Beer distributor Jerry Clinton yesterday agreed to sell his
share of the lease for the city's new domed stadium and
convention center. Clinton sold his 30% share of the lease to
FANS Inc. -- a nonprofit group which has been attempting to lure
a NFL franchise to St. Louis -- for $4M immediately, and another
$4M if the city is successful in getting a team. FANS also
agreed to grant Clinton a luxury box at the domed stadium free of
charge for the next 20 years. Following the Clinton deal, St.
Louis businessman James Orthwein announced that he would attempt
to help the city attract a NFL franchise and sold his 65% share
of the lease to FANS for $1 (Jim Thomas, ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH,
9/16). Former Sen. Thomas Eagleton, the point man for FANS
during the lease negotiations, said that the lease would be
offered immediately to the Rams: "If we didn't get this lease
resolved this week or next, school was out. The Rams are very
pleased because they have been encouraging us to have a clear
lease." In Baltimore, Vito Stellino writes that St. Louis now
has moved ahead of Baltimore, claiming that NFL Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue and Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke are blocking the
Rams from moving to Baltimore (Baltimore SUN, 9/16).
