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Saint Louis CitySide - an overview of the City Government of Saint Louis
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 St. Louis Front Page presents St. Louis CitySide, an overview of the City Government of Saint Louis. From time to time, we will take an indepth look at many of the projects in which the city is involved and how these projects will affect residents and visitors.
 Ballpark Bill Draws Heated Opposition at Public ForumSaint Louis Art Museum Donates $10 Million to 'Heart of the Park' ImprovementsSt. Louis Lands 2004 U.S. OlympicWomen's Marathon Trials Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Site DedicatedMississippi River Trail DedicatedMayor Slay, Multi-Faith Religious Leaders Encourage Religious ToleranceTaking Stock of Our City and Our RegionMissouri Attorney General Stops Internet Auction FraudSt. Louis/East St. Louis Joint Economic Development Initiative Receives Nearly $3 Million in Funding |
St. Louis Aldermanic Ways and Means Committee Endorses Ballpark Agreement ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), February 27, 2002 - The St. Louis Aldermanic Ways and Means Committee endorsed the final agreement, Wednesday, February 27, for the $646 million development in downtown St. Louis. In a press conference held in Jefferson City on Tuesday, Governor Bob Holden noted that "This list of commitments by the Cardinals to a public/private partnership is impressive, as well it should be in light of the substantial public support the Cardinals have requested. I have stated throughout our discussions on this project that I would be happy to support it if I could recommend to the legislature a package that is a true economic development package that benefits the people of St. Louis and Missouri as much or more than it benefits the Cardinals. The agreement we have concluded meets these tests," stated the Governor. St. Louis Front Page has obtained the following summary of that agreement approved by the St. Louis Aldermanic Ways and Means Committee from a spokesperson for the St. Louis Cardinals: SUMMARY OF THE FINAL AGREEMENT The development will be built in downtown St. Louis. It will include a new Ballpark, a Ballpark Village, and transportation infrastructure improvements to make the Ballpark and Ballpark Village possible and economically feasible. The Ballpark The new Ballpark will be suitable for the playing of Major League Baseball, have capacity for approximately 49,000 patrons, and will feature player and fan amenities consistent with other recently developed open-air Major League Baseball ballparks. The Ballpark will be owned by a public entity, the Sports Center Redevelopment Authority, which will lease exclusively to the Cardinals for use as a Major League Baseball ballpark. The Cardinals will sign a 35-year lease and an agreement to play their home games in the new Ballpark during the term of the lease. There will be 3 optional extension terms. The Authority will have the non-transferable right to use or sponsor the use of the Ballpark for a minimum of five Community Events during each calendar year of the Lease Term. The Cardinals will pay rent to the Authority. The Cardinals will at their own cost and expense maintain the Ballpark as a first-class facility. At the end of the Lease Term, the Cardinals must surrender the Ballpark in good condition and repair, minus normal wear and tear. The Cardinals must furnish the Authority with a rent-free, fully maintained, private office and reception area within reasonable proximity to the Cardinals' offices. The Ballpark Village The Ballpark Village will consist of one or more of the following facilities, or other facilities of comparable size, use and scope, based on existing market conditions and development criteria: residential units, offices, museums, entertainment venues, retail stores, parking, open air plaza and restaurants. The Ballpark Village Project is presently planned to include: 1,850 parking spaces; 400 residential units; 470,000 square feet of office space; 110,000 square feet of street level, commercial/retail space (e.g., restaurant, bookstore, bank branch, food mart, or daycare facility); 16,000 square feet Cardinals Museum; and a 94,000 square foot entertainment attraction (e.g., aquarium). A separate Redevelopment Agreement will include more of the details of this part of the Project. Neither the city, the county, the state, nor the Authority will be required to obtain or provide any financing or funding for the development or construction of the Ballpark Village Project. The Cardinals agree that any State development incentives for the Ballpark Village Project, whether discretionary or non-discretionary, shall be subject to a cost-benefit analysis in accordance with the applicable statutes as determined by the State Department of Economic Development. The Cardinals will be the developer of the Ballpark Village. Transportation Infrastructure The Transportation Infrastructure Project shall consist of substantially the following facilities:
