Rams Rumor (St. Louis, Washington, Fenton: real estate market, hotels, home) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

DiscoBerry · 10-20-2011, 06:02 PM

I don't believe this, but someone said to me the Rams are trying to get a new stadium. He says it will be in Fenton, and that they already have the site picked the old car plant. I dunno sounds like complete BS to me. He also claimed that there is a clause in their contract to do this if they DON'T make it to the Super Bowl within x amount of years of their last appearance. Anyone else heard anything of the like?

flynavyj · 10-20-2011, 06:30 PM

Haven't heard of any clauses in their contract regarding super bowl appearances. Considering how terrible the team has been since their last playoff birth, i'd imagine we'd have heard something else about that by now...but maybe not.

As to a new stadium, yes the Rams are wanting a new stadium. The Edward Jones Dome (Formerly TWA Dome...we know how long ago that was) was once one of the newest stadiums in the league. However, since the stadium was finished in the mid 1990's, it has aged to one of the oldest stadiums in the NFL. Because the stadium has no "classic" or "nostalgic" purposes, it will probably be replaced in the upcoming years. Replacing the stadium for a football team with a consistent losing record however will be the tough sell.

As such, several other cities who are interested in getting an NFL team (Have heard L.A. Rumors), are wanting to entice teams with the promise of a new state of the art stadium...for which teams like the Rams would be ecstatic to get...specifically the teams owners, who would most likely profit from the sale, and new stadiums (with gigantic tax breaks) + a new market with deprived football fans, will draw in large crowds, and post some nice returns to their pocketbooks.

As to a potential site for a new football stadium, who knows. I'd highly doubt it'd go in Fenton for many reasons. Namely, the dollars the City of St. Louis would lose from the revenue generated by the games, events, etc. The gigantic open crater that would be left on the near north side (a neighborhood that needs more help than hurt anyway), plus a location at the old Chrysler plant could present a congestion nightmare on the highway...and public transport to the general area is almost non-existent compared to public transport to downtown.

Every business that's looking at relocating and needs vast amounts of space and privacy have been rumored to be looking at the old Chrysler facility. That even includes my employer...so, i'd believe it when they break ground.

kcmo · 10-20-2011, 06:39 PM

The dome sucks and 65,000 seat stadiums have no business in the heart of a CBD like that. Downtown StL would be better off if the dome were replaced with a neighborhood (residents/office/hotels) which would help tie the wash ave corridor to the rest of downtown and riverfront. Right now the dome is just a gigantic barrier and really hurts the urban fabric of downtown stl.

It would be neat to see StL construct an open air stadium on the outskirts of downtown, so long as they don't build it with Missouri tax money like the dome. (local or private money).

Fenton would be odd though.

flynavyj · 10-20-2011, 06:58 PM

Do you think the same thing about the location of Busch stadium? That property would be worth significantly more than on the Northside...or so i'd think. Totally agree about the tax dollars though. And there's plenty of neighborhood North and West of the dome...but in case you didn't notice, the real estate market is in the dump, and tearing down the dome and putting in a few blocks of mixed use housing may not fill up as quick as you'd expect. I'd work hard on the areas just West of the stadium, north of Washington Ave, and keep trying to improve the existing neighborhoods further North...If it becomes a boom town, then we can talk about knocking down the dome to build even MORE housing...will call it "urban sprawl"!

aragx6 · 10-21-2011, 07:37 AM

^ The difference between Busch and Edwards Jones though is that the Cardinals play more than 80 home games a year. The Rams play eight. I'd prefer to see it on the outskirts of downtown but still acessible by public transit -- I still greatly dislike suburban stadiums.

But I also totally agree with flynavy that tearing down such a huge dome and infilling it would be a huge undertaking -- from where would such money come? There's plenty of other development projects in some stage or another that have made little progress in this economy -- not just Ballpark Village but also things liek Chouteau's Landing. It just doesn't seem realistic right now.

