NFL V. ST. LOUIS CVC: FORMER LEAGUE EXEC TESTIFIES ON FEES

          In the second week of the St. Louis Convention and
     Visitor Commission's (CVC) $130M antitrust suit against the
     NFL, CVC lawyers "tried to prove that the league has acted
     arbitrarily and inconsistently in charging relocation fees,"
     according to William Lhotka of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. 
     On Tuesday, the jury watched a videotape interview of former
     NFL Exec VP/General Counsel Jay Moyer explaining the
     league's process in determining fees for previously
     relocated teams. He testified that the Raiders and Colts did
     not have to pay a fee when they relocated during the early
     80s, but that the NFL levied a fee against Cardinals Owner
     Bill Bidwill when he moved from St. Louis to Phoenix in '88. 
     Lhotka adds that Bidwill's fee was paid "more than three
     years after the league approved the move," and the $7.5M he
     paid "was the result of negotiations with the NFL, not from
     a specific formula the league adopted."  CVC attorneys
     argued that the next NFL relocation fee assessed against the
     Rams was for $46M, $29M up front and $17M over 15 years. 
     The CVC "says the league conspired to force St. Louis into
     paying too much to get the Rams."  During the trial, the NFL
     has stated that it is "blameless and has accused the Rams of
     greediness" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/15).