Rams Owner Stan Kroenke "loves real estate," so no one "should be surprised, then, that his proposed football stadium in California is part of a privately owned real estate development," according to David Nicklaus of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The city of St. Louis has "countered with a stadium proposal that’s almost the exact opposite of the California scheme" by offering a publicly owned stadium in which Kroenke "would merely be a tenant, albeit a highly favored one." Nicklaus: "Am I crazy for wondering why there isn’t at least an attempt to give the man what he seems to want, which is a chance to own a project that would be enhanced by the presence of his football team?" The St. Louis stadium plan could be "crafted to let Kroenke develop the real estate, which is what he does for a living." Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon seems to "want the public to gain from the stadium, but, quite frankly, there is no public upside." If St. Louis "could hand Kroenke a development-ready site and allow him to build the field of his dreams, that ought to be worth a lot." Kroenke would be "responsible for maintenance and upgrades at a private stadium," but he could "rent the stadium for other events and eventually he could build condos or bars and restaurants on some of his parking lots" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/25). A ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH editorial stated there is a "case that could be made for putting public dollars in a new stadium." The "critical part of the equation is that voters would have to be convinced it’s worth a shot." There is "a lot of antipathy to helping any more billionaires build playpens for millionaires." Still, it is "better to be an NFL city than not" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/24).
ROOM WITH A VIEW? In St. Louis, Jim Gallagher wondered if the city's proposed site for the new Rams stadium on a stretch of the Mississippi River just north of downtown would be the "best spot," as the area is a "vision of apocalyptic ruin." On most days, the stadium will be a "big empty building surrounded by 10,000 vacant parking spaces." Gallagher: "You can’t base a local economic revival around that. ... A stadium just isn’t a development magnet" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/25).