Minority and Local Firms; Construction Monitor Thirty percent of the entire development, Ballpark and Ballpark Village, is to be built using minority owned-and women owned-businesses, consistent with all applicable federal, state and local laws, and with the Mayor's Executive Order. In addition, the force of the Executive Order will include vendors in the new publicly owned facility. The Cardinals must use their best efforts to employ local contractors. The Cardinals must give the City such information as may reasonably be required to enable the City to monitor compliance. The Public Partners may hire a Construction Monitor. Land Acquisition The Cardinals must acquire all the property necessary for the entire project, with the assistance of the City and state of Missouri, if necessary. However, the current site of the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame will be only an optional part of the development site. Deadlines, Penalties The Ballpark must be sufficiently completed by April 1, 2005, to permit the Cardinals to play the 2005 baseball season there. The Ballpark must be completed by April 1, 2006. There will be penalties if the Ballpark Village is not built as scheduled. , with specified benchmarks and milestones.. The penalty for non-completion of the first phase of the Ballpark Village will not exceed $100 million. The penalty for not beginning the second phase of the Ballpark Village will be forfeiture of the site to the Authority. Ballpark Village Phase I must be begun by April 1, 2006, and completely finished within 5 years. Ballpark Village Phase II must begin as follows: one Block on or before April 1, 2009; two Blocks on or before April 1, 2010; and three Blocks on or before April 1, 2011. The Cardinals will use their best efforts to finish Phase II by April 2014. Public Investment The City, the State, and the County will issue bonds to pay for their shares of the public investment. The City will invest a fixed annual appropriation per Fiscal Year of the City, beginning not earlier than the Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2005, in the amount of $4.2 million, or such lesser amount as shall be sufficient, to provide debt service over 30 years for a debt financing that will provide a net sum of $60 million for the payment of Ballpark Project Costs. The County will invest a fixed annual appropriation, for a period of 30 years beginning in calendar year 2003, in the amount of $2,000,000 increasing annually by 3% on a compound basis, from tax revenues deposited in the County Convention and Recreation Trust Fund, after making all required rental payments and other payments of fees and charges owed by the County pursuant to the existing terms of leases relating to the Edward Jones Dome owned by the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority. The State will invest a fixed annual appropriation per Fiscal Year of the State, beginning not earlier than the Fiscal Year of the State beginning on July 1, 2005, in the amount of $7 million or such lesser amount as shall be sufficient, to provide debt service over 30 years for a debt financing that will provide a net sum of $100 million for the payment of Ballpark Project Costs; subject to the following conditions and limitations: (a) such net sum shall be reduced as may be necessary to ensure that such appropriation will be sufficient to provide such debt service; (b) such net sum shall be net of all costs of issuance in connection with such debt financing; and (c) none of such net sum shall be used for Ballpark operations, Ballpark operating repairs and maintenance or Ballpark capital repairs and improvements. Cardinals Pay the Overruns, Maintenance, Operations, Capital Improvements, Repairs The balance of the Ballpark's costs, including all overruns, will be paid for by the Cardinals. In no event will the Cardinals pay less than $108.5 million. The Cardinals will be responsible for all operating and maintenance expenses, as well as costs for capital improvements, for the Ballpark. The Cardinals will also convey the land required for the construction of the Ballpark to the Authority at no cost to the Authority. Naming Rights Funds Will Protect Public Investment The Authority will own the naming rights to the Ballpark. The naming rights will include the right to name the Ballpark, and shall not include any marketing, advertising, merchandising, tickets or other rights, or the right to name any portion or area of the Ballpark. The naming rights revenues from the Ballpark will go into two separate funds - one benefiting the state of Missouri and one benefiting the City of St. Louis. These funds will reimburse the state and the City if the new revenues generated by the Ballpark fall short of the amounts appropriated annually by the state and the city. Excess revenues will go to the Authority and may be used for other purposes.
