Hey! So remember the $100 million or so in “city event day taxes” that it was revealed last week the city of St. Louis was going to be putting in toward a new Rams stadium under Gov. Jay Nixon’s plan, filling a budget hole of that size? Turns out two things:
- “City event day taxes” really does mean kickbacks of existing city sales taxes, ticket taxes, and team income taxes, as I had guessed.
- You can forget all that, because according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist David Nicklaus, that plan has now been withdrawn, and we’re back to a $100 million budget hole.
Wha happen? This, apparently: On Friday, city comptroller Darlene Green complained that the added tax kickbacks, on top of hotel taxes that would be extended and redirected from paying off the Jones Dome, “would put the city’s credit at risk and potentially lead to higher interest costs to issue bonds for much needed citywide public safety and infrastructure improvements.” Dave Peacock, chair of the governor’s stadium task force that came up with the proposal, responded that “everyone is reacting to old information, one idea that was being considered and is no longer being considered.” Peacock said. Mayor Francis Slay’s office then added that the game-day tax plan “was put forth by the task force but was not OK with the city. The mayor described it as dead on arrival.”
Peacock tried to defend the now-86ed plan by saying that there had long been plans to use game-day revenues to fund the stadium — if so, I hadn’t noticed, but even I’m not all-seeing about local stadium news, so maybe? In any event, even if having the city forgo sales and income taxes from Rams games — something the city currently collects, mind you — isn’t totally off the table, it’s certainly no longer something Nixon can count on for his plan. So, we’re back to $388 million from the city and state and then $100 million from “TBD.” Is it any wonder the NFL is sending its other owners around to get all shouty about this? Extortion really doesn’t work unless people agree to pay the ransom with all due haste, people!
There is no $100 million budget hole in the Riverfront stadium plan! Use some common sense here people!
The two-man Task Force has made their own financial plan without any involvement from Kroenke or any other representatives of the Rams. The Task Force chose how much the city will contribute and the Task Force chose how much Stan Kroenke will have to pay. So, all they need to do is add $100 million to Kroenke’s portion of the bill and voila, the budgetary hole has been filled. That is literally all it would take for the Task Force to pry another 100 million dollars from Stan Kroenke, a few simple strokes of a pen.
Coincidentally, it will also only take a few simple strokes of a pen by Nixon to extend the EJD bonds which will force Kroenke to stay in St. Louis even if he wants to go. Once he extends those bond then the NFL can’t allow Kroenke to leave — it would be dishonorable to do otherwise. If Kroenke balks then the NFL will simple force him to sell the team to a group of local St. Louis investors. Haven’t you people been keeping up? Everyone in St. Louis knows this already, what is taking you so long?
Kroenke should fall to his knees and thank Peacock and Blitz, the two hired consultants that make up the Task Force, for their generosity. It has been well documented that the owners will vote against Kroenke’s move in favor of the California Solution that favors the more popular Spanos family so the Task Force and Nixon could delay making any action until after the vote against Kroenke is complete and then do absolutely nothing. Not purchase a single square foot of any of the land that the Task Force has assembled options to buy, not extend any bonds, not use a single Missouri tax dollar, and what could Kroenke do? The other owners will already have stopped him dead in his tracks so ol’ Silent Stan will be left with 2 choices: continue playing in the EJD or else sell the team.
Nixon and the Task Force and the NFL owners who see St. Louis as the amazing NFL town it is have got Stan by the short hairs and he should be grateful for anything the city gives him, like some low-cost blighted land.
Kroenke has been outfoxed by Peacock at every turn!
In Peacock we trust! All hail Peacock! Peacock for Mayor! No, Governor!
“Once he extends those bonds then the NFL can’t allow Kroenke to leave — it would be dishonorable to do otherwise.”
This may be the funniest sentence ever written.
Gdub: Bars are already taxed by the NFL when they buy Sunday Ticket so the NFL would never tell a city tax proceeds from sports bars belong to the NFL. What’s the taxation system where a city collects taxes and hands it over to a corporation? Doesn’t exist, Bubbuh. The system for billionaires works sympatico, not at odds within itself. They feel what they generate in the stadium is theirs, not going beyond the tv deals they sell to, which supplies Sunday Ticket.
There is no legal way the city could confiscate naming rights to the stadium that would actually go to Stan Korenke, or to dispy-doodle a kickback scheme to Kroenke with game day tax money. City govt does not work that way. Nor would the Rams ownership cover all construction cost overruns, and agree to a binding and enforceable non-relocation agreement. This expectation is from Planet Mars. There is no legal way any city could force any owner to stay put and pay any such bills when he clearly does not want to and will not support any stadium plan in St Loo, especially this one. If this is how they think their stadium plan is viable, it is dead on arrival before it reaches the corridors of the NFL, where it will be laughed out of the building as something out of a mental asylum.