In what may be another step toward the Rams moving to Los Angeles, St. Louis County has said it will not devote $6 million of taxpayer money toward a new stadium.
With Rams owner Stan Kroenke planning to build a Los Angeles stadium, St. Louis officials are discussing a new stadium that would convince the Rams to stay. The current plan for a new stadium downtown has a budget of $985 million, so the $6 million that was planned to come from the county was a drop in the bucket. But the fact that one government entity is declining to fork over taxpayer funds is one more indication that this plan may not come to fruition in time to keep the Rams in town.
NFL owners have indicated that they expect to approve a plan for at least one team to move to Los Angeles soon. The top contenders are the Rams, Raiders and Chargers, with the Rams having a key advantage in that Kroenke can afford to build a stadium in Los Angeles with his own money, while Raiders and Chargers ownership would need to work out deals to finance the building of a stadium.
If the Rams do move, it’s possible that St. Louis could go forward with a new stadium plan -- and try to convince the Raiders or Chargers to move to St. Louis.