Suit filed to avoid public vote on Rams’ St. Louis stadium project

In a move intended to speed up the process to lock up a new stadium for the St. Louis Rams, the public body that owns and operates the Edward Jones Dome filed suit on Friday against the city of St. Louis, seeking to avoid a civic vote on the use of taxpayer money for a new downtown football stadium.

You can read the full story here from the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The suit claims a 2002 city ordinance requiring a public vote is “overly broad, vague and ambiguous,” and asks the judge to rule that it either doesn’t apply in this case, conflicts with state statute, or is unconstitutional.

Essentially, the goal is to bypass a vote – avoiding costly time and potential defeat – in order to secure financing to build the Rams a new stadium.

Time, of course, is of the essence now that Rams owner Stan Kroenke has purchased land in Inglewood and intends to build a privately financed stadium at the old Hollywood Park Race Track site.

Kroenke’s Inglewood project is one of two Los Angeles area stadium proposals along with the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers joint stadium plan in Carson.

It is widely believed the NFL will soon decide on one of the the two stadium plans, and that professional football will be back in Los Angeles by 2016.

However, St. Louis, Oakland and San Diego will all have their say, and each is in the process of securing new stadium deals to keep their teams.

Hence, the urgency in St. Louis to bypass a vote.

“Our issue is time — not a public vote,” said St. Louis stadium task force member and former Anheuser-Busch executive Dave Peacock. “(The Rams and NFL) sped up the timeline. We need clarity quickly.”

The move was not met with universal praise, as the Post-Dispatch pointed out.

“Our concern is that one government is suing another, and both have been working together to build a new stadium,” said St. Louis University professor and legal clinic supervisor John Ammann, who sued the city this week to try to force a public vote. “The city counselor has a responsibility to vigorously defend all the laws of the city. Our role now will be to monitor to make sure the city counselor represents citizens, not the interests of the NFL.”

Moreover, Ammann asked, even if the Dome authority wins the suit, is it right to skip a vote?

“Forget the legalities of it,” Amman said. “Isn’t that what city residents believe, that they have a right to vote on this?”