In recent years, folks trying to use taxpayer money to pay for new NFL stadiums have tried to manipulate the system to avoid a public vote, since the general public in recent years has soured on subsidizing billionaires.
In St. Louis, that manipulation includes suing the city to challenge an ordinance requiring a vote on the use of public money for the construction of a new stadium.
Via David Hunn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the lawsuit filed by the public body that operates the Edward Jones Dome alleges that the law is “overly broad, vague and ambiguous,” and it seeks a ruling that the law doesn’t apply to the effort to build a new NFL stadium, or that the law violates the Missouri Constitution.
“Our issue is time — not a public vote,” said Dave Peacock, one of the two men assigned by Governor Jay Nixon to formulate a new stadium plan. “They sped up the timeline. We need clarity quickly.”
While it’s likely that a public vote would fail, even an upset in the ballot box would come after it’s too late to keep the Rams from moving to L.A. Which could mean that St. Louis eventually will be luring another team to replace the Rams, like St. Louis lured the Rams to replace the Cardinals.
If St. Louis loses the lawsuit, that Rams could potentially stay put. And that gives St. Louis a very real conflict of interest. But the city insists it will try to win in court, even if victory would mean losing the Rams.
“We’re going to defend the ordinance,” said Jeff Rainford, who coordinates the city’s effort to build a new stadium. “It’s not going to be a pretend defense. The city will defend the ordinance, and we’ll live with the result.”
The ultimate result could be the departure of the city’s NFL team.
