The bill for a $1 billion NFL stadium in the city of St. Louis passed out of the aldermanic Ways and Means Committee on Thursday, December 10 with a 7-2 vote.
Many of the African-American aldermen who said they were going to vote against the bill at the committee level said they decided to vote in favor of it solely because of an amendment introduced by 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French. The amendment outlined a minority inclusion and business plan that would ensure that city residents and minority workers and businesses get a shot at employment out of the deal.
Dave Peacock, co-leader of the governor’s NFL stadium taskforce, said the project expects to create 3,000 construction jobs, but he didn’t know how many workers would be on the job daily.
The “yes” votes included Aldermen French, Sam Moore (Ward 4), Terry Kennedy (Ward 18), Steve Conway (Ward 8), Beth Murphy (Ward 13), Joe Vaccaro (Ward 23) and President of the Board of Alderman Lewis Reed. The “no” votes were Aldermen Chris Carter (Ward 27) and Scott Ogilvie (Ward 24).
Kennedy said that it was historic to have minority inclusion of this level on a city-backed project. And though he still opposes the bill, he said the inclusion plan was worth putting it to an open discussion at the full board level.
Even with the minority inclusion, Moore said he was against the bill.
“You use jobs to entice, but they won’t ever come to my community,” he said. “Those are fairy tales that will never come true.”
However, Moore said it was an opportunity for his “forgotten people” in the 4th Ward that was better than nothing. He clarified in his closing statement that the stadium would not be built in North St. Louis City but on the riverfront. His ward, with its 1,700 vacant lots, is North St. Louis, he said, and the city has never found the extra money to make investment there.
Carter worked on the inclusion plan, but he decided to vote against the bill because, he said, “I promised my constituents I wouldn’t vote on this if we didn’t have a public vote.”
As Carter expressed, Ogilvie said that the financial projections presented by Nahuel Fefer, special assistant to the mayor, were inflated.
Fefer said the city would be paying $150 million over 30 years in “net present value,” which takes into account the change in market value over time. However, when you take out those adjustments, the total sum is actually over $400 million, Comptroller Darlene Green told The St. Louis American.
Fefer also said that if the Rams leave St. Louis, the city still owes $6 million a year on the Edward Jones Dome. The NFL would take the $4 million that it annually gives the city and leave the city to pay for the full $6 million.
Ogilvie said that state legislators have made it clear that that they will not approve the appropriations necessary to make this deal happen. The city has no power to legislate any requirement for the state to do so, he said.
“We aren’t looking at reality,” Ogilvie said. “Where is there a similar agreement where the city has instructed the state to make appropriations? It’s fiction.”
Paul Payne, the city’s budget director, said the most concerning thing for him was that the bill did not specify who would be on the hook for maintenance and preservation costs. For the Edward Jones Dome, there was $4 million in preservation fees established in the agreement.
Green told The American after the meeting that her office just received the new financing plan on Wednesday. She has said the previous financial plan was not sound.
Of the new plan, Green said, “There is no additional dollars coming in, so the outgoing dollars have either stayed the same or increased in some cases. It is not a better plan for the City of St. Louis. Not yet.”
When asked if her support for the bill has changed, Green said, “My first priority is to protect the credit of the city, as well as the taxpayers’ dollars. So when I look at that, this particular deal strays from that.”
Alderman Steve Conway said he voted against the bill for the Dome but thinks this deal will help revitalize the city. He reminded audience that if the NFL doesn’t sign a deal to stay in the city for 30 years, “it doesn’t get built.”
Rams owner Stan Kroenke has made no guarantee that he will sign the deal, and state legislators have expressed resistance to any state appropriations.
“I don’t worry about what I don’t control,” Peacock said. “We have to put forth a deal that makes sense for a region, and that is also enticing enough for an NFL club. I think what we got on the table is good, and we encourage the Rams to get on board.”
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