Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s stadium task force "has cobbled together far more land along the north riverfront than publicly known, and is eyeing at least one plot outside the publicized footprint" for a new Rams home in the city, according to David Hunn of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The team "has established or is close to establishing 'site control' of about 70 parcels in the roughly 100-parcel footprint." Of the 30 remaining parcels, "all but two are marked as nearing site control." Planners so far have "declined to publicly discuss" details of the stadium site and progress made on land acquisition. The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis President & CEO Doug Woodruff, who is putting land together for the task force, said that "some of the details aren’t pinned down" yet. He said that maps detailing the land acquisition "do accurately reflect 'a snapshot of some of the things we’ve been thinking about.'" Woodruff: "The plan is to show the NFL we have site control. And, as you can see, we’re making tremendous strides" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/3).
PRICE TO PLAY: The POST-DISPATCH's Hunn reported the cost of planning for the new riverfront stadium "continues to rise." Last week, the tally "climbed to more than" $5M, "paid out by the public board that owns the Edward Jones Dome, on behalf" of Nixon's task force. Figures show that local architecture firm HOK "has made the most," more than $4M (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/3).
