The St. Louis Rams submitted an expansion plan for its home at the Edward Jones Dome that could cost $500 million to $750 million, according to published reports.
The plan was submitted in late April after the Rams rejected the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission’s $124 million renovation proposal. The commission operates the dome.
Under confidentiality agreements, the team and commission could not release the team’s plan, but Missouri Attorney General Chris Kostner, who had authority to do so, released it last week.
The plan did not include cost estimates or how much the team would contribute, but published reports quoted sources familiar with the proposal who estimated the changes could run as high as $750 million.
The commission must decide whether to accept the plan by June 1.
The team’s current lease does not expire until 2025, but allows the team to leave in 2015 if the dome fails to meet certain criteria such as being considered a “first-tier” stadium.
If the commission and team fail to reach agreement on renovations by mid-June, the issue goes to arbitration.
The dome was financed with $256 million of bonds and opened in 1995. The state,
St. Louis and St. Louis County together pay $24 million annually to service the debt.
