JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

In the cat-and-mouse, high-stakes game between St. Louis and Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke, I am rooting hard for the city to emerge with a new riverfront stadium — and either keeping the Rams or getting another NFL team down the road.

With its many corporate headquarters, Heartland location and rich sports history, St. Louis is too good a city not to have an NFL team.

But the main reason I want St. Louis to pull this off is that a new open-air, riverfront stadium in a blighted area north of the Edward Jones Dome would be a fabulous extension of the city’s $400 million “CityArchRiver” project, which is well underway.

As great an attraction as the Arch is, it has always been cut off from downtown by Interstate 44, which lies between the Arch and downtown, and has been hard to get to. In addition, the ground around the Arch has been very uninviting, just a big patch of unattractive and often-littered grass.

When Patty and I were there last year, we navigated our way in the car down to the riverfront area and parked a few blocks from the Arch in a lot that was chained off but not securely enough to keep me from squeezing past. Then we walked along a cobblestone, potentially ankle-busting street to get to the Arch grounds.

The key element to the CityArchRiver project is construction of a park over I-44, meaning people will be able to walk straight from downtown to the Arch grounds. When the project is completed, perhaps sometime next year, it should significantly increase visitor traffic to the Arch and make the experience of visiting the Arch grounds a memorable experience.

A park being built over I-44 (center) from the Old Courthouse to the Gateway Arch will allow people to walk from downtown to the Arch grounds.

The CityArchRiver project includes new spaces for events, expanded museum space, bicycle trails, children’s play areas and performance venues.

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Of course, building a new stadium for the Rams — or another team the city might attract in the future — is going to be expensive. The new stadium would cost about $900 million, including more than $400 million in public funds.

The potential loss of the Rams got serious in January, when Kroenke, a Missouri boy who married a Walton girl, unveiled a plan to build a stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with his own money. The Rams can easily leave St. Louis because they are on a year-to-year lease, unlike the Chiefs long-term lease with Jackson County. 

Site of the proposed new open-air stadium. north of the Edward Jones Dome.

Fortunately, St. Louis didn’t just sit down and wring its hands. Gov. Jay Nixon — no doubt sick of being pummeled for his lack of leadership in the Ferguson upheaval last summer — jumped into action. He appointed a stadium task force, and this week Nixon announced a deal to move rail lines to make way for a new stadium just north of the existing Edward Jones Dome.

It would cost about $25 million to move the rail lines, and, as far as I can tell, it’s not yet clear who would pay.

Yesterday, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz tipped his hat to Nixon for his hands-on approach to the Rams/riverfront situation. Miklasz said Nixon has had at least three recent discussions with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Miklasz said Nixon also participated Tuesday in a meeting that included the NFL’s executive vice president.

At the news conference where he announced the deal on the railroad tracks, Nixon sketched an alluring picture of a new, fleshed-out St. Louis riverfront. He said:

“This is a historic opportunity to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment to this area, build an iconic stadium that will stand the test of time, and transform these deserted streets into a thriving destination for residents, workers, tourists and football fans.”

If St. Louis can pull this off, I’ll be among the tourists visiting the new Arch grounds and possibly the stadium. And I’ll be parking downtown, not in a chained-off lot on a cobblestone street.