The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission "has submitted a new renovation proposal to the Rams that would include 'tens of millions' more in improvements," according to Jesse Bogan of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The plan "to make the Dome a 'first-tier' stadium features a glass exterior, outdoor terraces and 9,278 club seats." The CVC "had previously submitted to the Rams a more modest, $124 million proposal and offered to split the cost with the team." The Rams "rejected that plan and offered their own, calling for a major demolition of the existing facility and the addition of a sliding roof panel." The CVC's new plan "does not include a cost estimate." CVC President Kitty Ratcliffe said, "We do expect it to be a little bit higher than we originally planned but not a substantial amount higher. It's not doubling or anything like that. We know it will be tens of millions more." Bogan notes the "biggest change in the plan is a 55,000-square-foot addition to the existing structure, including 7,000 square feet of terraces, rather than a three-story structure built on Baer Plaza that would have served as an entrance for fans in club seats and suites." The new plan instead "includes a 'featured entrance to the stadium, offering the Rams' premium seat fans an exclusive front-door experience,' which isn't currently available." It calls for "a glass addition to the east side of the building" to provide better views of downtown. The two-sided, center-hung scoreboard "would become four-sided, while scoreboards in the end zones would be removed to free up space for club seats." Additionally, the plan calls for "renovated suites, new indoor and outdoor club lounges, larger concourses, a new, two-level team store with a street entrance, 30 new escalators (bringing the total to 62) and updated lighting and signage" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 8/21).
DOUBLE FEATURE: In St. Louis, Jim Thomas noted Rams Exec VP Kevin Demoff on Saturday, in an effort to get fans in the stands for a preseason game at Edward Jones Dome, tweeted that fans attending the Pirates-Cardinals game Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium could get Chiefs-Rams "game-day tickets at season-ticket prices if they brought their baseball ticket stubs to the dome." That represented a 40% discount "over game-day prices." The announced crowd for Chiefs-Rams was 53,272 in the 66,000-seat Edwards Jones Dome (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 8/20).
