July 13th, 2012 
Mark Peterson 
Posted in 
Since the Rams and the dome’s management (CVC, Convention and Visitors Commission) have not been able to come to a renovation agreement, arbitrators will be brought in (officially at the end of day Fri 13, 2012). The arbitrators will review Dome renovation proposals and if none is found to be suitable, they will create their own proposal. At that point, if the CVC does not accept the arbitrator’s proposal, then the Rams will be released from their lease contract at the end of the 2014 season.
It is unclear why the CVC would wish to even enter arbitration. The Rams appear to clearly be focused on becoming a better organization on the field, which should translate to increased sales and profitability for all concerned. A team rebirth and a stadium revitalization seem to go hand in hand and could only benefit the city of St Louis. Is it too early to start thinking about the “ Los Angeles Rams”? Yes it is, but it’s interesting to consider.
Isn’t the main reason the Rams and CVC are going to arbitration is because they can’t agree on what costs they would have to pay to upgrade the stadium? The CVC is arguing on the basis of ‘needs’ and the Rams are on ‘wants’. Unfortunately for the city of St. Louis, their budget can probably only afford the ‘needs’ and not the ‘wants’ of the Rams. So the CVC is hoping the arbitration will rule in favor of a stadium plan that barely skims the top tier stadiums. In other words, you find the top 8 stadiums of the NFL and just beat out the 8th stadium, not shoot to be in the top 5.