As much as people in St. Louis want to know what the Rams are doing, the people in the NFL want to know what the people in St. Louis are willing to do to keep them.
According to David Hunn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the league’s study of the Rams’ current market shows that fans are willing to pay for PSLs, but there are other hurdles for them to clear if they want to build a stadium and keep (or get) a team.
The stadium task force trying to get a new building said that the league’s market survey suggested that low ticket prices, low sales and the lack of a “robust regional area” to draw fans and corporate sponsors were part of the problem they face there.
But they also found that selling PSLs could bring in $200 million, while the original plan called for just $120 million to $130 million from PSLs.
“St. Louis can support an NFL club,” task force member Dave Peacock said. “We’ve had a history of supporting a club, especially when that club is competitive.”
The league didn’t comment on the market study, which was also done in San Diego and Oakland as part of discussions on someone or two someones ending up in Los Angeles. But St. Louis officials have seen the executive summary of the report the league prepared.
Some of the points in that report were that interest in buying tickets waned after years of bad football (surprise), and that the Rams ranked 22nd in average ticket price but just 29th in average attendance over the last five years. They’re also, not the most popular team in town, as St. Louis self-identifies as a baseball town (and Lord, will they tell you all about it if you ask — free advice, don’t).
But the Cardinals have won, and the Rams haven’t, so the difference in interest is natural as well.