I will be heartbroken if the Rams leave St. Louis -- I've been a big fan over the years and losing pro football would be a huge kick in the nuts to St. Louisans -- but I'm not sure I can yet see the scenario where they stay.

They want a new stadium and obviously they want local and state $$ to do so. It was hard enough to get that done for the Cardinals who have a huge fan base, had a 40 year-old stadium, and who asked in much better financial times. The state isn't going to give them anything, of that I can pretty much guarantee, so they'll probably leave. I don't want them to, and I'll be happy if they don't, but right now, if I were a betting woman, I'd say they'll probably leave.

kcmo · 10-21-2011, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aragx6

^ The difference between Busch and Edwards Jones though is that the Cardinals play more than 80 home games a year. The Rams play eight. I'd prefer to see it on the outskirts of downtown but still acessible by public transit -- I still greatly dislike suburban stadiums.

But I also totally agree with flynavy that tearing down such a huge dome and infilling it would be a huge undertaking -- from where would such money come? There's plenty of other development projects in some stage or another that have made little progress in this economy -- not just Ballpark Village but also things liek Chouteau's Landing. It just doesn't seem realistic right now.

I will be heartbroken if the Rams leave St. Louis -- I've been a big fan over the years and losing pro football would be a huge kick in the nuts to St. Louisans -- but I'm not sure I can yet see the scenario where they stay.

They want a new stadium and obviously they want local and state $$ to do so. It was hard enough to get that done for the Cardinals who have a huge fan base, had a 40 year-old stadium, and who asked in much better financial times. The state isn't going to give them anything, of that I can pretty much guarantee, so they'll probably leave. I don't want them to, and I'll be happy if they don't, but right now, if I were a betting woman, I'd say they'll probably leave.

Agreed on all counts and I'm not saying the dome should be torn down. I think that is a mistake that will have to be lived with and honestly think it would be silly to move the rams now. The dome is not that old. In a perfect world, I think it would be better if that were developed with mixed use, but this isn't a perfect world. If they did figure out some way to build a stadium, then I would think about a replacement a little further from the downtown core. I think football stadiums are fine in the suburbs. Downtown NFL stadiums and their giant unused footprints and rarely needed parking demands are terrible for urban areas. They do nothing for downtown. Baseball stadiums should be downtown or very near a downtown or urban area so parking needs don't overcome the urban fabric.

mike0421 · 10-21-2011, 12:01 PM

Why did this stadium age so much, via NFL standards, in such a short time? Consider the New Orleans Superdome, older building. You do not hear clamor in New Orleans to replace this stadium.

I think domed stadiums, in general, are a travesty. I wonder if the perspective would be different if the Edward Jones Dome was an outdoor stadium instead.

As for the Fenton rumor, I've heard about it here at work as well. A co-worker mentioned the Chrysler building as well as the site for a future outdoor stadium.

flynavyj · 10-21-2011, 04:01 PM

How about an outdoor stadium on the East side of the Mississippi

Then they could still have a backdrop with the St. Louis skyline in it...and who knows, maybe it could provide some use empty land over that way.

kcmo · 10-21-2011, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flynavyj

How about an outdoor stadium on the East side of the Mississippi

Then they could still have a backdrop with the St. Louis skyline in it...and who knows, maybe it could provide some use empty land over that way.

Actually, that's a great idea. The stadium and most of the big parking lots near it could be away from the CBD of StL, so it wouldn't be mass dead space downtown, but it would still benefit downtown greatly during games as a ton of people would walk or take metro from downtown across the river.

storey13 · 10-24-2011, 07:29 AM

I would like to see a new stadium built that would accommodate more than one sport. They should build a new stadium that allows football and soccer to be played. The key is to make the stadium seating be adjustable for when soccer matches are played (fans really close to the action) and work well for football too. It would be awesome for St. Louis to get US National Team matches and world cup matches down the road, and perhaps one day an MLS team (though most of us know how that went the last time, need some deep pockets for this scenario).