Team’s tab on Dome could be $64.5 million
ST. LOUIS • The money to renovate the Edward Jones Dome could come partly from higher fees for tickets and parking.
Those are among the possible sources of public funding listed in a financial plan the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission has sent to the Rams. The plan is meant to explain how to pay for $124 million in renovations to the Dome.
It lists a ticket surcharge and the creation of a new parking district, with a vehicle surcharge, as options. The plan also lists bond refinancing, tax credits and tapping the reserves of the Dome’s owner as other options.
The one-page financial plan, however, is short on specifics and does not list how much money each source of public funding would generate. It lists only the total they would bring in: $59.5 million.
The lack of specificity is highlighted by one of the listed sources: “Other City, County and State money as may be provided.”
And at least one of the listed items — refinancing of bonds issued by the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority to build the Dome — is not currently allowed, according to the authority’s website.
The CVC, which manages the Dome for the authority, wants the Rams to pay for $64.5 million of the renovation costs.
The CVC released the document late Thursday after a public records request from the Post-Dispatch. The CVC released its renovation plan on Wednesday but declined to release the financial document, and St. Louis and St. Louis County officials also initially declined to discuss funding details.
Officials said they did not list specifics or dollar amounts because the document was not meant to be a detailed financial analysis. The idea was simply to show the Rams that there are a variety of public funding options available, they said.
“All of them might be used or some of them might be used,” said Mike Jones, a senior policy adviser to St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. “It’s all going to depend on what improvements end up being made.”
No decisions have been made on what area would make up the parking district, what the charges would be, and whether they would be levied only on game days or year-round. Also, no decisions have been made on how much a ticket surcharge would be. The city already charges a 5 percent amusement tax on Rams tickets.
Jeff Rainford, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay’s chief of staff, pledged that proposals to levy new fees or taxes would go before city voters — if those proposals go beyond what is generated as part of the “game day experience.”
“People who don’t go to Rams games or take part in the NFL experience don’t have to worry about being nicked for this without a vote of the people,” he said short term personal loan. “They will not pay any more for this facility without a public discussion and a public vote.”
Rainford also said a referendum would be needed if the city were to eliminate the 5 percent amusement tax or redirect the revenue to help pay for construction costs.
Dooley’s office has similarly pledged to give voters final say on some issues.
“Anything related to increasing a current tax or creating a new revenue source (in the county) would need to be voted on by the people,” Jones said.
The Dome, which opened in 1995, was largely financed with $256 million in revenue bonds, and the repayment of that 30-year debt will be $720 million. Every year, Missouri spends $12 million to pay off the debt, and St. Louis and St. Louis County each pay $6 million annually.
Highlights of the Dome renovation plan include adding large window panels and a 96-foot-wide video screen and scoreboard; building a three-story pavilion connected to the Dome via a bridge over Broadway; and replacing four luxury suites and 1,800 regular seats with 1,500 club seats.
The CVC is required to come up with a plan that, by March 2014, would make the Dome a “first-tier” facility. The Rams have until March 1 to accept or reject the CVC plan, and until May 1 to make a counteroffer.
“Until we know exactly how much we need, there’s no point in going through a financial analysis,” Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe, the CVC’s president, said in explaining the lack of funding specifics.
The one-page financial plan, however, lists estimated costs for the proposed renovations. The biggest cost, $24.5 million, would be for improvements to entrances, bathrooms and common areas, followed by $21.5 million for changes to box suites and concourses.
Many of the proposed improvements would increase revenue at the Dome, but the Rams — not the CVC — likely would reap the biggest rewards from those upgrades. That could be why the CVC wasn’t shy in asking the team to front 52 percent of the bill.
Under the terms of the lease, for example, the Rams keep all ticket receipts, so the team will benefit most from the addition of pricier club seats.
The improvement plan would upgrade concession areas and increase food and beverage sales outside of the Dome. The lease gives the team all net revenue from concessions sold on game days.
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