Central to the approval of the Agreement are the following Taxpayer Protections: Agreement to Play and Not to Relocate. The Cardinals acknowledge that their commitment to play all of their home games at the Ballpark is a material inducement for the Public Participants and the Authority to undertake the development of the Ballpark Project and to enter into the Agreement and the Lease. Accordingly, the Cardinals covenant that, during the Lease Term, except during any Untenantability Period and subject to Force Majeure and to Major League Baseball Rules and Regulations, the Team shall play all of its Home Games at the Ballpark. The Cardinals shall not relocate or transfer the Team outside the boundaries of the City, and shall not change or move the home territory of the Team in any manner that would exclude the City or the County. The Cardinals shall not enter into any contract that obligates the team to play its Home Games at any location other than the Ballpark. The Cardinals shall not seek approval from Major League Baseball or the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs for any of the matters specified above. Agreement to Maintain a Headquarters in the City of St. Louis. The Cardinals will maintain their headquarters and their principal place of business within the City during the Lease Term. Agreement to Secure the All-Star Game. The Cardinals will agree to use their absolute best efforts to cause the Major League Baseball All-Star Game to be played at the Ballpark during the 2006 season. Agreement to Maintain Affordable Seating. During the Lease Term, the Cardinals (a) will make available at all regular season Home Games following the Opening Date a minimum of 6,000 tickets at a price of not more than $12.00 per ticket in year 2000 dollars, and (b) will distribute, in conjunction with city, the state, and the county, a minimum of 100,000 complimentary tickets per year to youth and charitable organizations. Agreement to Develop Neighborhood Recreational Facilities. In each calendar year during the Lease Term, the Cardinals will contribute at least $100,000 per year to the development, construction or refurbishment of neighborhood recreational facilities that will primarily benefit or serve disadvantaged youth in the City and County. Agreement to Yield the Naming Rights. The Authority, as owner of the Ballpark, will own the Naming Rights. The Authority will have the right to sell, transfer, assign and negotiate the Naming Rights, provided that the name of the Ballpark shall be subject to the approval of the Cardinals and the Public Participants. The Authority shall submit any proposed name for the Ballpark to the Cardinals and the Public Participants in writing and no name shall be used or allowed to be used to which the Cardinals or the Public Participants have objected in writing within 30 days of their receipt of such proposed name. Proceeds from the sale of the naming rights shall be deposited in segregated funds to be drawn upon by the state and the city in the event that cumulative new state and city revenues are less than the annual cumulative appropriations, as described above. Agreement to Hold Other Taxing Districts Harmless. In each calendar year during the Lease Term, and in the calendar year in which the Closing Date occurs, the Cardinals shall pay PILOTS to the Collector of Revenue of the City by December 31st of such year in such amounts as will cause the sum of the ad valorem property taxes levied upon the Project or any interest therein for such year, plus the amount of such PILOTS, to equal $490,735. The Collector of Revenue shall allocate the revenues received from such PILOTS among all taxing districts within the Project Site which impose ad valorem taxes, on a pro rata basis. Agreement to Provide a Fans Suite. The Ballpark will contain a suite that is available to the public through a lottery or other fan selection process, as designated by the Authority, which ensures that the public at large has access to the suite for home games. No rent, fees, or charges of any kind shall apply to the use of the suite. Agreement to Share Profits from Any Sale of Team. In order to allow the city, the state, and the county to share in any "windfall" profits from the sale of any ownership interest of the team, the Agreement will include a formula that requires the Cardinals share with the Public Partners between 12 and 16 percent of the profits, divided among the Partners according to their pro rata contributions to the construction of the Ballpark. The Public Partners' share of any profits cannot be less than $2.5 million. For purposes of this calculation, the team's current value is agreed to be $180 million. This condition will be in effect for any sale of the team during the next 13 years. A chart of this provision is attached to this document. Should the team be sold, transferred, or assigned before the Ballpark Project is completed, the current owners will remain responsible for their obligations to complete the Ballpark Project, unless the City, the County, and the State are satisfied as to the financial condition of the new owner.Good Faith of the Parties The Governor, the Mayor of the City of St. Louis, the St. Louis County Executive, and the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals agree to use their absolute best efforts to obtain passage of all legislation necessary to make this redevelopment a reality. Unresolved dispute about the conditions and terms of the Agreement will be settled in Missouri courts. 
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