St. Louis Looks for Solutions to Stadium Debt in the NFL's Wake

The city, county, and state that the NFL's Rams once called home will continue to pay debt for the financing of the Edward Jones Dome. What other option to they have?

1 minute read

February 5, 2016, 12:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Edward Jones Dome

Kelly Martin / Wikimedia Commons

"The National Football League’s Rams left behind more than bitterness when the team ditched St. Louis for Los Angeles last month," according to an article by Robin Respault, "it left a stadium saddled with about $144 million in debt and maintenance costs."

The city of St. Louis is now scrambling to find ways to raise revenue to help pay down the debt on the Edward Jones Dome and lower the burden on taxpayers. Respault also reports that St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed went to the NFL to ask for assistance in paying down the rent, and received no reply.

St. Louis is only the most recent entry on a long list of cities left holding the bag by sports teams, according to the article. Also on the list: Houston (the Astrodome), Detroit (Silverdome), Seattle, (Kingdome), Philadelphia (Veterans Stadium), and Washington, D.C. (Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium).

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