bill in the Rams’ counter-proposal will be much higher.
CVC officials maintain that they are complying with a provision in the lease with the Rams that some information can be kept confidential. However, considering that (a lot) of public money is potentially on the line with this deal, NO decision should be made until the public has a chance to review it.
The Show-Me Institute has a long record of opposing such government “investment.” However, even if the CVC accepts the Rams’ counter-proposal, it should do so only after the people who would actually pay for the project are allowed to see the costs.
