Press "Enter" to skip to content

Flanigan opposes stadium funds

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The chairman of the House Budget Committee has joined the growing list of Republican lawmakers publicly opposed to a plan to approve funds for a new NFL stadium in St. Louis.

Flanigan
Flanigan

Rep. Tom Flanigan penned a letter to Gov. Jay Nixon Wednesday in which he echoed what several Republican lawmakers have already publicly stated: an opposition to the funding mechanism for a new stadium, not the stadium construction itself.

“Let me state that I am not opposed to a new stadium in the St. Louis region. I am opposed to using state resources, both tax credits and direct appropriations, for a new stadium before the existing stadium debt is paid for in full,” Flanigan wrote.

Flanigan’s letter matches the sentiment expressed by several fellow lawmakers including his budget vice chair, Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, along with state senator Rob Schaaf and Rep. Jay Barnes. Schaaf and Barnes both signed onto a lawsuit with several other state lawmakers earlier this year objecting to Nixon’s plan to fund a new NFL stadium by extending bonds on the existing Edward Jones Dome.

Earlier during the legislative session, lawmakers removed language that would have prohibited the use of state money to pay bonds for a new NFL stadium, a move that came during the late hours of a long conference committee debate after much arm-wrestling among members.

Despite that decision, Republican lawmakers are now promising to block payment on any bonds Nixon may extend for the new stadium.