Missouri legislative leaders are showing little, if any, support for authorizing any state aid for a proposed new football stadium in St. Louis.
A task force appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon has unveiled plans for a 64,000-seat stadium between the Gateway Arch and the new Interstate 70 bridge with an estimated price tag ranging from $860 million to $985 million.
Republican Caleb Rowden of Columbia chairs the House committee on economic development. He says he's certain no one wants the Rams to leave St. Louis, but "anything that would involve a large amount of public funds, a large increase or extension of even tax credits, is just going to be an uphill climb."
Rowden added, "The folks that I've talked to just don't seem to have a big appetite for it."
In addition, House Speaker John Diehl, R-Town and Country, said last week that it would be "extraordinarily difficult to get a stadium package through the General Assembly." Fellow Republican Eric Schmitt of Glendale chairs the Senate economic development committee. His office is "refraining" from commenting on the proposal at this time.
Backers of the proposed new stadium say it would be funded by numerous sources, including private investment, Brownfield tax credits and a possible extension of the bond being used to pay for the Edward Jones Dome, the current home of the St. Louis Rams. Rams owner Stan Kroenke has unveiled plans to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, Calif., about 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
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