JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Members of the state legislature have not been shy to call Gov. Jay Nixon’s funding plan for a new football stadium in St. Louis a poor, and possibly illegal, use of taxpayer funds.
Now, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican candidate for governor in 2016, is making his voice more pronounced in the conversation.
“The governor is recklessly rushing to get sign-off on his stadium proposal, but the people of Missouri have been left in the dark,” Kinder said in a statement. “He needs to go before the St. Louis Board of Aldermen today and explain to them and to the media what exactly this proposal will mean for Missouri taxpayers.
“The co-chairman of Gov. Nixon’s stadium task force last month assured St. Louis city officials that the city would be off the hook, indicating the burden would fall to the state. That means taxpayers all across Missouri could be left to pay the bill.”
Kinder said Nixon’s lack of transparency to taxpayers and the legislature failed to provide adequate answers for legitimate concerns to the funding plan from critics around the state. Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, and Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, have been on the forefront of that fight in the General Assembly.
This week, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen Tuesday approved of a funding plan for the stadium. A vote for final passage for the measure will take place Friday.
The new stadium is part of a last-ditch effort to keep the Rams in St. Louis. Stan Kroenke, the team’s owner, has expressed interest in moving the team to Los Angeles, but momentum has shifted against him recently. The owners of the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders are also considering moves to Los Angeles, but their cities have not expressed the same interest in building new, updated stadiums for their teams, and the NFL announced Tuesday that it would guarantee another $100 million for the new stadium in St. Louis, an indication they may want the team to stay.
However, regardless of those signs, Kinder believes Nixon has been less than upfront with the plan, especially since the administration has fought a public vote on the measure.
“Missourians have had enough of his stonewalling,” Kinder added. “This rip-off of Missouri taxpayers is hiding in plain sight. The Governor owes the people of Missouri answers before this deal is forced on them.”
