Claiming the area was "abused" by the NFL in its quest to
lure a football team, the St. Louis Convention & Visitors
Commission filed an antitrust suit yesterday against the league
and 24 of its teams, according to this morning's ST. LOUIS POST-
DISPATCH. The suit seeks unspecified damages. At the center of
the dispute is the $29M relocation fee assessed on St. Louis when
the Rams' move was approved on April 12. No such fee was levied
on the Raiders when their move to Oakland was approved on July
21. St. Louis County Exec George "Buzz" Westfall: "We're tired
of the abuse. We want to be treated fairly." Also yesterday,
representatives of FANS Inc., the civic group that lured the Rams
to St. Louis, made an initial $20M relocation payment to the
Rams. That money will be transferred to the league. FANS Inc.'s
The $20M comes directly from PSL payments. Westfall said he
didn't know if there would be refunds to PSL holders if the money
is returned. NFL Dir of Communications Greg Aiello called the
CVC's complaint "totally without merit." Aiello: "The courts
have made it clear the NFL is entitled to charge a relocation fee
to a member club proposing a move. ... If the CVC wants to
renegotiate its agreement with the Rams, that is, of course, up
to the CVC. But there is no justification for the misuse of the
antitrust laws to extort money from the NFL." The Rams issued a
statement in support of the CVC's case. Excluded from the suit
were the Rams, Raiders (who abstained on the vote on the Rams'
move), the Bengals and Bucs (who both voted to approve the Rams'
move in an initial March 15 vote), and the expansion Panthers and
Jaguars (Jim Thomas, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 12/19).
