The push for a new open-air football stadium in St. Louis "has taken two more steps forward," with companies being signed "to study bond financing" and the NFL sending market surveys to 185,000 local fans, according to David Hunn of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said that the e-mailed surveys "should hit inboxes" today, though some people got them yesterday. He said that there are two goals of the survey: to "assess the viability of a new stadium," and to "figure out what location, seating and amenities St. Louisans would prefer." Hunn notes the survey "asks more than 100 questions, from views on 'a new open-air stadium' to the purchase of a $325,000 luxury box." McCarthy said that St. Louis stadium consultants David Peacock and Bob Blitz "are helping" with the survey, as are the Rams, who "provided its database of season ticket holders." McCarthy added that the NFL "conducted a similar study in October" of the L.A. market. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Regional Convention & Sports Complex Authority has hired law firm Thompson Coburn to help with the "possible restructuring of the bonds" on Edward Jones Dome (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/24).
SAY HELLO TO HOLLYWOOD: In California, Scott Reid cites an Inglewood City Council study as showing that the Hollywood Park stadium proposed by a group that includes Rams Owner Stan Kroenke "would cost" $1.86B to build, "making it the most expensive stadium ever constructed." With "design, engineering, financing and other indirect costs, the stadium’s final price tag likely will exceed" $2B. The council is scheduled to decide tonight "whether to approve the privately funded, 80,000-seat, covered-roof stadium project by the Hollywood Park Land Company as part of the company’s plans for a 298-acre redevelopment or hold a special election on the matter on June 2" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 2/24). In L.A., Vincent Bonsignore writes under the header, "A New NFL Team In L.A. Would Need Its Own Identity." If L.A. residents are "going to re-open our hearts and wallets to the NFL again in the form of PSLs and season tickets and merchandise, and if our Hollywood star power and extensive array of business leaders are being asked to fork over millions upon millions of dollars in naming rights and cooperate sponsorships and signage and advertising and luxury suites, it’s only right we get something in return." Bonsignore: "New era. New teams. New history. I don't want anyone's retreads. ... We deserve a new team with a fresh, sleek look and name that embodies the history and culture" of L.A. (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 2/24).
GETTING THE BALL ROLLING: In San Diego, Kevin Acee wrote the Chargers' goal has been to "get the city not just off the couch but out doing some road work." Acee: "Mission accomplished." The Chargers "could have said it more politely, but they weren’t wrong." There is "no way to overstate how significant it is" that after Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Chargers President Dean Spanos met on Sunday. The Chargers "have been sneaky, rude and duplicitous of late," but they "also just got their way." Acee: "You don't have to like [Chargers Special Counsel Mark] Fabiani, but there must be a grudging respect." The man "has has helped navigate Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong, Rick Perry and many other high-profile clients through crises." He "could possibly just maybe know what he's doing" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/23). However, MARKETWATCH's Jason Notte writes fans and their reps in both San Diego and Oakland "should digest the latest news" about the Chargers and Raiders joining forces on an L.A. venture "and take the next logical step: absolutely nothing." With this "desperate move," Raiders Owner Mark Davis and the Spanos family "just tipped their hand." Notte: "The fact is, they have nothing" (MARKETWATCH.com, 2/24).
FINITE RESOURCES: CBS Sports Network's Amy Trask, who was Raiders Chief Exec from '97-'13, said during an interview on S.F-based KGMZ-FM that while the O.co Coliseum site is the "ideal location for a new stadium, she harbors serious concerns about the marketplace, lending credence to the notion that the team could be relocated." Trask said that the Coliseum "is the best served stadium by public transportation -- better than all 30 other NFL stadiums." She added that the space it "provides for parking and tailgating is ideal." But Trask expressed other concerns, saying, "It is only 32 miles from Santa Clara. That's a lot of infrastructure in a very, very small region." She added, "I do think there's serious, serious concerns -- at least from my perspective there are -- as to whether the marketplace can support two football stadiums. And by marketplace I mean sponsorships, signage, suite purchasing, naming rights -- not fans. The fans will support both" ("Flight 957," KGMZ-FM, 2/23).
