ST. LOUIS 鈥 Less than a week after negotiators for the NFL, Rams and local governments agreed to a $790 million settlement in a lawsuit over the team鈥檚 2016 relocation to Los Angeles, a new round of negotiations has yet to start.
How to divvy up the roughly $500 million among 50度灰视频, 50度灰视频 County and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority?
Even before the three parties in the lawsuit decide how to spend the settlement 鈥 of which $276.5 million plus expenses will go to pay attorney fees 鈥 they鈥檝e got to decide how much each one receives.
50度灰视频 Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said Monday those talks have yet to start, and there is no 鈥減reexisting formula鈥 on how any settlement to the lawsuit, filed in 2017, would be divided between the three plaintiffs.
鈥淭hose meetings haven鈥檛 been scheduled, but I do know that I have a great working relationship with (County Executive) Dr. Sam Page, and I don鈥檛 expect those conversations to be adversarial,鈥 Jones said in an interview.
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The settlement provides that the check from the Rams and the NFL 鈥 who have not said how they will share the cost 鈥 must be handed over to the three plaintiffs and their attorneys by Dec. 24.
It鈥檚 unclear how long the discussions on allocating the money will take, but Jones said she was 鈥渃onfident we can all come to an equitable agreement.鈥
Page, during a news conference Monday morning, said the settlement was just a few days old and 鈥渨e still have some discussions about how that will be divided amongst all the plaintiffs. We鈥檒l work through that with the attorneys.鈥
鈥淎ll the parties in this settlement have a good working relationship, have a lot of respect for each other, and we鈥檒l find a path forward that鈥檚 fair to all the (plaintiffs) and put this money to work in 50度灰视频 County,鈥 Page said.
The city and county legislative bodies likely won鈥檛 be involved until actual spending decisions on the money are made. A spokesman for Page said the County Council won鈥檛 be involved while the three parties negotiate the allocation of the settlement, a process likely to take the next few weeks. Likewise, Jones said she doesn鈥檛 believe the 50度灰视频 Board of Aldermen will be involved in negotiations over the city鈥檚 share of the settlement, and Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed didn鈥檛 dispute that.
The other party to the suit, the Convention and Sports Complex Authority, actually owns the team鈥檚 old venue, now known as the Dome at America鈥檚 Center. Its chairman, lawyer and former 50度灰视频 Board of Aldermen President Jim Shrewsbury, signed the agreement on behalf of the authority. He did not respond to a request for comment.
The Dome authority鈥檚 executive director, Brian McMurtry, said in an email that discussions on dividing up the settlement haven鈥檛 happened yet and declined to discuss it further, saying there was a gag order from the court.
Some parties could argue they are due more of the settlement than others. 50度灰视频 County, for instance, was not included in the financing plan for the riverfront stadium proposal floated in 2015 in an effort to keep the NFL franchise here. The county executive at the time, Steve Stenger, opposed involvement without a public vote, something backers of the effort ruled out, citing time constraints.
Because of that stance, the NFL and Rams argued at one point in the lawsuit that 50度灰视频 County shouldn鈥檛 be part of the lawsuit.
鈥淭he County did not participate in the planning or funding of the new stadium project,鈥 the NFL and Rams wrote in a filing in June. 鈥淚n fact, the County鈥檚 charter prohibited it from participating in stadium development or funding 鈥榳ithout a vote of the people,鈥 which the County declined to hold.鈥
Attorneys for the plaintiffs, however, argued the county was rightfully a party to the lawsuit because it had lost hotel-motel tax revenue because of the Rams departure.
Jones declined to say whether she thought the city should receive a larger share of the settlement. But Reed, the Board of Aldermen president, said he thinks the city should.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it should be one-third each,鈥 Reed said Monday. 鈥淲hen you look at the loss, the city of 50度灰视频 we obviously would have lost more than the Rams leaving than either of the other two entities. Our hotels took a hit, our restaurants took a hit, our entire tax base took a hit from the Rams leaving.鈥
The $18 million in public funds spent on the attempt to build a Mississippi Riverfront stadium to convince the Rams to stay came from Dome authority. The spending was directed by a two-man task force named by then Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon: former Anheuser-Busch executive Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz, whose law firm co-led the litigation that resulted in last week鈥檚 settlement.
However, the Dome authority鈥檚 revenue comes from the city, county and state. The city and county each contribute $1 million a year for upkeep of the Dome, and Missouri contributes $2 million.
Another $10 million from the state and $5 million each from the city and county went to pay off the bonds issued to build the Dome. That debt was retired this year, and the financing agreement between the parties ended in August, though each government has committed to making maintenance payments into 2024, according to a Dome authority audit.
The Dome authority鈥檚 board makeup could also influence negotiations 鈥 and how its share of the money is ultimately spent. Five of the Dome authority鈥檚 members, including its chair, are appointed by the governor. Three commissioners are appointed by the 50度灰视频 County executive and three appointed by the 50度灰视频 mayor.
Ben Frederickson and Joel Currier of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Everyone has an opinion on what to do with the money. Here's what elected leaders are saying, along with my two cents.