St. Louis Stadium Proposal “Close To Attractive”

With owner Stan Kronke reportedly trying to move the St. Louis Rams to California, the team’s current home town is scrambling to keep them.

On Tuesday, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen moved forward with a new financing plan, set to be voted on this Friday. It not only includes a sizable amount of public funding, but an extra $100 million from the NFL itself.

Some insight on that portion of the funding came from Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, who shared his perspective with Brian Smith of the Houston Chronicle.

“St. Louis, they have come up with a proposal that is getting pretty close, in my opinion, to being an attractive proposal,” McNair said. “And if they do come up with an attractive proposal, then in my view, my personal opinion, I don’t think the Rams will receive the approval to relocate. So that would mean then you’d have two teams, San Diego and Oakland, that would be going into Carson, (Calif.). They have a partnership to build a stadium.”

The attractiveness of a proposal is key because a potential relocation needs support from the other owners; if a good offer from the home city is on the table, it is unlikely that the owners will allow a franchise to move. The offer could also have a domino effect, keeping the Rams in St. Louis but allowing the Chargers and Raiders to move forward with their Carson, Calif., plan if they do not receive their own attractive offers.

The next owners’ meeting is set for January and the Rams’ fate could be ultimately decided then.

“We’ve told the cities we’ve got to have the information this month, sort of the final deal, and we have to have certainty on whatever it is you’re talking about in order to evaluate it,” McNair said.

Photo: St. Louis Stadium Concept via screenshot