St. Louis Approves Financing of New Football Stadium: Latest Comments, Reaction

St. Louis' push to keep the Rams—or at least an NFL franchise—in the city scored a win Thursday, as the aldermanic Ways and Means Committee approved a financing plan for a new $1 billion stadium.

According to Jim Salter of the Associated Press, the full board will not vote on the plan until at least next week. The committee is expected to discuss the plan Friday.

Under the proposal, the city of St. Louis will cover $150 million of the plan, with the Rams (or another NFL team) pitching in $250 million. An additional $360 million would come from an NFL loan ($200 million) and personal seat licenses ($160 million). The proposal calls for the state of Missouri to foot the remaining $240 million or so.

Despite the strong outlook, the NFL has remained dubious about St. Louis' ability to find a viable financing plan for a new stadium. League executive vice president Eric Grubman appeared on Bernie Miklasz's WXOS-FM program Thursday and made it seem unlikely the Rams would stay in St. Louis. 

"St. Louis will fall short of having a compelling proposal that would attract the Rams," Grubman said, per Nicholas J.C. Pistor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "To that end, and I don't mean to oversimplify and I'm certainly not going to negotiate the individual points: the stadium is going to cost more than is at the drawing board at the moment, the funding has declined and new taxes are being proposed to the Rams."

The Rams have been in St. Louis since 1995, when they moved from Los Angeles amid problems getting a new stadium. Owner Stan Kroenke has been among three eyeing a move back to the nation's second-biggest market and has proposed a $1.8 billion stadium in Los Angeles. The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers have also been mentioned among teams looking to make the move to L.A. as soon as next season.

St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome is tied for the 10th-oldest stadium in football but has not gone under any of the major modernization of some of its contemporaries. Still, even the inkling of a new stadium could be enough to keep the Rams or another franchise in St. Louis.

Los Angeles has been used as a dangling carrot in past negotiations with cities looking to find funding for a new stadium, and the Rams might wind up being the latest to win out.

What's clear is three teams aren't moving to Los Angeles. St. Louis' move Thursday could help the NFL make an easier decision. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter