County taxes not needed for St. Louis stadium
St. Louis County taxpayers will not be asked to help pay for a new NFL stadium on the downtown riverfront.
The St. Louis PostDispatch reports that last week, a senior aide to Gov. Jay Nixon told County Executive Steve Stenger’s office that “St. Louis County’s participation would not be necessary in the stadium deal.” Stenger had previously said that he would not support county tax funds being used to help build t he stadium without a public vote.
Without county taxes, the $985 million stadium is stripped of $6 million per year. Nixon’s office did not talk about how stadium planners would make up the difference.
Financing for the new arena has been challenging due to a law that requires sepa rate public votes in St. Louis and St. Louis County before taxpayer money can be used to build a stadium.
Ji m Shrewsbury, t he Nixon-appointed chairman of the Edward Jones Dome Authority, said the move by Nixon may be part of the plan to convince NFL owners to keep the St. Louis Rams in the city. Shrewsbury said the uncertainty of a public election is worse than losing $6 million a year from the county.
An NFL owners committee has been having discussions about moving a team to Los Angeles. The Rams, along with the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders, are frontrunners to be chosen by NFL owners for the move. But at the annual NFL’s annual owners meeting last week in Phoenix, several key owners insisted that they would protect local markets from losing their teams i f t hose markets could present their own stadium proposals with concrete financing plans.
DEVELOPMENTS
Rams sign center Barnes: The St. Louis Rams have re - si g ned center Ti m Barnes, adding depth to an offensive line in flux.
Barnes has been with the Rams since 2011, used mainly on special teams, and had been an unrestricted free agent.
The Rams released center Scott Wells and tackle Jake Long, both of whom have had injury problems.
Steelers , Geathers agree: The Pittsbu rg h Steelers have re-signed defensive end Cli f ton Geathers.
Geathers agreed to a one-year deal. Terms were not disclosed. The 27-yearold Geathers originally signed with the Steelers last December after Brett Keisel was lost for the season with a triceps injury.
Geathers has played in 37 games with one start in his five seasons with Miami, Dallas, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Washington.
McClain stays in Dallas: Rolando McClain revived his career with a solid season in Dallas. Now the linebacker will return for at least one more year with the Cowboys.
McClain, a former top 10 pick who flamed out after just three seasons in Oakland, signed a one-year contract worth $3 million on Wednesday, the team reported on its website. With incentives, the deal can reach $4 million.
Tate, Bengals in new pact: The Bengals signed receiver and kick returner Brandon Tate to a new deal.
Tate became an unrestricted free agent when his contract expired last month. He’s spent t he last four year with Cincinnati and ranks t hird in franchise history with 127 kickoff returns and 126 punt returns.
Bears, LB Acho reach deal: The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with linebacker Sam Acho.
A fourth-round draft pick by Arizona in 2011, he spent four seasons with the Cardinals. He had a career-high seven sacks as a rookie but has just six since then.